tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70787197749584481182024-03-16T18:52:05.344+00:00Blogger JamesLifestyle blogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-2225253280923645072016-08-17T09:43:00.001+01:002016-08-17T09:43:59.745+01:00Beach Summer Style - Bonprix<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The north Norfolk coastline definitely has it's fair share of hidden gems, including beautiful sandy beaches, perfect for a scenic stroll beside the sea on a warm summers day. I have always loved the fact that I only live 30 minutes away from a walk on the beach and like many other people, dream of one day owning a little beach house overlooking the sea. Other than an incredibly strong wind making your eyes water and ruining your hair, the grassy sand dunes and blue(ish) waters provided the perfect backdrop to showcase a simple summer beach wear look. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Choosing summer outfits that both look stylish and suit me personally is something that I have been really trying to improve on, especially considering that I fall into the habit of wearing the same clothing combinations far too often. It can be all too tempting to avoid wearing anything too extravagant when those hotter than expected summer months suddenly come around and you're pushed into shorts and tshirts to potentially avoid melting, before you've had a chance to burn off those winter fat reserves (essential for keeping warm obviously). I was excited to be challenged by Bonprix to create an August style outfit and thought that this would be the perfect opportunity to show that it's possible to put together a simple yet effectively stylish summer beach wear look.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Considering that pretty much 90% of my wardrobe happens to be some form of blue, it's <strike>probably</strike> definitely safe to say </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">that it is by far my favourite colour to wear. Combined with tartan and checker style patterns, the blue shorts really provide a focal point of the outfit, helping the lower half to contrast and stand out when sandwiched between neutral whites. I find that it's always such a satisfying feeling when you stumble upon a pair of shorts that are perfect for both the practicality of swimming while also stylish enough to combine with a range of different outfits rather than just having to settle for one or the other. It's also SO useful to have shorts with deep enough pockets that you can actually put things in, something that so many swim shorts annoyingly seem to lack! Now that we are finally going through a consistent period of gorgeous warm weather, something that can sometimes be hard to come by in this usually unpredictable country, these shorts have quickly become one of my wardrobe essentials for the remaining, and sadly ever dwindling, summer months.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Blue Tartan pattern shorts - <a href="http://www.bonprix.co.uk/products/checked-swim-shorts/_/A-924487_30" target="_blank">Bonprix</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Blue Checked pattern shorts - <a href="http://www.bonprix.co.uk/products/gingham-swim-shorts/_/A-940675_40" target="_blank">Bonprix</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">White shoes - Nike</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">White tshirt - Topman</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Disclaimer: Some items in this post were gifted to me, all opinions are my own. Photographs by Sean Bickle.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-65523053432764028392016-07-15T12:09:00.000+01:002016-08-09T16:38:43.864+01:008 Types of Pokemon Go Player<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pokemon Go has literally taken the world by storm, causing huge numbers of people to take to the streets in order to catch their favourite little creatures in virtual reality. It was everyone's dream to become a Pokemon master at a younger age and now this game allows your inner child to be released and that forgotten dream to finally come true. Not only is this game encouraging more people to venture into the realms of outdoors but it is giving people a greater appreciation for the landmarks, landscapes and random benches in the middle of nowhere within their cities and towns. I am already completely addicted and have discovered so many places that I never even knew existed, just because I was looking for somewhere new to catch different Pokemon or looking for another Pokestop to stock up. I tend to enjoy people watching (a lot) and have noticed that there are many many different types of people walking around on their journey to <i>catch 'em all</i>, so I thought that I would do a little round up of my favourite ones amongst them:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The 90s Kid</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ahh the 90s kid, the type of person who will never let you forget that they were the original Pokemon players and that this game was literally their childhood when growing up. Nothing will ever be as good as collecting Pokemon cards and new adaptions just ruin the uniqueness of the original games. 90s kids usually don't respond well to new generations of people jumping on the bandwagon of their interests, usually flocking to Twitter in order to rant about this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The groupie</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Usually found travelling in packs, these are often small to medium sized squads of 12 year old kids who can be found hanging around Pokestops and gyms (or in normal world terms, outside shops and on street corners), intimidating and fending off other Pokemon trainers that dare to enter the area. As they are normally all part of the same team, they tend to have the primary goal of taking over gyms and spamming them full of high level Pokemon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Noob</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These tend to be the people who have never really played Pokemon before but couldn't help but join in the hype to feel like part of the social circle. You will often spot them getting excited over catching a Pidgey, completely mispronouncing the names of most Pokemon, or instead painfully referring</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> to them as 'the yellow mouse' or 'that snake looking one'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Bullsh!tter</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Pokemon go? Completed it. Mew? Caught it. Much like Jay from The Inbetweeners, this type of person will often over exaggerate their Pokemon catching abilities to a ridiculous level, claiming to have caught all the rares, own all of the gyms and have completed their Pokedex before anybody else.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Merchandiser</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The more hardcore of Pokemon trainers amongst us tend to be identifiable by the distinct accessories that they can be spotted wearing. This can be in the form of Pokemon merchandise such as an Ash Ketchum hat, Pikachu shirt or even a Pokeball utility belt (yes I have actually seen somebody wearing one of these in real life).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Nomad</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These are also some pretty hardcore people. As the game works on a distance travelled basis, these are often the people with the highest level and greatest diversity of Pokemon within their collection. The nomad can usually travel for many miles on</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> the hunt for different types of Pokemon before becoming weary or bored. Pokemon Go drains your phone battery like a mofo so these types of Pokemon Go trainers will often come equipped with external battery packs in order to keep that Pokemon catching dream alive for a little longer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The 'I'm too adult for this game'</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's always a select few people who feel like they have to needlessly hate on a trend because they are 'too adult' or 'totally above' it. These people will often be brimming with negativity, moaning about how their is more to real life that playing Pokemon Go and the word 'outraged' will make up around 90% of their vocabulary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The commuter</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These are people who actually have busy lives at work and school and may only get the odd chance to play Pokemon go on the commute in the morning and on the way home in the evening. One of the great things about Pokemon Go is that it encourages people to walk short journeys rather than needlessly take the car, cutting traffic and increasing exercise activity. Buses are also usually slow enough to count as walking for the more lazy Pokemon trainers among you and best of all they often stop right near gyms and Pokestops.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whatever type of Pokemon trainer you happen to be, most people of all ages and backgrounds seem to be enjoying this revolutionary way to play an infamous game adored by many from our childhood. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yes Pokemon Go is not real life, but I feel like it is the closest thing we are going to get to real life for a long time. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Like any new game, there is going to be setbacks and negative points but it is beyond doubt that it is bringing people together with a common interest and encouraging more people to get up and explore the world around them outdoors rather than playing video games sitting at home. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-58451006846789423362016-07-08T12:06:00.000+01:002016-07-26T09:26:56.839+01:00Bubble of Perception<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Perception</b> is not only how we consciously experience the world around us through senses such as taste, smell, sight, hearing and touch, but also how we interpret, understand and use this information within life. I like to imagine perception to be like this little bubble that you are surrounded by, a bubble that slowly increases in size as you get older and become more knowledgeable of the world outside of it's imaginary boundaries.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you are very young, your bubble of perception is only limited to a very small area as you have pretty much no prior experience of the big wide world outside of your house or garden. I found that this was the stage in my life where my imagination was the highest and most profound because most of my knowledge and understanding was coming from children's TV and books where pretty much anything you could think up was possible. I would spend hours making fortresses out of old boxes and blankets, creating dens in the dense garden foliage and dreaming up what I thought to be amazing fictitious story plots, filled with drama and action to act out with teddy bears. All of this was possible without knowing that politics, religion or even other countries even existed firmly outside of your bubble of perception. This is a kind of solace period within life, before having to worry about real situations of distress, responsibility or sadness, where the biggest dilemma that you could possibly have on a daily basis was finding a 2 bit brick within your mountain of LEGO.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By around the age of 10, your little bubble of perception has probably expanded to around the size of your village or city. Despite this, I don't think that p</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">erception is just linked to geographical area, it's also all to do with experiences you've had</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and the knowledge gained from them. Experiences are something that you have plenty of at this age.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Starting school means that some of the perception you gain of the world will come from social learning of subjects such as science, history and geography and sharing information with other like minded people. You begin to realise that there is actually a world out there bigger than yourself just waiting to be explored. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The teenage years are where your bubble of perception will start to grow most, the years where the world is quite literally your oyster. Like I previously stated, experiences have a huge effect on how we perceive things and as a teen you experience a lot for the first time. Relationships, religion, higher education, travel, politics, all of which can completely change the way that you think and view the world. Many teens start to travel, venturing to the foreign realms of other countries and immersing themselves in other cultures and religions to become a lot more clued up on the world as a whole. One of the great things about travel is that you meet people from all walks of life with all kinds of fascinating stories to tell and information to share. Advances in science and technology mean that it has become a lot easier to educate ourselves on the world around us without actually having to leave the comfort of our own homes. I always find it really interesting as a biology student learning about things that happen to people and in the environment around them on a daily basis without the majority even acknowledging that it is happening. How does your body fight off infections? How is it possible to breath without thinking? How do different breeds of dogs all come from the same ancestor? How does deforestation in the Amazon rain forest affect Bob from London? This is the reason that I think it's great to continue learning as you get older, regardless of whether or not you're in education to further expand your knowledge and therefore your bubble of perception.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As an adult, you would think that the rate of expansion of this bubble of perception would begin to slow as it started to approach the maximum level. After all, haven't you already experienced everything? The simple answer is no. I believe that we don't ever stop bettering ourselves or expanding our knowledge of the human race and the earth as a whole. Social media and the internet make it easier to perceive an experience that you haven't had or place that you've never been to through shared photos and videos. New things are discovered, invented and created every day by minds much more brilliant than mine but then shared with others in order to increase our bubble of perception as a whole species. The big question is, will our bubble of perception ever extend beyond our earth, our solar system, our universe? Yes we can learn things from down here on earth but we still don't have the technology to fully experience it, instead calculating an educated guess or taking somebody else's word for it. I can imagine Neil Armstrong taking his first step on the moon and even watch a video of the moment itself, but I will never be able to truly experience and perceive what it is like myself. Where does our bubble of perception end? We are just a small pebble in a vast ocean of unknown space only being able to see so far into the observable universe and therefore anything beyond is merely guess work.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Inside your little bubble of perception within your back garden anything was possible, so why can't the same be true for our relatively small collective bubble of perception as a human race within a vast universe.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-28397733104588883682016-06-22T08:30:00.001+01:002016-07-26T09:29:08.277+01:00Between The Lines<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>COLOURING</b>. Every school child's favourite past time has finally entered the socially acceptable realms of adulthood, with adult tailored colouring books becoming an ever more common hobby for people of all ages. Having just finished a super chaotic and time consuming second year of university, I have suddenly found myself with a huge abundance of free time, much more than I really know what to do with. On those rather annoying muggy and thundery rainy days that we seem to have all too often during the summer months, it can be all too tempting to spend the entire day in the comfort of your own home glued to a screen watching Netflix or endlessly browsing the internet. Other than learning French, which is a whole other blog post by itself, I have tried to persuade myself to </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">crack out the colouring pencils and get scribbling away to keep preoccupied instead.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Colouring is one of those things that doesn't involve a whole lot of concentration (unless you're actually really terrible at staying between the lines like myself), making it the perfect thing to carry out while watching Youtube videos. Plus, considering all the equipment you need is the book and a pack of colouring pencils, it's easy to carry around for a boring commute. It may just be me, but sometimes when you're watching TV you have this urge to be doing something productive like colouring while you're watching rather than just sitting there. Colouring is also a great stress relief, which is perfect considering that I have found that watching euro 2016 usually becomes a little (a lot) stressful, especially when you're supporting England and they continue to dominate games without scoring and thus dropping points and losing the group to Wales *sigh*.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I feel like I am probably jumping onto the bandwagon a little late but I can't help but like the way that there are literally no rules when it comes to colouring, except of course the unspoken rule of staying between the lines <b>at all costs</b>. If you wan't to create a rainbow donkey, then you bloomin' well create a rainbow donkey, it doesn't have to agree with the laws of logic or physics. I find that it teaches patience when you have to fill in each little individual shape, of which there are soooo many, with any colour of your choice to create an overall precise pattern that you are happy with. As a self proclaimed perfectionist I seem to be very particular with the way that I colour. Every colour that I use has to be within a particular theme, there can't be too many blocks of the same colour and every bit of pencil has to be within the lines. Nothing sends me into cringe mode more than seeing a colouring picture where somebody has deliberately coloured outside the lines.. arghhh. Colouring is also a really good creative outlet for somebody with the creative potential of a potato and who struggles to even draw something as simple as a stick man. After all, what can be considered as 'art' is a matter of perception, so technically I can pretend that I'm actually an artist for around 30 minutes until I inevitably do <i>something</i> wrong. A</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">lthough some of the better quality colouring books can cost a little more, colouring is a past time that doesn't cost an arm and a leg to undertake and is simple enough that anybody with arms (and potentially those without) can do!</span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-19441390462729852752016-04-18T09:37:00.002+01:002016-07-26T09:28:22.509+01:00Matalan Selvedge Jeans<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwMoKdOW6XOC1WyM7r2VAEtkTUeODGqjHP-TfQrQQEb37gp_UQr7kAcLvhQo-XdmG_PoXe5m7_MRxn300aaW8Ip-h1edW762sDwArHMT8-xlKDmwFTlAPNX2VWRz8cW0udw7yK2_aeQj9/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwMoKdOW6XOC1WyM7r2VAEtkTUeODGqjHP-TfQrQQEb37gp_UQr7kAcLvhQo-XdmG_PoXe5m7_MRxn300aaW8Ip-h1edW762sDwArHMT8-xlKDmwFTlAPNX2VWRz8cW0udw7yK2_aeQj9/s1600/3.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have been escaping to the nearby forest a lot recently when feeling stressed or in need of some serenity, so I decided that it would be the perfect backdrop for a spot of blog photography. There happens to be a beautiful lake where the wildlife is always so abundant at this time of year (we were constantly followed around by many a curious little squirrel) and being an outdoors person, sometimes spontaneous adventures accompanied by the immersion of sounds and scenery within nature can be the most peaceful escape from the real world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am the
first person to put my hands up and admit admit that I really need to expand and experiment more with my
wardrobe as a whole. I have become far too comfortable in the same old clothes
and it is usually an extremely rare occasion that I opt to wear
anything but black skinny jeans, mostly just because you can throw them on with
any outfit for ease and versatility (black literally seems to go with everything).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have read
a lot about selvedge jeans, and how they are supposed to be far superior in terms of quality than regular jeans, so<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>I was super
excited to try these selvedge denim jeans from Matalan. After such a long
period since the last time I actually ventured into the realm of denim, it was
a rather unusual feeling slipping into a much more robust pair of trousers, at
first feeling rather stiff and odd. The edges of the fabric in selvedge jeans are bound much more
tightly than regular jeans, which is supposed to prevent fraying and also makes
for a much more durable finish and feel. You can really tell a quality pair of
jeans when you literally have to break them in before you can actually regain
full movement in your legs and begin to walk around in them regularly, so after a few
laps of my bedroom, lunging into weird positions (and probably completely
embarrassing myself in front of the neighbours), they actually became a lot more comfortable. Although I usually go for the skinny style, I found that the slim actually fit surprisingly well and didn't look nearly as baggy as I thought they would.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In my
opinion simplicity is key when it comes to the aesthetics of jeans, there is no need for millions
of pockets that you're never going to use, or accessories that add nothing
but unnecessary faff and clutter. These jeans pull off simplicity
pretty well, comprising of the standard 5 pockets and a slightly lighter turn up at the bottom, allowing for an aspect of versatility and freedom in terms of styling. I have also found myself going through a bit of a jumper wearing phase at the moment, which I find are perfect
for both the hot and cold weather during the unpredictable spring temperatures we seem to be having recently, so
chose to compliment the darker bottom half with a contrasting ‘oatmeal’
coloured striped jumper to complete the perfect casual look.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.matalan.co.uk/product/detail/s2619027/breton-stripe-jumper" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Breton Stripe Jumper</a> - <b>Matalan</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.matalan.co.uk/product/detail/s2611264/selvedge-slim-fit-jeans" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Slim Slim Fit Selvedge Jeans</a> - <b>Matalan</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">High Tops - <b>Topman</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Disclaimer: Some items in this post were kindly gifted to me by Matalan, all opinions are my own.</span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-39283824700809538842016-03-27T12:16:00.000+01:002016-03-27T12:16:19.048+01:00Easter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghdGZDKddl-Gy8Z9HJOwsowaa2yyNf6eHwyEAr0Ogkay-NFn0aqLIUQrRDOk43Ablfop6Oih5YrdLkQUf-2Qub6hICAUho7dhzh0m_0Rf2c5vHfgqDwKUw9hBneTordzsb6MfaTegfDBGl/s1600/IMG_20160326_161906.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghdGZDKddl-Gy8Z9HJOwsowaa2yyNf6eHwyEAr0Ogkay-NFn0aqLIUQrRDOk43Ablfop6Oih5YrdLkQUf-2Qub6hICAUho7dhzh0m_0Rf2c5vHfgqDwKUw9hBneTordzsb6MfaTegfDBGl/s640/IMG_20160326_161906.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spring is finally on the horizon. It just so happens to be one of my favourite seasons (I'm still yet to make up my mind on which season takes the title of favourite) and I find it becomes so much easier to be happy and positive around this time of year. Everything just seems to suddenly become so much more invigorated and alive after a long, desolate winter period. Trees start to bud, flowers start to bloom, birds begin to build nests and the first hints of warmish sunny weather for a long ol' time start to creep beyond the clouds. Despite this, it does seem to be that awkward period of the year where one moment it's warm enough for tshirt weather and the next you're stuck in the middle of nowhere mid way through a tropical thunder storm with no coat. Thank god those longer, lighter evenings signal the ever closer arrival of summer.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Easter is probably most people's favourite bank holiday of the year, consisting of a long weekend away from work and school, a perfect excuse to indulge in far too much chocolate, and this weekend usually has more sun than the entirety of summer for some bizarre reason (thanks British weather).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why, when I was younger, I believed in a giant, magical white bunny who creeps into your house at night to hide chocolate eggs inside every cupboard and behind every piece of </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">furniture I will never know. It seems kinda odd to think about it as an adult, but I guess that's one of those things that you miss about being a kid, having such a vivid imagination of what the world is like, without the restrictions of logic or the laws of physics! I have really fond memories of Easter egg hunts around the garden with my family, desperately trying to figure out the hand-written note with riddles and clues as to where chocolately loot was hidden, running around frantically with a little wicker basket in my hand collecting everything remotely resembling chocolate.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I'm not going to lie, I was quite the Easter egg discoverer (and never so good at modesty) so o</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">bviously finding the most eggs will forever feel like some kind of momentous</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> triumph (of course I always shared them out with my siblings..ahem)..</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> but mum always seemed to have a good relationship with the Easter bunny, so he tended to come twice within one day, leading to two epic hunts and leaving me and my siblings with enough sugar to sink several battleships.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don't usually tend to eat a whole lot of chocolate, but when I do I'm definitely a dark chocolate kinda guy. This year we opted to create some Easter themed nest cakes, mostly an ideal recipe because they don't involve any baking, something that isn't really the strongest trait within my skill set, accompanied my annual intake of creme egg brownies. Brownies seem to be one of the hardest thing to get right in terms of baking, so anything that turns out even remotely aesthetically pleasing or edible looking is a triumph for me. I salute anyone who can make the perfect recipe every time, but one of my favourite things about baking is the imperfect nature of it, getting my hands dirty, the home-made look and that 'I made this myself' satisfaction when you finally finish the process, despite the quality of the final result! Some of my fondest memories are of baking with my nan when I was younger (or as I like to call her, the biscuit magician), getting more cake mixture on myself and up the walls than in the actual cake itself and ending up with a gloopy mess which probably tasted awful, but I was proud of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Happy Easter!</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-60382079827761535002016-03-04T17:13:00.003+00:002016-07-26T08:34:31.242+01:00I go to seek a great perhaps<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have always wondered what it would be like to have an epiphany, a sudden intuitive perception or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by a simple occurrence or experience, that was until today when</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> I seemed to have what I can only describe as a sudden realisation </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">about how short life actually is. Morbid I know, but bear with me. Sometimes we can all be found guilty of getting so caught up in wishing away time until the next weekend, next pay day or even just the end of Monday, that we forget that time is our most valuable commodity. Time can be the most precious and sought after resource of our lives, but also has the power to limit that same existence. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A lot of people seem to wander through life, doing just enough to survive as </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">one day effortlessly merges into the next, but </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">putting in little effort to actually make the most out of it. I don't want to be one of those people who realise how much they took time for granted only after it's too late to do anything about it. I don't want to grow up to an old age just to look back and regret all of the missed opportunities that I didn't take and experiences that I put off doing for fear of change and leaving my comfort zone, or being too scared to undertake something that has been deemed as not socially acceptable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For far too long I have found myself taking so much for granted and wasting so much time that could be better spent bettering myself and enjoying life, instead finding myself putting things off like I have plenty of time to do them in the future. This is the reason that I love those little experiences that you have every so often in life, something that you see, hear or feel that has such a profound effect on the way that you think and changes your entire outlook and perspective on life.. The only way I can describe it is the sudden bombardment of an overwhelming feeling of 'I need to go out and make the most of every moment before it's too late'.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These experiences can come in so many different forms and can occur at the most unexpected of times, like a brick wall of realisation striking you in right in the mind and especially in the feels until it literally is all that you can think about. I read a book yesterday, a book that most of you will probably be familiar with called Looking For Alaska, a book which I actually managed to finish within one single day because I was so engrossed in the storyline, characters and style of writing. Within this book was a quote that really struck me:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'</b><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>I go to seek a great perhaps</b></i><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We all have a great perhaps, something that we want to achieve or a life goal to conquer. A great perhaps doesn't just have to be the search for thrills, adventure and experiences, but it can also be the search for a more content state of mind and self, a sense of being complete or whole. It seems to be the point that pretty much everyone wants to achieve, when life feels exactly how it was meant to feel, where you can look back on your mistakes and decisions without wondering what perhaps could have been but instead realising that they made you who you are today. It can be that turning point in life where you realise that you things that you find yourself worrying about constantly, stopping you from living your life to the full, really aren't that important or relevant any more. It can be the moment in life where you finally discover yourself and an understanding of where we fit into this vast wide world of ours. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The harsh reality is that not everything is going to go your way all of the time. You may not have the best start in life, or find yourself in the most ideal of situations but that doesn't mean that you can't make the most out of everything that you do have, including all of those little things in life that most people take for granted. Do something with your life that makes a significant difference, not just to you but others around you. Put all of your energy, heart, mind and soul into getting the most that you possibly can out of each day, experience new things, visit new places, laugh uncontrollably, tell the girl that you have a crush on that she's pretty, start each day with a positive outlook on life and an open mind. Maybe were not supposed to live our lives in a state of anticipation of a great perhaps, but rather live for each and every moment as it happens. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-71899666768331465092016-01-15T17:05:00.000+00:002016-03-05T09:49:06.588+00:00Wealth vs Worth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The idea of wealth seems to be an ever growing factor contributing to how an ever increasing number of people in this world seem to determine their self worth, happiness or social status within society. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It has almost become a way of life to spend all of the money you have on luxury items such as cars, clothing and technology simply for external validation, to impress others and increase social status rather than for your own enjoyment or happiness.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you're starting out working life in your teens and into your early 20s, you begin to start thinking about which pathway that you are going to follow in life and the career that will ultimately determine how much money that you go on to earn as a result. As you gain more and more responsibilities, bills and contracts, the amount of money that you have in contrast to others begins to take a hold of your life. Friends, colleagues or even celebrities may earn more money than you, able to afford flash cars, twice yearly holidays and designer clothes while you're just dreading the struggle to scrape together enough pennies for that</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> next pesky rent payment. I think it's important to remember, it's not about how much money you make, but the life that you choose to lead with the money that you do have. As much as some may disagree, I am pretty much certain that money does not guarantee</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> happiness. Life is therefore all about the experiences and what you make of them, after all some of the best moments come at no cost at all. Money is not required to possess traits such as passion, creativity, positivity, perseverance, or to endlessly express emotions such as love, true friendship and laughter.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is so much more to life than money. I am a person who tends to value personal experiences and achievements much more than material items. Some of the fondest memories I have are my first time experiences like riding a bike and learning to drive, little travels along the beach and through the countryside and fun/adventures with all of the people that I have met along the journey, not the presents that I received for birthdays and Christmas each year or how much pocket money received compared to my friends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The harsh truth is that not everyone is born equal. I grew up alongside people who were considered a whole lot more wealthy than I was, which there is absolutely nothing wrong with. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Being completely honest I would be exactly the same as a parent, I want to treasure and spoil my future kids, give them everything that they dream of, but at the same time I wan't them to know what it feels like to earn something that you want and to learn that money and material items are not the be all and end all of life. That feeling of satisfaction when you finally save up enough money to buy that one special thing that you have wanted for ages means just as much as the ecstatic joy when you receive a good grade in school for a test that you revised so hard for. Being able to proudly say 'I achieved this all by myself' despite the obstacles that I had to overcome. I'm not going to lie, in hindsight I did spend a lot of my childhood feeling jealous of how lucky I considered my friends to be, but as I have grown older I have begun to realise that I had everything in abundance that I needed at my disposal for the best start in life. It is not your starting point that defines who you are as a person, it is what you do with your life and a measure of how far you have come as a person along the way that truly matters.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think what I'm trying to say is that the only thing holding back your happiness in life is your frame of mind and how you choose to live your life with what you have, not how many zeros are before the decimal point on your bank balance. I am a firm believer that the key to happiness is accepting where you are in life and making the most out of every day</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, whatever</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> situation you find yourself in, or however little money that you have. You only get one chance at this existence, so you may as well spend it doing things that make you happy.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-832370124922561012015-12-07T09:08:00.000+00:002016-07-26T09:31:41.223+01:00Winter Fashion ft. Burton<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">Fashion is
something that still seems a little bit foreign and exciting to me, especially
considering that I spent most of my younger years growing up in the same
hoodies, skinny jeans and those 'go to' old, tatty pair of trainers that
have seen better days. I have found
that experimenting with different clothing is so much fun and
provides the perfect excuse to purchase new clothes and get dressed up, even when
you don't have any specific occasions to attend!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I was
absolutely delighted when I was approached by</span><span class="apple-converted-space" style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;"> </span><a href="http://www.burton.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/TopCategoriesDisplay?storeId=12551&catalogId=33052" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><b>Burton</b></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">, who were kind enough to send me over their
new Trench coat, along with a few other items to style it with. I have
always wanted to purchase a trench coat but never really imagined that it would
suit myself, as I usually stay well within my comfort zone when it comes to
styling clothes. But, combined with the elegance of a roll neck jumper and
leather gloves, this outfit left me feeling smart, sleek and more James Bond
than Blogger James.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">I find that
trench coats are so versatile, really complimenting both formal and casual
attire. The added belt really helps create a streamlined look, while also being
lightweight and shower proof for wear in any weather condition. Button right up
to the top for an elegant and tidy finish, or add an extra layer to your
normal outfit with a more smart casual unbuttoned look (ngl I mainly like this
one because it feels like I'm wearing a cape when the wind is
blowing). Usually, I am terrified to go anywhere near anything remotely
light coloured with clothing as I am an absolute nightmare when it
comes to spilling things down myself, but I am so glad that I did because the
stone colour of the trench coat contrasts so well with the blacks and greys
within the rest of the outfit and allows me to move away from the temptation of
monochromes, helping to stand out from the crowd and add a little colour during
the winter months.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">The upper
half of the look is completed with a grey roll neck jumper, providing warmth
and simplicity without all of the faffing around involved with a scarf and
black leather gloves which I highly recommend getting as they keep
your hands much more toasty warm and comfortable than any regular wool gloves.
The bottom half is finished off with some skinny black jeans (surprise,
surprise!) and a stylish pair of Chelsea boots which I love so much that they
definitely deserve their own blog post!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.burton.co.uk/en/bruk/product/stone-shower-resistant-belted-trench-coat-4608005" target="_blank"><b>Stone Trench coat - </b>Burton</a><b> </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.burton.co.uk/en/bruk/product/grey-marl-roll-neck-jumper-4846978?geoip=noredirect&cmpid=ppc_pla_UK_ip&utm_medium=cpc&istCompanyId=2ce96ba2-dcd5-416e-9d2e-419beaae72b0&istItemId=mtiwmrrip&istBid=tztx&gclid=CjwKEAiA1o-zBRDomsWasvKh4S8SJADSlZkqLiBUS7gc05EqHk_y-5eHI5LRz20zRgVt-pJB7G101hoCA3zw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank"><b>Grey roll neck jumper - </b>Burton</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.burton.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?Nrpp=&viewAllFlag=false&beginIndex=1&langId=-1&productId=21976196&Ntt=black+leather+gloves&pageSize=20&Nty=1&catalogId=33052&Dy=1&pageNum=1&productIdentifierproduct=product&x=0&sort_field=Relevance&y=0&storeId=12551&qubitRefinements=siteId%3DBurtonUK" target="_blank"><b>Black leather gloves - </b>Burton</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.burton.co.uk/en/bruk/product/black-chelsea-boots-4668038?geoip=noredirect&cmpid=ppc_pla_UK_ip&utm_medium=cpc&istCompanyId=2ce96ba2-dcd5-416e-9d2e-419beaae72b0&istItemId=miptlmxim&istBid=tztx&gclid=CjwKEAiA1o-zBRDomsWasvKh4S8SJADSlZkq8Ixk-zXxuKR53u02mtJeBFOQJaikhtiUF5pxgEtU6xoCY3jw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds" target="_blank"><b>Black Chelsea boots - </b>Burton</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Black skinny jeans - </b>Primark</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Like the look? Purchase a trench coat from Burton <b><a href="http://www.burton.co.uk/en/bruk/category/clothing-281559/mens-jackets-coats-281568#pageSize=20&catalogId=33052&viewAllFlag=false&sort_field=Relevance&langId=-1&storeId=12551&categoryId=208983&pageNum=1&No=0&N=10225+10751&Nrpp=20&siteId=/12551&catId=208983&thirdCategoryId=1806126&beginIndex=1&endIndex=null&pageFlag=s_20&parent_categoryId=208974" target="_blank">here</a>!</b></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-72218182456106967682015-11-29T17:12:00.001+00:002016-07-26T09:33:10.443+01:00King of the Castle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sometimes we get so caught up in the ever evolving era of technology and modern ways of living that we forget to take time out to go back and visit our roots, finding out just what our ancestors got up to all those years ago. I am so fortunate to live in such a contrasting city when it comes to integrating modern living with the historic architecture of the past. Lincoln castle was built by William the conqueror in hundreds of years ago in the 11th century and just stepping inside the grounds is like being transported into a different time era. It's actually hard to believe that the castle would once have housed a king and would have been bustling with life inside of the walls.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After spending a few moments admiring the picturesque backdrop, we decided to take a walk along the old and incredibly photogenic castle walls, something that I actually quite enjoyed considering that I am absolutely terrified of heights and it was pretty darn windy (typical Lincolnshire weather unfortunately), but it was totally worth it for such breathtaking panoramic views of the surrounding cathedral, city and countryside. The peacefulness and serenity really helps you to forget about the stresses of life for a few moments and indulge in the feeling of being on</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> top of the world.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I absolutely love history and finding out more about the world around us. I actually see myself as part of this lucky generation who were born early enough to experience the simplicity of life before the sudden technology boom but late enough to see all of the wonderful benefits of modernisation and technology in the 21st century, although I do always secretly wish that smart people would hurry up and invent a time machine so that I could go back and see what life was like before I was born. Whether you are interested in finding out more about the past, or just want a picturesque backdrop for photographs, then I definitely recommend visiting Lincoln!</span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-88390464516172842182015-11-08T08:17:00.000+00:002016-03-05T09:49:46.568+00:00Twenty One<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As you may or may not know I happened to hit the ripe old age of 21 a few days ago. Oh how time seems to fly by.. I have been roaming around on this earth for 21 whole years, something that seems so surreal to say considering that it only feels like yesterday I was celebrating my 16th birthday. I can confirm that being 21 doesn't really feel drastically different from being 20 other than the fact I can legally adopt a child, become a pilot and enjoy a gambling trip to Vegas (one for the bucket list), but a 21st birthday is considered as quite a momentous milestone in England, usually signifying the daunting but exciting beginning to adult life, even though (believe it or not) I have obviously been doing plenty of independent *grown-up* like things for a while now, especially since starting university a year ago.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">The 20's seem to have become this period of discovery in life for finding one's self, the time to truly uncover who you are now and what you want to become in the future while you are still young and relatively free from responsibilities. Like many other young adults I personally have no idea what I want to do with my life, it feels so daunting to think about committing yourself to this future pathway which will determine careers, finances, relationships and ultimately your happiness. As a young adult the world is your oyster, you are not obligated to stick to the same pathway, change is always possible. I believe that we were all put onto this earth to follow our own personal dreams and aspirations, no matter what age you happen to be when you finally set your heart on one particular thing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Naturally there have been many ups and downs throughout the years but I truly feel like I have learnt so many life lessons from my younger years, growing enormously both in confidence and maturity to become the person that I am today. As you grow older you start to realise that certain aspects of life are all about quality over quantity, I feel like I am actually starting to surround myself with people in my life who really matter, I am so lucky to have such a supportive and loving family, motivating and caring friends and to be part of such an inspiring blogging community, a hobby that I didn't expect to find so much enjoyment and comfort in when I first started a couple of years ago. One of the best things about having a blog is being able to share certain milestones and achievements within life and look back every now and again to reminisce in all of the memories that you have collected over the years.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">I actually quite like the person that I am right now, which is definitely not something I would have been able to say a few years ago. Obviously there is still so much more growing up and learning to do. This is only the beginning of a great journey, I look forward to seeing what the future has in store for me, hopefully the best is yet to come!</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-3799840522680371682015-11-03T07:56:00.000+00:002016-03-05T09:50:03.335+00:00Confidence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">Self-confidence is defined as a feeling of trust in one's abilities, qualities and judgement. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I often find myself in this constant and frustrating battle with my mind when it comes to portraying a sense of confidence in social situations and maintaining a certain level of self-belief in myself as a person. It's a difficult feeling to describe, almost like you desperately want to throw yourself into social situations, try new things and conquer new challenges in life but you're being held back in your comfort zone by these doubts about self worth and ability.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I always try to have this positive mentality when it comes to life</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, to use other people's success and amazing talents as a form of motivation to inspire and better myself as a person, but despite this I find that sometimes I see others achieve things that I see as far beyond anything that I could ever muster up and I begin to lose confidence in my own ability. I have always been a perfectionist at everything that I attempt in life, and all of my fellow perfectionists out there will know that it can sometimes make everything </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">seem so hopelessly tedious and frustrating, especially when you can't help but compare yourself to other people. Seeing someone do, create, have or achieve something far superior to what I believe that I can really intimidates me, whether it happens to be blogging or life related.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another struggle that I have in life, and have been too ashamed to admit for far too long, is that this real anxiety when it comes to social situations, especially when feeling overly tired and stressed (which happens to be a lot when you're a student), and I feel like this constantly holds me back when it comes to both blogging and life in general. I sometimes feel like I put on this appearance of fake confidence when it comes to approaching strangers, getting along with people and social situations but I lack this self confidence when it comes to my personality, image, and overthinking the way that I portray myself which leads to me constantly declining exciting and probably enjoyable opportunities, even ones related to blogging, on a daily basis because of this tiny fear at the back of my mind of being judged or embarrassing myself, which can also become super frustrating. I always joke that I could literally write a long book on 'how to be awkward in social situations' using all of the experience that I have but sadly it is true, and I always get it into my head that this will decrease my likeability as a person and a blogger. I tend to shy away from most social situations where possible and live life well within my comfort zone which can become a real lonely way to exist if you let it overcome you. I do suffer from the same fear of missing out as other people but just lack the conviction and confidence to do anything about it because of this little anxiety at the back of my mind, holding me back from getting the most out of life... and I want that to change.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">*takes a deep breath*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">...and now to the positive section of the blog post.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I want to make a commitment to myself.. well several commitments actually. It may seem like such easy promises to make to yourself for some people but I see it as little achievable goals to accomplish one baby step at a time, in order to take control of my life and making myself a much happier person in the process.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>1.</b> I am determined to stop worrying so much about what other people think and trying to seek this external validation from others to determine my self worth as a person. In fact, to stop worrying so much in general. I waste so much of my life thinking about the repercussions</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> of my actions and the things that could go wrong in situations in the future which haven't even happened yet, rather than just taking a step back and actually enjoying living in the moment. I have slowly begun to realise that the most important thing in life is the ability to achieve happiness. As long as you are genuinely happy and content with everything in your life, no matter how big or how small, then who really cares about anybody else's opinion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><b>2.</b> I will overcome my anxiety towards social situations and actively try to become more social and outgoing, even if it means gradually easing myself into it because practice makes perfect right? At the end of the day, nobody is perfect and most of the time everyone has enough insecurities about themselves to worry too much about any of yours. It's sounds so cliché but I am a strong believer of just being yourself and like-minded people will gravitate towards you.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>3.</b> It is my goal to try and find the positives, even in the most negative of situations. Every failure or mistake is an invaluable lesson learnt and everything in life happens for a reason. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just because the past didn't turn out how you wanted, doesn't mean that your future cant be better than you ever imagined.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>4.</b> I will challenge myself to become more outgoing, say yes to a lot more opportunities and start experiencing more of the wonders of life while I'm still young and free from those pesky little commitments that come along as you begin to grow older. Life doesn't have to be taken so seriously all of the time, they say that those unexpected and spontaneous experiences are always the best and most of the time, when you take a chance and leave your comfort zone, you will end up thanking yourself for it later.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><i><u><sub><sup><strike><br /></strike></sup></sub></u></i></b></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";">You may also like: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial";"><a href="http://www.bloggerjames.co.uk/2015/06/how-to-be-more-confident.html" target="_blank"><b>How To Be More Confident</b></a> / <a href="http://www.bloggerjames.co.uk/2015/04/a-personal-letter-to-my-younger-self.html" target="_blank"><b>A Letter To My Younger Self</b></a> / <a href="http://www.bloggerjames.co.uk/2015/03/stereotypes.html" target="_blank"><b>Sterotypes</b></a></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-46085405022373172282015-07-14T12:47:00.001+01:002016-03-05T09:50:16.544+00:00Super Scrumptious Summer Smoothie<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJe7DwH94xGj0vPUaiWnny-GnOnMPycRquMDjJdmzzELHo0Bk_tG5QOhuI8p_07iaptH4gpYR1WF2cJyupQh07lVJA735ot-8IGlT2QRWv5cqdbFZT6vD1FsxG8S6GZPn48qAmpJvfLE2G/s1600/IMG_3068+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJe7DwH94xGj0vPUaiWnny-GnOnMPycRquMDjJdmzzELHo0Bk_tG5QOhuI8p_07iaptH4gpYR1WF2cJyupQh07lVJA735ot-8IGlT2QRWv5cqdbFZT6vD1FsxG8S6GZPn48qAmpJvfLE2G/s640/IMG_3068+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think that I have gone a little smoothie mad. I have become obsessed with trying out new combinations and finding that perfect balance between looks, taste and healthiness to get more fruity goodness into my diet! Today I'm coming at you with another of my favourite smoothie recipes for you to try out and enjoy for yourself, because</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> it really is too good not to share. This smoothie contains absolutely perfect ingredients to provide you with the most delicious and tasty refreshment on a hot, summer day, while also maintaining a super healthy kick.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Green tea powder is super healthy but it also manages to turn everything into a slightly greenish brown coloured concoction, resulting in something that may not seem much in terms of aesthetics, but is totally a sacrifice worth making for such a genuinely amazing tasting drink, packed full of antioxidants. Plus, everything green automatically means more healthy right?! I would even put it out there that it is probably the best tasting smoothie I have ever made, and I have made a few!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There are only 6 simple ingredients needed to create this smoothie:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- Pineapple</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- Apple </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- Spinach </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">- Matcha Green Tea Powder</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Strawberries are not only for accompanying avid tennis watchers during Wimbledon season, they are pretty much the fruity symbol of British summer, not to mention delicious, while pineapple really adds a delightful tropical twist. Spinach forms a large part of my diet, so I am always looking to sneak it in to different recipes in different ways in order to add a little excitement into the same old ingredients. This dark leafy green provides a tonne of protein, iron and minerals which are important for healthy skin, hair and bones! </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I would really recommend introducing some of these summery ingredients to the realms of your freezer or adding ice before blending to provide you with an incredibly satisfying, extra slushy, cooling texture, perfect for that warm summer evening! (warning: will most probably result in brain freeze).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRm7WuZi4RddwrwEt3XbgkTZpNB-hyUr_YE9bwkejYHfFL7fbrV1ad5ZKaiLcKb8J-KmwjrHx85YVxU0ddmQrSldx4CYvWDq4EWvGQXmBtnuUYdQ40c7iB2K7w1uA7n6vdlhXdv5ALltDu/s1600/IMG_3049+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRm7WuZi4RddwrwEt3XbgkTZpNB-hyUr_YE9bwkejYHfFL7fbrV1ad5ZKaiLcKb8J-KmwjrHx85YVxU0ddmQrSldx4CYvWDq4EWvGQXmBtnuUYdQ40c7iB2K7w1uA7n6vdlhXdv5ALltDu/s640/IMG_3049+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I usually drink smoothies as a healthy snack to keep away all of those pesky food cravings which never seem let me have a moments rest (damn you fast metabolism!) and have recently been accompanying them with nakd bars, which have become like my new addiction. If you have never had a nakd bar before, they are a range of healthy gluten free snack bars made from natural ingredients, pressed together rather than being baked. A lot of healthy snacks seem to taste rather earthy, bland or raw which is why it is so nice to find a genuinely great tasting and guilt free alternative.They come in a variety of unique little flavours, my personal favourite being the cocoa crunch (although bakewell tart does come in at a close second), the perfect substitute for a chocolate bar and packed full of protein for post gym nutrients.Together, this is a combination that provides you with a low calorie and healthy but completely scrumptious snack alternative!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjc20J1IZGQUxWOVg7Upo1HN9yDQvz4Bd_G7VMBs3ttwi07poaD-jEEuJGwYcr4ljAqklgaazhGsCeZb8qjNf9xkp7NUEUAkxPdU20mlweSyElQUp_pazPCb6iHuE6SWqE2S8CyeUl9tVR/s1600/smoothie3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjc20J1IZGQUxWOVg7Upo1HN9yDQvz4Bd_G7VMBs3ttwi07poaD-jEEuJGwYcr4ljAqklgaazhGsCeZb8qjNf9xkp7NUEUAkxPdU20mlweSyElQUp_pazPCb6iHuE6SWqE2S8CyeUl9tVR/s640/smoothie3.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "freestyle script"; font-size: 37.3333320617676px; line-height: 39.9466667175293px;">James </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You may also like:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bloggerjames.co.uk/2015/02/super-healthy-smoothie-recipe.html" target="_blank"><b>Berry Smoothie Recipe</b></a> / <a href="http://www.bloggerjames.co.uk/2015/02/blend-active-review.html" target="_blank"><b>Blend Active Review</b></a> / <b><a href="http://www.bloggerjames.co.uk/2015/04/making-creme-egg-brownies.html" target="_blank">Creme Egg Brownies</a> </b></span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-85479103841593334192015-07-01T12:36:00.002+01:002016-03-05T09:50:46.731+00:00My Smartest Student Storage Tips<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As many of you will know, I am in fact a student, a self-confessed messy and disorganised one at that. I can usually be found buried under a mound of mess which
makes it so hard to concentrate and focus on simple tasks such as revision and
blogging. To help this, I have teamed up with <a href="https://www.storageking.co.uk/" target="_blank"><b>Storage King</b></a> to come up with and research some neat little storage tips, something that actually really tested my imagination and creativity, and share them with you guys to help us all achieve a more organised and stress free life.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Penny For Your Thoughts<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ever needed a creative storage idea for all of that money that
you probably don’t have, to satisfy that wanderlust with travel, for drinks on that next student night out or just to save for the
future? Well whatever little adventure that you have in mind, here is a
simple solution for you. There are literally a plethora of things that you can
do with an old jar, the least of which is store all of that loose change, to
save it getting pinched off of the side by those pesky penny grabbers (every
penny counts when you’re a student)! </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It is so tempting to fall into the ‘oh it’s only small
change, I may as well just spend it’ trap, but after a while the small change all
adds up. Make sure that you have a target or goal in mind and a specific place
to keep all of those extra pound coins, even a simple jar will do, to get into
the saving frame of mind rather than impulse buying and burning a deep hole in
your pocket!</span></div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCT9YiOHi4piiFR-e-VlMH1g9s1zEtLFX7H6KBxwo3fBNtOobfVnxurqiAownUuv31RrjkWtPtItM2mke7Vf-bZ4Xi_oFTtwnE5wUpXsKs34oT_OTiV5MNC1djcr15S-MTaK7UgYwz4SB/s1600/IMG_3169+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNCT9YiOHi4piiFR-e-VlMH1g9s1zEtLFX7H6KBxwo3fBNtOobfVnxurqiAownUuv31RrjkWtPtItM2mke7Vf-bZ4Xi_oFTtwnE5wUpXsKs34oT_OTiV5MNC1djcr15S-MTaK7UgYwz4SB/s400/IMG_3169+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Solution Is Tape<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I first saw this brilliant idea on Pinterest, the fountain of all
creative knowledge and wisdom, and just had to steal it for myself.
Self-adhesive magnetic tape has so many uses, my favourite of which is to store
all those little manscaping tools that always seem to go missing from the bathroom cabinet. I have
also been informed by my sister that it is great for keeping track of those weird hair clip things that I always seem to find lying around the house.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjXVg7zStikxFcD1isIvSP0phnIG6cj1XbYIx4fZXmvWgGkC1KaGMjJWsvLzNzPXCZjKYJZ78XYulzYfywat3Ygg53rT1DHU_dpsatIzSuiyuHMGrQP21TsvAQLekaBMn7-VD5vn4mGoW/s1600/magnetic+tape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXjXVg7zStikxFcD1isIvSP0phnIG6cj1XbYIx4fZXmvWgGkC1KaGMjJWsvLzNzPXCZjKYJZ78XYulzYfywat3Ygg53rT1DHU_dpsatIzSuiyuHMGrQP21TsvAQLekaBMn7-VD5vn4mGoW/s400/magnetic+tape.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Hanging Around</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I feel like my shoe collection has been steadily growing out
of control and before long I will be drowning in a sea of trainers and
high-tops. I don't really have a whole lot of storage space at university, so
my shoes tend to be left pretty much wherever they fall off of my feet and safe to
say that I have tripped over a few times (a lot), so a solution was well needed. That’s
when I stumbled upon the idea of modifying hangers to store your shoes, which
has saved me a whole lot of space and my knees a whole lot of pain. This is such a simple but effective idea (If I, the least creative person in the world, can do this then so can you) and you can let your
imaginative mind run wild and decorate the hangers with whatever you like to
give them a theme more suited to your personal taste. Just cut the hanger in the middle, bend round the sides like in the photo, decorate and hang on those shoes, simples!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJiocotACOsYPfHC3OSPv6eGYAuPDsQGQ8dPhEAmrHQFcMqk8a2S9N0afHW7lyJ-JnS4dSe7w8uyusXCUJA1F_h8zb4HgTWy82pPAtx3AeB2_gJTlWoWrxUjgoD80cgyiKUnZ9BzoS8eB/s1600/IMG_3129+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNJiocotACOsYPfHC3OSPv6eGYAuPDsQGQ8dPhEAmrHQFcMqk8a2S9N0afHW7lyJ-JnS4dSe7w8uyusXCUJA1F_h8zb4HgTWy82pPAtx3AeB2_gJTlWoWrxUjgoD80cgyiKUnZ9BzoS8eB/s400/IMG_3129+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpCvtqpQImgrrZdkkyCEICcJJRcnkJmqUrZ46vS-_2tePyGetZs0BjrS8QdF6GZyKBVzubf49m0dK_BLCqyNYmgm_q6fXX_ZKaU35Evd4hzoLDV-6CEF9QTkUoexJp5DYXH5bdoRzuursN/s1600/IMG_3141+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpCvtqpQImgrrZdkkyCEICcJJRcnkJmqUrZ46vS-_2tePyGetZs0BjrS8QdF6GZyKBVzubf49m0dK_BLCqyNYmgm_q6fXX_ZKaU35Evd4hzoLDV-6CEF9QTkUoexJp5DYXH5bdoRzuursN/s400/IMG_3141+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Sit Back And Recharge Those Batteries</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think it
will always be one of life’s little mysteries as to why wires such as
headphones and phone chargers are forever becoming tangled up, no matter how
hard that you try to avoid the inevitable. I suffer from the ‘my phone charger
always falls out, leading to my phone alarm not going off and oversleeping’
dilemma, which was so easily solved after a little tumblr surfing, using a few
binder clips. Binder clips are so cheap,
you can usually find them laying around the place in offices and schools (yay,
free!) and they are also perfect for creating you very own charger station so you never have to untangle those troublesome wires again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNB7QKiWa2rPxeiDh04hv6N1bFMGE4BFlNUoO-WHU2qZsVX5_vtpSqRSoTDS_LHdWGB-lVbcSTe_eoT-6UYy_o9ynJsKy9vJedxDIOCuubovgtPR6Vgi5T7YzXa1g5CrQvayLz5II0RLmG/s1600/binderclips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNB7QKiWa2rPxeiDh04hv6N1bFMGE4BFlNUoO-WHU2qZsVX5_vtpSqRSoTDS_LHdWGB-lVbcSTe_eoT-6UYy_o9ynJsKy9vJedxDIOCuubovgtPR6Vgi5T7YzXa1g5CrQvayLz5II0RLmG/s400/binderclips.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Protect Yo Bling<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am forever losing jewellery, probably due to those pesky
jewellery goblins who always seem to move it around from where you leave it (that’s
what I tell myself anyway). This is easily solved with this unique little ‘bird
bath’ jewellery holder purchased from BHS a while ago, which is the perfect way to store your necklaces, earrings or
rings in a neat and stylish manner. I have seen many different designs and animal
combinations on this concept and it looks great sitting on the side, also
making it the ideal birthday or Christmas gift!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnch3kA-Iuju6hgLgPR0BLN7VD1QFMhYAb4k-ln15Aoy2a7DfDqzdkBOdkoj7KsZJPwP2pYX2DJEN-G1rlBOYPhCMGWR9lFNPJ-I3OLZqI2sjqoP6R6R2cHsGGbJVhpTp1QdP_rWyGMnh/s1600/IMG_3154+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSnch3kA-Iuju6hgLgPR0BLN7VD1QFMhYAb4k-ln15Aoy2a7DfDqzdkBOdkoj7KsZJPwP2pYX2DJEN-G1rlBOYPhCMGWR9lFNPJ-I3OLZqI2sjqoP6R6R2cHsGGbJVhpTp1QdP_rWyGMnh/s400/IMG_3154+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUmeLmY9x-0Se3SeWy_xXQLEeK5S8whGUqsBbOZpm2aEJLvOTCuFghb94qDWOYEDpIDb7HpRKtM-WkJme_m5vGD3muPl5lc4ylH9x_76o0Jjr7Vmbga1yYDgf6FryvXXLgdzrFger4TlV/s1600/IMG_3159+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeUmeLmY9x-0Se3SeWy_xXQLEeK5S8whGUqsBbOZpm2aEJLvOTCuFghb94qDWOYEDpIDb7HpRKtM-WkJme_m5vGD3muPl5lc4ylH9x_76o0Jjr7Vmbga1yYDgf6FryvXXLgdzrFger4TlV/s400/IMG_3159+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Power Of Magnets</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In a student kitchen you’re more than likely going to be living with
untidy people (or you are one yourself), so it is pretty easy to become
overwhelmed with mess and find yourself lacking space, especially considering
you will undoubtedly have about a million of every piece of kitchen equipment
possible! When you find that you have metallic cutting utensils coming out of your ears,
cluttering up the cutlery draws and creating an overall dangerous and disorderly
mess in the kitchen, I highly recommend investing in a magnetic knife rack to
store some of that clutter and impress everyone with your nifty organisation skills.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3xpjZ6MKTkm9JDlZKOjNg4JuXBU9Wbp6J65YAs2YyY4k4E9Wk8S4B3qrq7ijl7aO-OEWOQjcVv42ePHMMNHTkN-3Cl2awlkC5jWradbXVetQvbH1VJUIu4nloKkO4oTJ2MoFl9_LtNiZe/s1600/knife+rack.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3xpjZ6MKTkm9JDlZKOjNg4JuXBU9Wbp6J65YAs2YyY4k4E9Wk8S4B3qrq7ijl7aO-OEWOQjcVv42ePHMMNHTkN-3Cl2awlkC5jWradbXVetQvbH1VJUIu4nloKkO4oTJ2MoFl9_LtNiZe/s400/knife+rack.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Think Smart, Think Ahead</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I drink a hell’a lot of smoothies these days, so actually thinking
ahead and pre-making them is something that saves me a lot of time and effort
on a daily basis. Sometimes buying fruit, chopping and preparing, as well as blending it
down into a tasty pulp can be quite time consuming, especially if you live a
super busy lifestyle. I find it really helps to have a handy little jar or
container to store a few servings in advance for a quick and easy way to satisfy your
fruity cravings.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9JIm9gf1eDBCkiFW3Coxcg2u9WbdW6s9KxDCkMKiWgwVqMx5jceNrlo16eScEQAvoGeb4LGiM0uWiWzrkADLI_MIZXd6wbAoGc_2QXQz9x6q85id-nsX_3L2oTrfEA2d8KSmM5vVgzI7/s1600/IMG_3176+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ9JIm9gf1eDBCkiFW3Coxcg2u9WbdW6s9KxDCkMKiWgwVqMx5jceNrlo16eScEQAvoGeb4LGiM0uWiWzrkADLI_MIZXd6wbAoGc_2QXQz9x6q85id-nsX_3L2oTrfEA2d8KSmM5vVgzI7/s400/IMG_3176+%25282%2529.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>The Kings Of Storage</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you are in need of a simple, safe and easy access storage solution for your personal, business or even student belongings then <a href="https://www.storageking.co.uk/" target="_blank"><b>Storage King</b></a> could be super helpful for you. Nobody likes dragging every little bit of luggage to and from university every term, running out of stock in your shop because you have nowhere to store it or lugging everything round nan's house while you redecorate the house. Storage King offer flexible storage space, from large lockers to storerooms in order to suit your individual needs and solve all of your storage problems. You can find their website <a href="http://www.storageking.co.uk/" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Phew, after using every ounce of my creative ability, I'm hoping that these little space saving tips and tricks help to to become more oragnised, let me know if you have any nifty storage ideas which make your life a whole lot easier!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "freestyle script"; font-size: 37.3333320617676px; line-height: 39.9466667175293px;">James </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.spaceslide.co.uk/blog/15-simple-space-saving-techniques-for-your-home/#sthash.JKWW0Wkx.dpbs" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Magnetic Tape Photo Source</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazinginteriordesign.com/15-cord-management-life-hacks-for-no-more-tangled-wires/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Binder Clip Charger Station Photo Source</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You may also like:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.bloggerjames.co.uk/2015/06/how-to-be-more-confident.html" target="_blank"><b>How to Become More Confident</b> </a>/ <b><a href="http://www.bloggerjames.co.uk/2015/05/simple-guide-to-happier-and-healthier.html" target="_blank">Guide To A Happier And Healthier Lifestyle</a> </b></span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-85938767084633503552015-06-18T17:18:00.003+01:002016-03-05T09:52:17.456+00:00Life In A Nutshell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It's been far too long. I feel like I haven't had a chance to catch up with myself recently, to allow myself to freely express the feelings and thoughts going through my mind, while also sharing little snippets of my life with my blog, which also happens to be one of my favourite things to write about. So this is it, this is my life lately, grab a cup of tea, pack of biscuits and settle down into some place comfortable.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I finished my first year of university</b>. It feels like the year of the fresher has absolutely flown by, until I think back and remember just how much I have achieved in the short space of 9 months. Attending university begins as a huge change, you suddenly find yourself in this foreign city, surrounded by strangers and with this new found responsibility and independence to actually survive on your own. The saying that you never quite realise how lucky you until you lose something that you take for granted until it's gone has never been more true when you take into consideration all of the washing, cooking and cleaning that you now have to juggle along with studying, exercising and socialising. Things can seem a little daunting, but the independence that you gain from this experience will help you huge amounts to further yourself in life. I have come out the other side with a First class grade, better cooking skills, the actual ability to iron, professional moaning about coursework skills and a really close bunch of friends as well as some amazing experiences and memories that I can hopefully extend upon going into my second year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Work Work Work</b>. Since finishing university I have gone back to my little part time job working as a waiter at a little country hotel nearby to where I live. Although I think it is perceived as an 'easy' job, I think a lot of people can underestimate how difficult being a waiter can be sometimes, especially due to the physical as well as mental challenges of the job (being on your feet all day is exhausting)! Also having to employ 'the customer is always right' even though 99% of the time the customer is most definitely not right, can become rather tedious. On the positive side, I feel like this job has given me the self confidence and ability to properly speak to new people, without feeling shy or reserved, purely down to the practice and throwing myself into that awkward situation of making conversation with someone that I will probably never see again, so it doesn't matter if I happen to mess up! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I'm learning to drive. </b>Finally, after 20 years of existence as a human, I actually had my first driving lesson today and you'll be happy to know that it went so much better than I expected. I try and go into each new challenge or experience in life with an open, positive frame of mind and find that it really helps me to learn new things quickly and have the confidence to push myself where others may hesitate. We started off going through some of the basics within the car such as adjusting the seat and getting used to which button or pedal performed which function before setting off. The gears are quite hard to get used to to begin with (such as not accidentally changing into forth instead of second and stalling) but with a bit of practice, you eventually get the hang of it. I actually picked it up so quickly that we decided to try the main road, junctions and even a roundabout it my first lesson (roundabouts are a lot less terrifying than they may seem, trust me) which I was honestly quite proud of myself for. Watch out world, you'll be seeing a lot more of me on the road in the future!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I have been saying yes to a lot more opportunities recently. </b>I do, like so many other people out there, suffer from this FOMO (fear of missing out) but it is usually overwhelmed by a lack of self confidence that stops me from trying new things or seeing new places as often as I would like to for fear of leaving the safety of my comfort zone. Recently, I have been trying to push myself out of this little shell that I have constructed around myself and see more of the world around me, experience things that I never would have considered before, while constantly reminding myself that life doesn't go on forever, however much we may want it to, and that I will regret later those opportunities that I turned down while I am young and free with less commitments holding me down. I have lots of plans to travel and I really hope that I am able to attend some form of blogger event in the near future which, although waaay out of my comfort zone, will allow me to meet loads of new and like-minded people!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>I have become addicted to Marvel: Agents of Shield</b>. I have recently become a TV series junkie, plowing through episode after episode of each series and finishing them within a few days to the point where I have to start rationing myself episodes so that I don't finish them too quickly and get sad. It all started with <i>The Walking Dead</i> and <i>American Horror Story</i>, both of which satisfied my love for horror, before moving on to <i>Game of Thrones</i> and now <i>Marvel: Agents of Shield. </i>I am self a self-confessed superhero and more specifically marvel geek, pretty much being able to quote each film, own posters and even have a collection of marvel socks *hangs head in geeky shame* so finding out that there was more of the marvel universe to sink my teeth into brought me endless amounts of happiness. I highly recommend all of these TV series, but watch at your own risk, addiction is pretty much guaranteed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I hope that you are all enjoying the beginning of summer, I have lots of exciting blog projects coming up, but always love to go back to reading and writing these personal, informal and relatable little update type posts.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "freestyle script"; font-size: 37.3333320617676px; line-height: 39.9466667175293px;">James </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-86984512628248624862015-06-12T12:29:00.000+01:002016-03-05T09:52:38.597+00:00Space - Dream, Imagine, Wonder<div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every little kid seems to want to grow up to be an influential world leader, famous celebrity, renown Pokémon master or even a power ranger, but when I was younger it was my absolute dream to become an astronaut, to embark on my own space missions and undertake a voyage of the stars, becoming the Christopher Columbus of space and discovering new worlds, alien races and find answers to those age old questions that have pondered the minds of some of the greatest thinkers in history, still remaining unanswered to this day. I think that it is within the human nature to have a burning fascination with the unknown, spending our lives craving and gaining knowledge, learning about the world and universe around us and bettering the mind in the most incredible ways.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a kid I would use my imagination to build spaceships out of cardboard boxes and make space helmets out of plastic bags (which in hindsight probably wasn't the best idea) and I still love reading space novels about the future and science fiction movies, both of which allow me to escape the reality of every day life and live this childhood dream of exploring space, even just for a fraction of time. I hope that I live long enough to witness at least the beginning of space exploration and the abyss beyond, I was even a little tempted to apply for the controversial and highly unlikely 'Mars mission' not so long ago, which may seem like such a ridiculous idea because who wants to throw themselves into a one way mission to a barren red rock in the sky, taking 2 years inside a tiny spacecraft, and putting yourself millions of miles away from civilization, breathable air and your loved ones? I think this leads back to the indescribable burning feeling of wanderlust and the need for adventure and exploration deep within myself combined with the thrill of danger and the unknown. I think it would be incredible to make history as the first adventurer of space, being the first human being to set foot on another planet, maybe even the first of many in the future.. You would be required to start a whole new life, create a whole new civilization, plant crops, experiment, explore and pave the way for space exploration in the future.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">By this point I think that it is fairly safe to say that I have a little fascination for space. I sometimes look up at the sky and wonder what is actually out there. Are we alone? Is there somebody else out there millions of miles away on another planet looking up at the same sky and pondering the same question? </span>I still get that feeling of young and captivating joy when thinking about how absolutely incredible it is that every single little glowing orb carpeting the night sky is in fact it's own huge gas giant of a star, billions of light years away. Every single one of these unique stars has an important place in the universe and contains it's own little complex solar system, surrounded by huge masses of space rock that we like to call planets, consisting of all shapes, sizes and chemical make ups. Now that is a lot of planets, sitting there, waiting to be discovered and explored. I am one of those people that does believe that there must be some form of life out there in the vast universe other than ourselves, if it has managed to happen once, against all odds, then surely it has the potential to occur again in the same perfect conditions right?! It may not be intelligent life with complex ecosystems, an economical system or even basic knowledge of the universe, but simple organisms is exactly where we began too all those millions of years ago here on planet Earth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The two things that make me the most sad is that my childhood dream of becoming an astronaut will most most probably never come true and even the human race as a whole will not explore space for many more years to come, perhaps never venturing beyond our own solar system.. at least for the long foreseeable future, due to physical restraints on technology and the relatively short human life span compared to how long it would take to travel millions of miles across the universe. Until then, I guess I will just have to make do with looking up at the sky and dreaming up my own theories of what the dark realms of space beyond our little atmosphere is like. Sometimes finding out the truth doesn't live up to our high expectations, so maybe it is better that way, leaving the imagination to run wild.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-72646499400485786242015-06-10T09:24:00.000+01:002016-07-26T08:35:02.449+01:00How To Become More Confident<div style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A lack of confidence is something that pretty much everyone has struggled
with at some point in their life, young or old. I have experienced what it
feels like to have absolutely zero confidence as I used to be the most socially
awkward person possible, mostly due to me having no self confidence in myself and
retreating into my own little shell. I would tend to avoid confrontation with
people unless it was absolutely necessary and prefer my own company over that
of others. This lead me to ultimately be lonely and feel rather depressed, not
to mention all the opportunities I missed out on as I would just turn down
amazing life experiences all the time, not because I didn't want to try new
things or go out. I wanted to more than anything. I just felt trapped, like I
couldn't. There was one particular day where I was struck by a sort of
enlightenment moment and it really hit me hard to think that life is too short
to keep missing out on these opportunities to enjoy myself and that I wasn't
making the most of life as it was flying by. I was determined to become more
socially active and to improve my confidence and nothing was going to stop me.
The little secret is that absolutely anybody has the ability to be forward and
confident, you just have to find it within yourself, and I spent a lot of time
researching the best methods to be confident and feel generally more happy and
I really want to share this to help as many people as possible to find
themselves, and realise that you can love life without self-confidence holding
you back.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #666666;">LOOKING CONFIDENT</span></b></span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the main causes of people lacking confidence is not being happy
with your appearance or the way you look, leading to an overwhelming feeling of
self-consciousness. There are some simple tips that can make you feel a little
better about yourself and therefore improve how confident you feel.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Dress for confidence</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You may think that this is so simple, but you would be surprised how
much of a difference wearing your favourite, comfortable clothes can have on
your mood and having confidence to speak to people. Ideally, you should choose
clothes that make you feel confident and portray your personality, instead of
wearing the clothes that other people wear just to fit in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Positive posture</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It has been proven that your posture is always one of the first things
that someone will notice about you. Sometimes faking confidence can lead to you getting used to the feeling and naturally becoming naturally more confident as a result. Keeping your head up and shoulders back,
while walking along with a sense of purpose will help you to look like a
confident person on the outside and feel like one on the inside, trust me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Eye contact</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Possibly the most important indication of how confident somebody is, you
can instantly tell someone is comfortable talking to you if they maintain
constant eye contact during conversation. This is something that I really
struggled with, being shy and reserved I would often look at the floor or off
in the distance when talking to people, even my family. Start easy by trying to
make eye contact with people and just smiling, then moving onto trying
to encourage yourself to look people in the eye during conversation
as much as possible and eventually it will come naturally. Chances are the
other person is just as shy as you are about eye contact!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">THINKING CONFIDENT</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From experience, I know that a lack of confidence can leave you feeling
down, isolated from everyone else and alone. It is important to know that no matter how bad
things seem, they will always get better, you are not the only one and you are most definitely never alone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Think about the obstacles that are in your way, stopping you from
feeling confident and write them down. The majority of the time these obstacles
will be false little assumptions that you have made about yourself. Don't let
those assumptions determine your self-worth and keep you from enjoying life. I
know it is so much easier said than done, but maintaining an open mind and
finding positives within life will help you to feel an enormous amount better
about yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Just remember that you are not the only one that struggles with
self-confidence, pretty much everyone does or has done, some people just hide
it better than others. Most people will be too preoccupied with their own image
to worry about judging you on yours. Stop comparing yourself to other people
and be yourself. People are going to like you more for being your original
(complete weirdo) self than trying to be like someone else. Nobody is perfect,
we all just have to learn to love our flaws and appreciate that they make you
who you are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #666666;">BEING MORE CONFIDENT </span></b><b>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Talk to strangers</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is something that has improved my confidence an amazing amount.
It’s great because IT DOESN'T MATTER IF YOU MESS UP. Chances are you're not
going to see that person again so there's no pressure, it’s like practice for
when you start a conversation with someone you actually want to talk to. Start
off easy again with something like eye contact with a smile, building up to a
polite 'hello' or 'good morning' and finally into a full conversation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Breathe</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sometimes putting yourself out there will get a little overwhelming, making a situation impossibly awkward and uncomfortable. Remember to BREATH. Stepping back and taking a few deep breaths will help to calm the mind and remind you that you are in control of your body and the situation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Leave your comfort zone</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the most effective methods of improving your confidence is
throwing yourself right into the deep end and taking risks by leaving your
comfort zone. Having a job where I have to speak to customers every day has
allowed me to break out of my shell and forced me to get used to speaking to
people. Experiences like talking in front of a large audience may seem
daunting, and chances are you will mess up somewhere (even the most experienced
of public speakers do), but you will feel so good about yourself afterwards.
I've always been taught that its not your ability to succeed that matters, it’s
your ability to fail and pick yourself back up again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The honest truth is that there is not really a secret formula
to guaranteed instant confidence, it's not just something that
happens overnight and it takes a lot of effort, patience and practice, but
trust me, it's completely possible and you will get there eventually. Whatever
happens keep at it, don’t give up and believe in yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am always here for anybody that needs advice, reassurance about a
situation, a confidence boost or even just someone to talk to, don’t be afraid
to send me an email at <b>james_bickle@hotmail.co.uk</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-10205024486878028162015-05-29T09:55:00.000+01:002016-03-05T09:53:22.384+00:00Achieving Your Dreams<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It can be very tempting to believe somebody that convinces you that you can't achieve your dreams. For some people it may feel like there is a person or past memory that is holding them back from happiness in their future, I think it is so important that when somebody tells you that you cant achieve something that you are passionate about in life, you use that as a form of motivation and determination to prove them wrong. D</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">on't hold out for the approval of others and let it determine your happiness or self worth as a person, life gets a lot more easy when you let go of all of those little worries about what other people are thinking about you and start doing more things that make you genuinely happy. If you want to go out and adventure at 2am then you do that, if you want to wear different clothes to everyone else then you wear them with pride, if you have a passion, talent or image that isn't generally accepted as the 'social norm' then who cares as long as you're happy. I admire anybody that is able and self confident enough to step up and be their own person and stand out from the crowd, to portray the passion, creativity and motivation to achieve whatever they want in life, despite what anybody else thinks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'There are far far better things ahead than anything that we leave behind'</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Everybody has a concious or subconscious habit of comparing little things about themselves to other people, myself included. When comparing yourself to other people, remember that people are usually rewarded in public for something that they have practised for years in private. Some people say not to compare your beginning to somebody else's end, but I think this can be a positive thing to do. Don't let it get you down that you're not as good as them or as naturally talented at this moment in time, use their success as motivation and inspiration to further better your own talents, say to yourself that 'I will get to their level, I will better them, I can do it'. Success is all about positivity, having that belief in yourself and the will power to spend every little bit of energy on this dream until you achieve it. Y</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ou have to improve your mind set within before you start to see positive effects on the outside, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">overcome those negative thoughts and defeatist attitude, don't give up before you have even started and become a 'no matter what person', do whatever it takes to achieve happiness and success within life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'Be confident. Too many days are wasted comparing ourselves to others and wishing that we were something that we aren't. Everybody has their own strengths and weaknesses and it is only when you accept everything that you are - and aren't - that you will truly succeed'</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have this wonderful freedom in life to create our own destinies and choose a path on which to follow on this little journey of existence, but still people tend to feel trapped in the same old routine day after day. I know it can be easier said than done but there is nothing stopping you spontaneously travelling and experiencing more of the world, eradicating negative people from your life and surrounding yourself with people that bring out the best in you instead. Stop worrying so much about things that are beyond your control, especially the past and focus your mind and energy on the positive difference that you can make on the future, the things that you can feel grateful for and embrace every positive little thing about yourself. We sometimes get so caught up in the destination that we forget to enjoy the journey, especially the wonderful experiences and goodness of the people that we meet along the way, appreciate every day in life, every single one of them made you into the awesome person that you are today.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>'Failure is simply an opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently'</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There is a saying that 'people are held back by their fear of failure', they would rather set a minimal goal and achieve it than aim as high as possible, learning more and achieving greater things but with the higher risk of failure. What these people tend not to realise is that the key to success is learning from these failures and allowing them to better you as a person. Failure is not a loss, it's a significant gain that allows you to learn, change and grow. Everybody is bound to fail at some point in their lives, it's the people who get back up again, determined to succeed who make the difference. Set higher goals for yourself and dream big, find a better sense of purpose in this world, constantly strive to learn and better yourself and most importantly believe in yourself, even when nobody else believes in you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Always remember that today is another fresh start, another chance to move closer to your dreams and goals, believe in yourself and you can do it.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-55173435659015756492015-05-27T09:03:00.000+01:002016-03-04T17:03:25.735+00:00Radio 1 Big Weekend 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What. A. Weekend. After a lot of stressing over online ticket waiting lines, I was actually lucky enough to be one of the 50,000 fortunate people who were able to get their hands on a ticket for the radio 1 big weekend in my home town of Norwich. This was such a big event for Norwich considering nothing big ever really comes here, despite being voted in the top 10 best cities in the UK and when I first started university in Lincoln, very few people actually knew where Norwich was! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I would just like to start off by saying that I have never been to a festival before. There, I said it. Before you judge me, it's not something that has been completely out of choice, but more due to my strong dislike and discomfort of being trapped in the middle of a huge crowd, something that I have struggled to overcome and has put me off attending music festivals up until now. After all of my worrying about feeling claustrophobic or being trampled to death by screaming Taylor Swift fans, the day turned out to be so much better than I expected it to be and I actually loved the atmosphere of being surrounded by so many happy and excited people, especially since we were very fortunate to have amazing views and be so close to the front for most of the acts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">During a day full of delicious pizza, wonderful music and a little bit of a rain shower, which didn't dampen any spirits, I found myself singing along to artists that I didn't even think that I would enjoy such as Olly Murs and George Ezra, purely down to the awesome festival like atmosphere. Imagine Dragons were by far my favourite act of the day, it is such an incredible atmosphere when around 15-20,000 people are all passionately singing along to some of your favourite songs by one of your favourite bands. Plus, I am also happy to say that I can now add a huge tick next to 'see Taylor Swift in real life' on my (very long) bucket list. The music carried on well into the night with an amazing live evening performance by Foo Fighters, where by this point I had thoroughly lost my voice, my legs were feeling a bit achy and wobbly and my energy meter was running low. I had the best day and I enjoyed it so much that I am already planning my next music festival experience in the near future!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I managed to snap a few pictures throughout the day, which aren't the best in the world, but I wanted to post them anyway to share my experience and keep a little mental note of a great day engraved onto my blog! Yay, Norwich!</span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-13058267743909207702015-05-22T17:11:00.001+01:002016-03-04T17:06:08.202+00:00Simple Guide To Happiness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I would usually consider myself to be a pretty happy and healthy person, I use the gym and work out quite often, eat a healthy balanced</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> diet and have a general happy, positive attitude towards life but recently I am increasingly beginning to realise that health isn't just about what you eat and how much you exercise, it's all about maintaining a healthy mind as well as a healthy body. I am a firm believer that a positive, open mind, full of inspiration, enthusiasm and contempt is one of the important keys to happiness, which is why I think its just as important to take a little time out each day to relax, recharge, de-stress and take care of your body and mind in order to help yourself achieve a happier and healthier lifestyle. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Positivity Positivity Positivity</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In my opinion, this is by far the most important factor to happiness. The best of us can find something to be genuinely happy about, even in the most miserable and hopeless of situations. You would be so surprised at how much more you are able to achieve just by starting the day with an open, positive 'I can do this' frame of mind. Sometimes all we need is a little push or self belief to allow us to reach our full potential when undertaking daily tasks and achieving our goals in life. Listening to motivating music or watching inspirational videos really helps me with this, and I have seen an exponential increase in my happiness and productivity since adopting this new frame of mind. Put your happiness first for once, worry less about what other people think and make more time to indulge in things that you enjoy and I promise that you will see vast improvements in your general mood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I completely understand, from experience, that worrying less can be so much easier said than done. Something that really doesn't help is worrying about things that are beyond your control, they are most probably going to happen whether or not you spend sleepless nights thinking about them. Try to spend less time worrying about what other people think about you, you were not put on this earth to please other people, spend life doing more things that make you happy, despite what anybody else thinks! </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Every morning is a chance for a fresh start, only you can control how you approach that day, you only get one chance at life, don't waste it on negativity.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Grab a pint</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A liquid that you should be familiar with. It is essential to life, usually makes up around two thirds of your body and provides a medium for all of those helpful little chemical reactions to occur within you. No not alcohol, water! It is something that gets drilled into you again and again but drinking enough water really is important and really does make a huge difference to many aspects of your lifestyle. The health authorities suggest that you should be drinking at least 8-10 glasses (2 litres) of water every day, which can be made a lot less hefty when combined with squash or tea. Drinking more water boosts concentration, improves moods and has even been linked to clearer skin, weight loss and detoxification of the body by flushing out all of those nasty free radials. Gulping down an icy cold pint of water first thing in the morning raises your metabolism, increasing energy levels and helping you to face the day head on, just don't try and drink out of a glass while laying down in bed, it usually doesn't end well..</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><b>Adventure</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I used to spend a whole lot of time indoors avoiding contact with other human beings, partly due to being shy and socially awkward and partly down to feeling a lot more comfortable and contempt in my own company. However tempting it may be and however much I may not feel comfortable in a crowd, I soon realised that all day Netflix marathons were not going to help me achieve anything I want to do in life or eradicate problems such as my social awkwardness. The best way to make the most of life is actually getting out of the house, leaving your comfort zone, and hitting life head on, trying out new experiences and embarking on little adventures throughout this journey we call life. I found that the absolute perfect, blissful escape for me was by the sea, where I could distance myself from the busy stresses of life, accompanied by the soothing sound of waves and the fresh sea air. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Embarking on the great outdoors also helps you to receive your daily quota of vitamin D from sunlight (even when the sun is lurking behind the clouds, aka typical British weather). Vitamin D has a wide range of benefits including reducing the risk of cancer and heart disease. The best time for vitamin D production is when the sun is high in the sky, but just remember to slap on that sun cream when exposing yourself to the summer weather to avoid that dreaded sunburn!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>Exercise</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Exercise can be a dreaded thought for a lot of people, but there are so many different forms of exercise that I dont believe that anybody truly hates every one, and if you do, you just probably just haven't found the ideal one for you yet. It is really vital that you don't make exercise into a chore, whether you happen to enjoy resistance training for gaining and maintaining muscle, yoga for flexibility and relaxation or team sports to build friendships, make sure you choose things that you look genuinely forward to. Exercise has so many more benefits than just weight loss or toning up. I understand from experience that it can be a struggle trying to find the time, energy or motivation to squeeze exercise into a busy routine and suffer with the 'I'll start tomorrow' frame of mind but it is absolutely amazing how much getting that heart rate up for even as little as 20-30 minutes or more a day can improve your mood, help you to feel de-stressed and more motivated towards life. Be sure to have an end goal in mind or something that you would love to achieve to help push you through.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Although I am literally the least flexible person in the entire world, yoga is something that I have recently been experimenting with and would definitely recommend, to help improve my mood, general stretchiness and to de-stress, find my calm place after a day of hectic turmoil.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><b>Healthy Diet</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Fruit and veg contains a plethora of healthy nutrients and minerals, especially those that happen to be brightly coloured, such as pomegranate, avacado, blueberries.. Sometimes it can be difficult, but I always try my best to incorporate some form of fruit or vegetables into every meal. Smoothies are a super quick and easy way to get some of that added goodness into your diet and there is literally endless combinations and possibilities, which can be perfect for people with a hectic lifestyle with something to satisfy the taste-buds of everyone.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since altering my diet to a more healthy alternative, I have genuinely felt a lot happier and healthier as well as noticed amazing (positive) changes in my body when combined with regular working out. The drastic increase in antioxidants has left me feeling a lot more energised, less lethargic and I have also noticed incredible improvements in my skin. This being said, don't let eating become a chore either, make sure that you experiment with new tasty little ingredients, have the odd 'cheat day' or a little treat with some meals in order to help resist the urge to revert back to an unhealthy diet, because everyone needs something to look forward to or the occasional comfort eat (plus, I'm not sure that I could survive without pizza).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>zzzz's</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A lot of people really underestimate the importance of a good night's sleep. I know that stressful periods such as exams, deadlines and work can all leave you feeling like you are carrying the weight of he world on your shoulders and lead to a feeling of sleep deprivation or insomnia. This really makes sleep a luxury that can be rather hard to come by, but sleep is so vital to maintain moral, alertness and for your body to repair and recover from the day. Coffee, energy drinks, alarm clocks and external lights/electrical devices all interfere with our body clocks. I never really listened to or believed the common tale that switches off electrical devices at least an hour before bed actually helped you to get a much better and effective night's sleep but it really does work. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I used to fall into the *just one more episode before going to sleep and still be indulging at 3am* trap, which really wasn't doing my health or huge panda eyes any good. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am also a self confessed compulsive worrier which really doesn't help when you are restlessly laying awake in bed at night instead of settling down to sleep. My best advice would be to make lists for the next day to stop you from worrying about forgetting things, t</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ry to get into a routine of going to bed at the same reasonable time every night to get your body into a routine and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">find yourself a good little book to get lost in while switching off before sleep, you will undoubtedly drift off in no time, most probably accompanied by wonderful dreams related to the story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am not saying that every single one of these is absolutely guaranteed to work, even though they most definitely have for me, but I really hope that at least somebody gains something from this little guide, feel free to leave any of your own tips for a more healthy and happy lifestyle!</span><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-28071277440847183702015-05-18T07:30:00.000+01:002015-10-11T09:54:05.833+01:00Male Grooming - Scaramouche & Fandango<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Male grooming is something that I have never really featured on my blog before, but it is definitely something that should play a huge part in the life of pretty much every male out there, as I think it is so important to look after your skin and body, you only get one after all! As someone that tends to use the gym an awful lot, I find that I require good quality products which enable me to feel refreshed and replenished as well as leaving me smelling sweet after a gruelling workout for a reasonable price in order to fit within my student budget. I was really excited to be approached by <b><a href="http://www.scaramoucheandfandango.com/" target="_blank">Scaramouche & Fandango</a></b>, who specialise in male grooming products, to review a couple of their products and kick start male grooming onto my blog!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><b>Design</b></b></span></div>
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Package design and branding is essentially one of the most important aspects of a grooming product in my opinion, being the eye catching quality that tempts you into
plucking it off of the supermarket shelf or standing out from the crowd in a
saturated online store. One of the problems that I usually have with male
products is the busy and overcrowded look of packaging, leaving you hunting for
exactly the type of product that you need in a sea of products that tend to look very similar. Designs tend to be complex and the choice overwhelming, with so many different ingredient combinations all promising to solve every problem under the sun, which is why it is so exciting for me to find a brand which focuses purely on the simplicity of high quality skincare and body
products while maintaining a slick and professional look.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The Scaramouche & Fandango design particularly appeals to me as de
cluttered, simple and easy to distinguish between the different types of products.
I love the letters on the front of the bottles which, being a complete science
geek, totally remind me of the periodic table element symbols *nerdgasm*. The minimalist design and big
lettering also makes it easier to find the product that you need when you're
looking to have a quick shower without fumbling around looking for the shampoo
with soap in your eyes, a problem that I experience all too regularly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Quality</b></span></div>
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Scaramouche and Fandango pride themselves on providing high quality British
made products and having experienced them myself, I firmly believe that they do
deliver this promise. It is important for me that any product that I use is
effective, affordable and the ingredients are as natural as possible and in no
way tested on animals, so it's always good to find animal friendly brands such
as this one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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The <b><a href="http://www.scaramoucheandfandango.com/product/sports-wash/" target="_blank">Sports Wash</a></b> is a fairly reasonable £9 for 250 ml, especially since it is a
versatile 4-in-one hair, body, face and shave wash. saving you vital pennies from having
to buy four entirely different products. Sometimes, the down fall when buying an
all-in-one product is that it can be effective in some areas but lacking in
others or it could be average in all areas, which is why I was quite impressed with how
well this sports wash works as a shampoo, body wash and face wash. Plus, it
smells absolutely amazing which is helpful to eradicate that post gym
smelliness!</span></div>
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The <b><a href="http://www.scaramoucheandfandango.com/product/face-scrub/" target="_blank">Face Scrub</a></b> is a little more pricey than the face wash that I would usually opt for at £8 for 100ml. I am one of those
really self concious people about my skin, especially my face, so face washes and scrubs are
something that I am willing to spend a little more money on as long as I can see the positive benefits. I am not the
biggest fan of face scrubs as they always seem to end up drying out my skin and
leaving me red in the face. I found that the micro beads within the face scrub from Scaramouche & Fandango are a lot more gentle on the skin while still leaving it feeling
smooth and fresh after use and also leaving my skin much more blemish free
compared to other face scrubs that I have experienced in the past. After around a week of once a day use, I
have barely made an indent in the contents of the tube (I am rather conservative though) so I really do think
that you get your money's worth in terms of quantity with this product.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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As a student, the only slight negative with the products from Scaramouche & Fandango for me personally is
the price. Although I can totally justify spending the money for the impressive benefits and quality of
these products and think that they are excellent value for money compared to other
higher end brands, I don't think that I would be able to afford to purchase the products weekly/every other week, so I see them as more of a great birthday or Christmas present, a little treat every so often to indulge myself or a way of changing things up when I get bored of my same old routine. Overall, I would recommend giving Scaramouche & Fandango a try if you are looking for an effective and simplified range of high quality male grooming products from a quirky new brand! If you would like to check them out for yourself, you can find their website <b><a href="http://www.scaramoucheandfandango.com/" target="_blank">here</a></b>.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-91432207771794757152015-04-30T20:20:00.000+01:002016-07-26T08:58:00.492+01:00Celebrate Matcha Tea May With Tea Pigs<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anybody who knows me will undoubtedly be aware of my complete love for tea and coffee of all varieties. I usually drink coffee 2-3 times a day purely as an energy boost and simply because I am totally addicted to it. I am really tying to adopt a healthier lifestyle and I have really struggled to find a healthy alternative my tea and coffee addiction to boost energy levels without constantly having to fuel myself to avoid the dreaded mid day energy crash and comedown, having tried tried and failed with countless other alternatives, including regular green tea, to satisfy this!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As we welcome in the month of May and wonder how on earth we are 5 months into the year already, one of my new favourite brands <a href="http://www.teapigs.co.uk/" target="_blank"><b>Tea Pigs</b></a>, who specialise in delicious high quality and organic teas, is launching a marvellous matcha may campaign in celebration of everything matcha green tea, to raise awareness of it's absolutely incredible health benefits and superiority over other green tea varieties. The folks over at Tea Pigs were kind enough to send me over my very own 30 day matcha green tea starter kit, including all of the essentials needed to experience the benefits of a matcha tea for a whole month!</span><br />
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<b>What is matcha green tea and where does it come from?</b></span><br />
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Matcha green tea is a finely ground green powder made from 100% natural, organic tea leaves. As one of many Japanese health innovations, matcha was founded in the renowned Nishio region and supposedly used ceremoniously by Buddhist monks to increase calmness and focus while maintaining alertness during meditation...if it is to the satisfaction of Buddhist monks, notorious for their talents and abilities, then surely it must be something pretty special! Matcha tea may just look like a typical green powder on the outside but it is created from specifically shade grown tea plants to avoid direct sunlight and increase chlorophyll content, healthy nutrients and essential amino acids packed into each and every leaf.</span><br />
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Some of the superpowers of matcha green tea include:</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444;">Antioxidant Surge</span></b></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguW3HchYiZVnD6T_q4E5RofAnYt0q1liFPk33Q_3FKpbU7mylGQ5ZXX5EeagwFuOu3LcBZ5pVFwJHv-MiWuuQ-1ss6z54jf1SczwMYTNzMZS62bVHt77il3KOwBkcwx8WWLhClE_rF3a8b/s1600/antioxidants.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguW3HchYiZVnD6T_q4E5RofAnYt0q1liFPk33Q_3FKpbU7mylGQ5ZXX5EeagwFuOu3LcBZ5pVFwJHv-MiWuuQ-1ss6z54jf1SczwMYTNzMZS62bVHt77il3KOwBkcwx8WWLhClE_rF3a8b/s1600/antioxidants.png" width="286" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You may have heard of antioxidants before, they are natural chemicals that are proven to help prevent against symptoms of degenerative, age-related diseases and it is also suggested that they cleanse your body of free radicals for clearer skin. Matcha green tea is absolutely crammed full of antioxidants, more so than any other so called 'super food' out there. In fact, research shows that it contains <b>137 times</b> more of the good stuff than regular green tea and around <b>20 times</b> more than their nearest rivals pomegranates and blueberries. You would have to drink <b>10-15 cups</b> of regular green tea to match this antioxidant potential, making matcha green tea the perfect everyday immune system booster.</span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Metabolism Boosting Ability</span></b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg770tgkNCPNyQBbIGqwZ-ZV9-3tmK_XCtbMPD3X7N9lf50ajke924MsiSmIs7dUiYlzmmCX2TQLXgMBnb8LLk_Leq5QDGxWoQib8t3hSFCBrferyiztQIU_RvFseJ5Kj8RkL_kj1ReUplH/s1600/metabolism1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg770tgkNCPNyQBbIGqwZ-ZV9-3tmK_XCtbMPD3X7N9lf50ajke924MsiSmIs7dUiYlzmmCX2TQLXgMBnb8LLk_Leq5QDGxWoQib8t3hSFCBrferyiztQIU_RvFseJ5Kj8RkL_kj1ReUplH/s1600/metabolism1.jpg" width="286" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></b>
Matcha green tea is calorie free itself, as well as producing a slow release form of energy, helping you to keep on powering through the whole day without the 'come-down' associated with coffee. This, combined with natural ingredients promoting fat oxidation and increased energy usage means that your metabolism is increased and more calories will be burned, creating a much more natural metabolism booster than coffee, without any added stress or blood pressure increase within the body.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;"><b>Concentration & Stress Relief Power</b></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSO49Lvd7_h70MFTMq86LqFneLjqQ4bFLIouYYrIy_UHcfxk9zxppYFcHotWgqRT3DRXlXuutxzM-Wv98a9xwPgxtAyeZE0GQ_T9GwJpDbJYMXUfWr3Z2OqPxYebc1V3DYM8owbpV2uK0/s1600/concentartion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSO49Lvd7_h70MFTMq86LqFneLjqQ4bFLIouYYrIy_UHcfxk9zxppYFcHotWgqRT3DRXlXuutxzM-Wv98a9xwPgxtAyeZE0GQ_T9GwJpDbJYMXUfWr3Z2OqPxYebc1V3DYM8owbpV2uK0/s1600/concentartion.jpg" width="286" /></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />
Unless you are a nutritionist, scientist or really in to your chemicals, I very much doubt that you have ever heard of L-Theanine before. L-Theanine is an amino acid which is supposed to induce relaxation and calmness while also enhancing memory, focus, learning ability and counteracting the added negative side effects of caffeine. I don't know how much of an effect this has on the body, but surely it's definitely worth a try to boost your performance before your next exam!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What makes matcha green tea so superior to regular tea?</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When making a good ol' regular brew, you usually end up wasting countless nutrients and minerals by throwing away the teabag, with the water only extracting a small fraction of the potential goodness locked away inside the tea leaves. Matcha green tea utilises tea leaves to their full potential by ensuring that you consume the whole tea leaf, in the form of a concentrated and far more versatile organic powder, enabling you to let your creative imagination run wild and diffuse in water, juice or even add as a healthy kick to a green smoothie.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><b>What do I think about Teapigs Matcha green tea?</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After conducting a little research on matcha green tea, it's safe to say that I was really impressed by it's supposed track record and amazing health benefits and also really excited to give it a try for myself!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Upon opening the tin, your nostrils are greeted with the most wonderful organic and leafy herbal smell and I may or may not have proceeded to stand there with my nose in the tin for a little while, probably looking completely weird to everyone watching (warning, don't put it too close to your nose or you will breath it in, lesson learnt *face palm*). One of the main problems that I usually have with green tea is the taste. I think that everyone will agree that green tea seems to be like Marmite, an acquired taste which isn't to everyone's liking. The best think about matcha green tea is that it maintains a hint of that regular and familiar tea-like taste and more satisfying flavour than any green tea that I have experienced before so you can easily actually enjoy drinking this beverage, as well as knowing that you are filling your body full of natural ingredients and antioxidants.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Technology has come a long way, so an electric operated whisk is probably a lot more efficient and less time consuming, but you can also purchase the traditional bamboo whisk used by the Japanese for a little added authenticity. Tea pigs actually sell a whisk which is perfect for mixing together the tea leaves with water or your chosen juice, although did take me a couple of goes to mix it without everything getting out of control and covering myself and everything around me in a green liquidy mess, which is admittedly more due to my own clumsiness and accident prone nature than any fault of the product! I tried hand whisking with a teaspoon which didn't seem to be as effective as you are still left with little unpleasant chalky particles, so you probably would need the additional whisk, which is extra expense but a worthy investment in my opinion.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have found that matcha green tea powder works really well when mixed in with a variety of juices, tastes a whole lot better in hot water than cold water and I have also tried adding it into a couple of delicious green smoothie recipes which I plan to share in the future, so keep your eyes peeled for those! As a science student, I am always being taught to be pretty sceptical when it comes to things until they are proven to be true, so I was really interested to see if any of these supposed healthy benefits actually worked and contributed towards my healthy lifestyle. Normally a lack of coffee leaves me feeling tired, lethargic and lacking energy but I have been drinking matcha green tea in place of coffee for about a week now and, although I haven't quite reached the level of Buddhist monk in terms of concentration and focus (totally working on it though!), I have genuinely already noticed positive differences in my energy levels throughout the day, becoming more consistent compared to usual, and I have also felt improvements in my general mood and frame of mind which really helps during this stressful exam revision period. I do think matcha green tea is more for anybody looking to find healthy alternatives to tea and coffee, but also for people that love trying out new things and enjoying a healthy life style in moderation, or just need to get more nutrients and antioxidants into their diet on a daily basis! Admittedly after just a week I do really miss a relaxing with a mug of coffee, but I have committed myself to starting every morning with a with matcha green tea in exchange for coffee, hopefully so that I can continue to see a lot more of the amazing health benefits in the future!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whether you're looking for a health kick, an alternative to tea or coffee or you're just up for trying something new, I definitely recommend at least giving matcha green tea a go, and Matcha May could be the perfect chance to join in and experience it for yourself, you may just be pleasantly surprised with what a difference it really makes to your lifestyle!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Purchase your own little supply bundle to take part in 'Matcha May' from Tea Pigs <b><a href="http://www.teapigs.co.uk/tea/shop_by_category/matcha_shop?hootPostID=527c615d9e04671414f1cdc0d5c83e73" target="_blank">here</a></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You may also like: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.bloggerjames.co.uk/2015/02/super-healthy-smoothie-recipe.html" target="_blank">Super Healthy Smoothie Recipe</a> <b>// </b><a href="http://www.bloggerjames.co.uk/2015/02/blend-active-review.html" target="_blank">Blend Active Review</a> <b>// </b><a href="http://www.bloggerjames.co.uk/2015/01/graze-healthy-alternative-breakfast.html" target="_blank">Graze Healthy Breakfast Alternatives</a></span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-24202484084316792962015-04-23T17:34:00.001+01:002015-04-23T20:16:47.272+01:00Music to my ears: Albums of the week #1<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think that it is pretty safe to say that I have a little addiction to music, being an avid listener for a large percentage of the day, whether I am at home revising, in the shower or on the train, it plays a huge part in pretty everyone's lives on a daily basis. I think that you can tell a whole lot about someone and their personality based on their taste in music and you usually find that people with similar music genre preferences tend to get along really well. Music can become a form of motivation, relaxation or just a boost to inspire you through the day which is why I thought I would start a blog post series to share some of my favourite and most listened to albums of the week with you wonderful people in order to give you a little insight into my music taste and introduce you to some albums that you may not have experienced before.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This week's albums are very heavily Indie/Rock based, but even if these aren't your usual favoured genres of music I still recommend giving them a chance and listening anyway, you may just surprise yourself!</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Future Hearts - All Time Low</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />My featured album of the week has to be this little gem by on of my absolute favourite childhood bands, All Time Low. I may be slightly biased as I have an unconditional love for this wonderful band, but I think they are one of the few that consistently produce amazing music while managing to progress with the times, maintain their musical uniqueness and remain relevant as a band. Every song on the track strikes me as high quality rather than the all too common albums with one or two stand out tracks and then the rest you will listen to once or twice and then inevitably forget about. I highly recommend giving All Time Low a try if you are a punk rock fan!</span><br />
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<b>Whispers II - Passenger</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We all have those 'Go To' albums or songs which we find especially helpful to combat revision stress, unwind after a long, busy day or help switch off and drift off to sleep late at night. I am a huge fan of Passenger's unique and highly relaxing sound and after falling in love with the first 'Whispers' album, this on seems to be another positive step up. I have managed to fall asleep listening to this album many a time during its relatively short existence and if this doesn't prove it's relaxation potential, then I don't know what does!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">★</span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">★</span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">★</span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">★</span></span></div>
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<b>Chaos And The Calm - James Bay</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will be the first to admit that I wasn't really a huge fan of James Bay when he first burst onto the scene. It's not easy when you're a break-through artist with one popular song that everybody seems to know you by and 'Hold Back The River', although being a really good song to begin with, was far too overplayed on the radio, making it become boring and repetitive. After browsing through some new album releases I decided to give this new album a listen and was literally so hooked and impressed that I managed to listen to the whole thing from start to finish without moving. Congratulations James Bay, you have cemented yourself firmly into my playlist!</span></div>
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<b>V - Maroon 5</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHGuWAMI-OlPpg0ZXYwnOeuoy3n6wG-6KDkmkjomRz6bF9KIJ1x_0j1XwOwbrnCxn8tQBn930U9RxLlsvwNbramaJLqgR1iPqSv97R56GG1mq7y5nYkzz-7XZGtC3dQ5KjTSRvTGLEaXDD/s1600/maroon_5_v-portada.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHGuWAMI-OlPpg0ZXYwnOeuoy3n6wG-6KDkmkjomRz6bF9KIJ1x_0j1XwOwbrnCxn8tQBn930U9RxLlsvwNbramaJLqgR1iPqSv97R56GG1mq7y5nYkzz-7XZGtC3dQ5KjTSRvTGLEaXDD/s1600/maroon_5_v-portada.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everybody needs that extra little boost when working out, a soundtrack to make revising more bearable or to help you through completing those tedious daily tasks, which is why motivating music can be so effective at inspiring you to get that little bit more out of life. I have always had a bit of a soft spot for Maroon 5 and like probably every male out there I have a slight man crush on Adam Levine which, combined with their musical talent, makes Maroon 5 one of my absolute favourite bands. I fist experienced their uniqueness with 'She Will Be Loved' which my ears were bombarded with for the majority of my early high school years, and I have continued to be a big fan of the music they release, especially their new album. This is one that you can't help but sing along to in your best (ok, ok, horrifically awful) Adam Levine impersonation. I totally have the singing voice of an angel..honest..</span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">★</span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">★</span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">★</span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">★</span></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Blink 182- Blink 182</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ah the nostalgia associated with this band. Blink-182 were pretty much the soundtrack to my childhood and even just listening to their music brings back such fond memories of adventures with friends when I was younger. This album is more of a classic sing along and feel good album, where I tend to turn the volume up loud, air guitar around the room and annoy the heck out of my flat mates. If you haven't experienced Blink-182 before then 1. Have you been hiding under a rock your entire life?! and 2. You need to give them a listen if you are a 90s punk rock fan, 100% satisfaction guaranteed!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #bf9000;"><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;">★</span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">★</span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">★</span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">★</span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">★</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-42725531088735704682015-04-20T17:22:00.000+01:002015-04-20T17:26:39.837+01:00My Week In Pictures - Positivity Edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">University deadline week and the dreaded hardcore revision period has officially begun, so this week I have really been struggling a little to cope with stress and being someone that worries a lot about the smallest things, I don't really deal very well with it. This means that I have been a little below par in regards to my usual happiness and positivity, which is why I thought it would be a perfect idea to release all of this built up stress in the form of blogging and sum up some of the positives of the last week to inject a bit of motivation, inspiration and take my mind off of the stresses of life for a little while.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6TlxWiOJ5M2rYqqgl165PjK2Cngd205uM5iqpy9oNeRNMAPv6KSK3MdlcJwG7tZyy5tMb4yTPfm_CJASzN_cDNnyP0tRFlZfYJy6N4TBLlOKek03sdhLA5x3fo9tgbeRgTyxGGWxCxG6/s1600/IMG_20150406_195928.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI6TlxWiOJ5M2rYqqgl165PjK2Cngd205uM5iqpy9oNeRNMAPv6KSK3MdlcJwG7tZyy5tMb4yTPfm_CJASzN_cDNnyP0tRFlZfYJy6N4TBLlOKek03sdhLA5x3fo9tgbeRgTyxGGWxCxG6/s1600/IMG_20150406_195928.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The closer we get to that warmer, happier time or year, the more the evenings begin to draw out again. As well as being ideal for extra hours of blog photography, this makes me incredibly excited for warm summer evenings full of adventures, tasty barbecues and beautiful sunsets. One of my favourite times to go running is in the evening, just as the sun begins to set in the sky, turning everything into a gorgeous shade of gold, creating the perfect stress relief after a busy, hectic day. If you're a huge fan of sunsets like me, you can see some more of the amazing sunsets that I have experienced in my 'Sunset Porn' post <a href="http://www.bloggerjames.co.uk/2015/01/warning-may-contain-sunset-porn.html" target="_blank"><b>here</b></a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nhT405icBTse5n1C-gmH39aklNOrAx30o4AXBnG61KdmkdJpi8TYnUo9dczWudiEzLe5bB6Zd6AJvDyqyJ1U9RkV2aDl63A9PVrdYs2CqKobc4magpbMp4lxHhFCCZle48jYL7aruDZP/s1600/IMG_20150416_212100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0nhT405icBTse5n1C-gmH39aklNOrAx30o4AXBnG61KdmkdJpi8TYnUo9dczWudiEzLe5bB6Zd6AJvDyqyJ1U9RkV2aDl63A9PVrdYs2CqKobc4magpbMp4lxHhFCCZle48jYL7aruDZP/s1600/IMG_20150416_212100.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am trying my best to eat as healthy as possible with the aim of completely improving my lifestyle for the better, and I am really starting to see the positive effects emerging from all of my hard work and (relatively good) self control, finally achieving a body that I am happy with for the first time in my life, but every so often you just need to release stress with a pig out of your favourite food and boost moral, this usually being in the form of pizza for me, one of my true comfort foods at the moment! I plan to experiment with more healthy pizza bases and topping alternatives so that I can eat them more often without that guilty, unhealthy after feeling afterwards. This weeks speciality was sausage, pork, beef, smoked prosciutto, oregano, rosemary and spinach (spinach makes it healthy right?) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most people tend to judge me because I am an 'elegant knife and fork pizza eater' and 'pinkie finger lifter when drinking from a glass' which apparently makes me super posh, basically makes me Made In Chelsea material, yah?</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1MLPhs2QWMkoUUobk6JSc8qi_RAgPrZsLNMIiYTK99gfkvH_TCrjaYusmP0hhPyMtAcIrZHBXNG8Q8uUs3d9pbuCAhrjHlYbdkgAJMS1uYxkccD9NKhPcE4S0KyCC0jH0rTrdf2ZBPIX/s1600/IMG_20150330_165057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF1MLPhs2QWMkoUUobk6JSc8qi_RAgPrZsLNMIiYTK99gfkvH_TCrjaYusmP0hhPyMtAcIrZHBXNG8Q8uUs3d9pbuCAhrjHlYbdkgAJMS1uYxkccD9NKhPcE4S0KyCC0jH0rTrdf2ZBPIX/s1600/IMG_20150330_165057.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This little guy brings me endless amounts of happiness. His name is Charlie and he has been my best friend for the past 15 years, accompanying me through life ever since my first day of first school. I don't know what I would do without him and really don't know how people manage to cope without a pet dog around, they make such great companions, always appreciate your company and they are super cute too! I always miss having this mischievous one around when I am away at university, it almost feels like something is missing when he is not around, bugging me for attention, food or effortlessly convincing me to take him out on walks with his innocent puppy dog eyes, so it was such a boost being able to see him over Easter!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Eat Natural bars have become my new addiction in life. They make an amazing relatively healthy, substantial and satisfying alternative snack to cake and biscuits while also tasting delicious, unlike a lot of other cardboard-y healthy snack bars. Eat natural bars are packed full of natural ingredients and high in protein which is perfect for a post workout snack. 'Peanuts and Chocolate' is my current favourite, mostly because I love peanuts, coconut and honey, which all contribute to a mouth-watering combination of ingredients. Highly recommended, James approved *thumbs up*.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The beach is one of my absolute favourite places to be, no matter what time of year it happens to be, but especially in the summer months. I was fortunate enough to live a relatively close drive away from the coast back home in Norwich, but unfortunately at university I am miles away from a walk by the sea, the relaxing crashing sound of waves and a beautiful golden sandy landscape like this one. They do say that 'you don't know what you have until it is gone' which is why I now cherish every moment that I get to spend enjoying sandy walks and fresh sea air. Of course you can't go to the beach without indulging in a delicious fish and chips (yes it's very clear that food is pretty much the key to my happiness!) and skimming a few stones into the sea, releasing my inner child. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What made you happy this week?</span></div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7078719774958448118.post-25023547429875420022015-04-14T16:45:00.000+01:002015-05-17T22:01:06.541+01:00A personal letter to my younger self<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Dear Past Me<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">As a kid you are
going to effortlessly possess some special qualities that you should hold on to
for the rest of your life. You will be creative, open minded and ambitious
to conquer every little challenge that the world throws at you. With bundles of
imagination and creativity, every single day will seem like a new little
adventure to explore, gain a better understanding of the world and better
yourself in every way possible, all things that will give you a huge advantage
in later life. You will feel the urge to spend a lot of your childhood longing
to be an adult, drive a car, go to bed far past your bedtime and want adult
responsibilities, but don't let this stop you from making the most of those
younger, stress free years where the biggest challenge is building a blanket
fort which doesn't collapse on your head. You will have more freedom and
possibility now than you'll ever have for the rest of your life, cherish it
because it may just define the person that you grow up to be.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">You have this
extraordinary power to control your own future, do not throw it away on a
pathway that you feel peer pressured into taking. Go with your heart, follow
through with your passions and always put your own happiness and the happiness
of the people that mean the most to you first. Experiences and life skills mean
so much more than any material possessions that you will ever have. Yes, you
will sometimes get jealous at all of the nice toys, money, cars and clothes
that all of your friends are constantly being given by their parents while you
have to endlessly slave away to earn money and work hard to save up and buy
them for yourself, but you are much better off for it. You will learn a certain
respect for the significance of life better than the majority of others, you will
appreciate and value the little things so much more than any of them and
constantly </span><span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">receive</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> that amazing feeling of achievement when you finally reach
your goals. Always remember that money does not equal happiness, it's how you
choose to live your life, the acts of kindness and the people that you surround
yourself with that will define you as a person.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">As a teenager, you
are going to start delving into the scary and foreign world of relationships,
and lets be honest it's scary, you are going to have absolutely no idea how to overcome
this hurdle to begin with, which is okay because everyone is in the exact same
position as you. Rule number one is that g</span><span style="background: white; font-size: 11pt;">irls
are definitely not the most important thing in the world. Sometimes you will
get your heart broken from relationships, but you should never let anybody else
make you doubt your self worth as a person. A failed relationship does not mean
that you are worthless, or that there is anything wrong with you, because you
are perfect just the way you are, you just don't realise it yet, its something
that I am still coming to terms with but something that is
undoubtedly true. There are so many people in life that are going to
promise you this feeling of 'love', some will mean it and some of them won't,
you are going to fall for people that are nothing but poison for your
confidence and happiness, they will whisper sweet nothings in your ear and you
will fall for them, inevitably leading to heartbreak. Do not change who you are
because one day you will eventually fall for that one special somebody who you
can be yourself around, who will love and accept every little bit of you for
who you are. You will find someone who helps you to cherish every little moment in life and
will continue to support you as you grow, moulding yourself into the person
that you were born to be, and that is definitely worth waiting for. But until
then, you're a strong, independent guy who has more than enough personality
to to hold your own.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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You are going to grow up relentlessly trying to see and bring out the best in
other people, treating everyone with kindness, despite how lost or awful they
may seem which is a trait that you will never grow out of, but it is so
important that you do not allow anyone to take advantage of that. You are going
to encounter bullies, who will try their best to make your life as miserable as
possible, physically and mentally abusing you to raise their own self esteem.
People that decide to pick on you for your 'different' sense of style,
poor acne prone skin at high school, skinny figure, gift of intelligence
and self motivation to propel yourself to the top of the class in
regards to grades and all because they are jealous of the amazing human being
that you are and will become, while trying to mask their own flaws. You
will grow to do amazing things with your life that you never dreamed were
possible, you will pass all of your GCSE's with A*'s and A's while the bullies
fail their's, you will continue to exceed all expectations through college and
get yourself a place at your first choice university while the bullies the
majority of the bullies now have dead end jobs at McDonald's. Your skin will
completely clear up, you eat healthily and work out now, and your self
confidence will flourish as you learn to embrace and love yourself for who you
are and you grow as an individual with so many ambitions expectations for life,
which I am pretty sure you will have the passion and desire to achieve.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">You will have times where you feel worthless and alone, like your lack of confidence and social skills will always be the reason that you spend so much time on your own and can't keep a relationship going for more than a few weeks, like you can't fully express your thoughts and feelings or live life to the best of your ability in fear of being bullied and standing out from the crowd, like you're ready to give up on life all together. Despite this, h</span>ang in there, never give up. Things always have to get worse before they get
better, but the good will tremendously outweigh the bad. There will no doubt
be instances where you feel ugly, insignificant, like you don't fit
in or belong, but I promise you that you are none of these things, you just
haven't quite discovered your place in this world yet. </span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">Smile more, laugh more, perform more acts of random kindness, flood the world with your positivity and it will become a better place because of it. Walk down the street with your shoulders back and head held high, take advantage of the exciting opportunities that are gifted to you rather than sitting in your room alone, thinking that you had no place in this vast world. Waste less of your life worrying about what other people think of you and don't be afraid to do things that make you happy because that is the main goal in life at the end of the day, to find happiness. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14.6666669845581px;">My final advice to you is to waste less energy on negativity and trying to fit in with everyone else in life, you were born to be something special and unique, invest more time in happiness while finding and bettering yourself as a person and most importantly believe in yourself.</span></div>
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You really will become your own hero.</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 11pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">James</span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12