Reclaim your lunch break

How many times have you been at your desk at work, looked up at the clock only to find that you're 20 minutes into your lunch break or that it's nearly 2.30pm and the last time you got up was to grab a sandwich before returning dutifully back to your desk. I can't say that this happens to me often - as soon as it hits 1.00pm I am up and out of my office building in a bid to walk around, eat, catch up with a book I'm reading or just generally take a break from the office. However, I notice that a lot of people around me at work rarely do this and opt for eating at their desk while continuing to work.

The guilt factor 

Eating at your desk can be very easy to do, and, before you know it, your lunch break turns into a fleeting thought or even a luxury you once had.  I often urge my current manager to take her full lunch break and get out of the office, to enjoy the one hour away and return to her desk feeling refreshed with a clear mind. I understand however, that demands don't stop and taking a full hour away from the desk can induce strange feelings of guilt or overbearing anxiety that you're going to seem unproductive. To think that you need to power on, that you have too much to do and that to take an hour out of your working day will, somehow, be unproductive is, in itself, very counter productive. There are many health benefits - both mental and physical - in taking a full one hour lunch break away from your desk that include clearer thinking, restoring energy levels or simply bonding with colleagues.  But if you are made to feel guilty about taking one hour out of the day to yourself, what does that say about society and the work culture? About the value employers place on the well-being of their employees? Remember that you are simply human - munching away at your desk on last nights left overs is not a fully qualified lunch break, it is more your body reminding you that you are not a robot and you do in fact need to eat, at the very least.

Your lunch break is sacred

Since leaving university and entering the professional working world, I have two burning questions -

1. Why are we so determined to possibly sabotage our health, productivity and overall well-being for just one extra hour of answering emails or typing away at a report?
2. Who are these God-awful people who schedule meetings during lunch time?

I've had days, of course, were I've inevitably had to eat at my desk due to changing deadlines and last minute requests that are time sensitive. It can sometimes be unavoidable. On those days I find myself hating everything and everyone - the hours seem to last longer while my concentration and energy levels are in dire need of some refuel. What I've come to realise is that your lunch break is indeed sacred. It's golden hour and a time to forget about your to do list. My argument for this is simple - out of the 35 - 40+ hours we work a week, what is the real harm in taking out 5 hours for ourselves.

The world will not implode

Go back to basics with some good, old fashioned bonding and ask a colleague if they want to get some lunch - you never know where conversation could take you and what relationships could blossom. Whatever the weather is like, go for a walk (or if you really can't face the cold outside, take a break in your office kitchen/canteen). Call your mum. Run some errands. Find a bench and read a book or magazine or newspaper or just people watch. If the work really can't wait, schedule a business lunch and talk strategies and upcoming projects while deciding if you want a side of sweet potato fries (who doesn't?) Or do absolutely nothing - we are always looking for ways to fill up every single minute of every single day that doing nothing but eat can be very calming.

Whatever it is that you choose to do, just make sure that it's away from your desk and computer screen.  

I understand that for many, taking a lunch break simply is not an option. Horrible bosses, very bad company culture or working in medical care can easily contribute to the lunch break being an elusive myth one can only imagine but never truly experience. But if you do work an office job and your boss is somewhat reasonable, taking a lunch break will not diminish your work ethic or put your bonus in jeopardy. Work hard, get in to work earlier if needs be, but use that one hour as it's meant to be used - as a well deserved break.

Even if the work is piling up, even if your to do list has just doubled, even if you think the world will implode* if you step away for one hour, take that one hour and reclaim it back in all its entirety.
Go on, take a break.

Do you regularly take your lunch break at work?

Currently loving:

Is lunch a waste of time or productivity booster?

5 science-backed reasons to take your lunch break because no-one does good work when they're hangry

*This probably won't happen. I hope.

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Start somewhere, start anywhere, start now // Musings

'You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great' 

- ZigZiglar

Image sourced from Tumblr

There is a common preconception that in order to achieve great things you have to be good, real good, before you even begin to give something a try. For me, there have been things like learning a new language, travelling or learning how to swim that I have put off and avoided for a long time now. While I'm excited at the prospect of being fluent in a foreign language or being able to go on holiday and swim, words of self-doubt float around until I've convinced myself that it's not worth pursuing anymore

'It's going to take me ages to learn this... There's no point, I'm gonna be rubbish at it anyway... Maybe Ill try it some other time...'

The flaw in this way of thinking is that stopping myself from doing or trying something new means that I'll never achieve anything. As awesome as it would be to just bypass the embarrassing failures at the beginning, they are an integral part of every learning process.

There are very few things in life that a person is naturally gifted at. So if you never embark on a new adventure or attempt a new skill because you don't have the natural born talent to begin with, you stay stuck. Every expert was once a beginner and for every single success story, there's probably numerous undocumented accounts of failures, frustration and desires to quit.  Everyone knows Thomas Edison right? The guy who invented the light bulb? Yeah, well, before his revolutionary invention, Edison went through 10,000 failed attempts. 10,000. Can you imagine that??! The amount of perseverance and dedication is astounding and so is the fact that, despite the failures, he knew that he was on to something special enough to keep going. He even famously said 'I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.' which is a great perspective to have on failure.  Then there is JK Rowling who received 12 rejection letters for Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone and, when it was finally picked up by a publisher, was told not to quit her day job. But now, Harry Potter is the biggest franchise in the world. While they are great, these success stories all stem from the same place -  a beginning. A start. A decision to stop the deliberating, the umms and ahhs, the I'm not sure's, the what ifs and just start. A start somewhere, even if it's on the wrong path, will eventually lead you on to the right trail. You don't have to already be naturally talented but you do need to have an abundance of ambition and drive to keep going and moving forward, even during times of confusion and failed attempts.

This blog post was definitely a reminder to myself as much as it was to help you reading this.  I think writing posts like this is a way to make sure that I practice what I preach, so, with that in mind, here are some  personal goals that I have been putting off for a very long time and vow to start on:

- Learn Spanish
- Travel to at least three (or more) different countries
- Learn to swim
- Start writing my book
- Meet Will Smith (well, a girl can dream)

What are some things you have been putting off doing? As of today, make a pledge to yourself to stop wanting and start doing!

Currently, I am loving:

The inspirational words of Will Smith 

(I know. I'll shut up about him now)

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Dear quiet people // Musings

'Just because you don't say much doesn't mean people don't notice you. It's actually the quiet ones who often draw the most attention. There's this constant whirlwind of motion and sound all around, and then there's the quiet one, the eye of the storm' 

- Amy Efaw

Source: Tumblr

It is common knowledge that when you hold up a shell to your ear, you can hear the sea, quietly roaring on a distant beach, wanting nothing more than to escape and show you it's beautiful ocean blue waves in all its glory. Scientifically, this sound that we hear has something to do with air, echoes and sound waves, but I really like the idea of there being an entire ocean inside of a tiny shell, desperate to get out, to be free, and to stretch before you. Maybe you've been told your whole life that you're a quiet person, you 'come across as shy' or that you have a 'reserved personality' but whatever words people want to use, it all pretty much means the same thing.  While you may have come to realise it's ok to not be the loudest person in a group, sometimes you are left feeling like a seashell - seemingly small and delicate with a whole world of thoughts, ideas, emotions, observations and opinions strong enough to make you believe that you could lead a small army or, dare I say it, a country. This is a common thing that a lot of people experience and, whether you are struggling with this fact about yourself or have come to be comfortable with it, there are often brief moments that make you question how your personality can fit in the world around you.

If only you could get your words out... If only people would slow down just long enough to listen to what you have to say... If only someone would take the chance, to pick you up and listen to the roar of your unheard words.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you feel about it), this post is not going to tell you how to 'overcome your shyness' and I have no plans to share tips on how to 'transform into an extrovert'.  What I will say, however, is that one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me was from a teacher who once told me that I was 'serenity personified' which, after years of battling shyness and lack of confidence gave me the realisation that I needed. Essentially, he was repeating what everyone else had been telling me for years, but this time, with a new perspective.  This time it made me realise that confidence did not have to be loud or overbearing and that learning to become quietly confident was just as good. And that being the quiet place, the eye of the storm, serenity among chaos was a skill in itself.

The ocean, concealed in a shell, makes it an unlikely source of great strength while simultaneously being able to calm a torn soul.  There is beauty in being a safe haven and a voice of reason - both calming qualities mixed with quiet passion that leaves passersby speechless.  This is not something to be ashamed of or to wish away. Work with what you have, find the strengths in your quiet personality and use it forge a great future for yourself.

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I follow Humans of New York on Facebook and Tumblr and remember seeing this post from last February come up on my feed. It's been almost a year since the post and I still think about it every now and then because it resonates so much with me and my past experiences.  As I can't seem to get it out of me head, I decided to write about it. Let me know if you can relate in any way or have ever felt like this before!

Check out my latest YouTube video: 5 ways to get motivated 

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Mistakes of a 20-something // Musings

I recently stumbled across this blog post from The Sunday Blah and I loved it so much that it got me thinking about my own continuous mistakes that I should probably stop making. Everybody makes mistakes, some are small, some are big but you're always supposed to learn from them right?  But there are always be those poor acts of judgement that are misguided, wrong or regrettable that you seem to find yourself making again... and again.... and again. So I thought I would compile a small list of my own silly mistakes in an attempt to gain some reassurance that I'm not the only one!

Image Source

Staying up late

And by late I mean scrolling through blogs till 4am when my alarm is set to go off in about four hours time. Sleep?? What is that??!!!?!!! I always find myself getting tired at around 11pm but by the time I've gotten up from where I'm sat and completed my night time routine, I find that I am fully awake and ready to partaaay (ok  maybe not exactly partaaay).  So, you know, I'll just check twitter/bloglovin/facebook/youtube/my emails/that new app I downloaded again and hopefully it'll make me sleepy. Fast forward a couple of hours and I'm halfway through watching a new TV series or I've found myself in an endless scroll of tumblr reblogging all the cool images. Time to sort out my sleeping schedule and be part of the rise-and-shine-at-6am-all-refreshed-and-totally-not-grumpy gang

Being disappointed that everything isn't figured out already

As much as everyone keeps saying that your 20s are for figuring out what you want to do with your time and trying new things, a big part of me wishes that I already did have it all figured out so that I can chill with the constant thoughts of 'omg, what am I doing with my life?!' And it's all very well saying that everyone is also in the same position because Facebook begs to differ. Ah, Facebook. When did it go from a place to laugh at last nights photos to a place of status updates about the new job/home/holiday/marital status?  I guess this is a mistake that will keep on happening until things really are figured out but until then, it's a perfect time for growth, ambitious dreams and determination. 

Waaaaaaay too much chocolate eating

Chocolate is both my love and my kryptonite.  I mean, it's delicious, but also probably not the best thing for general health, you know??  I once vowed to give up chocolate forever; a resolution that lasted all of 5 months.  I guess that was still somewhat of an achievement and I have definitely cut my chocolate intake in half (hey, some people are trying to quit smoking, I'm trying to quit chocolate!) Now, I always find myself doing some food shopping and just slipping in a couple of bars of chocolate, or snacking on a Snickers bar while doing some work or munching on KitKat while waiting for the bus and I reckon my arteries are screaming for me to stop. I think it's time I made the transition to making my own chocolate snacks with cacao powder so I can feel less guilty!

Refusing to check the bank balance

Who else just does not check their bank balance for ages and pretends like everything is ok?! Of course it's ok, why would it not be ok?? It's not like you have failed to save more than £200 or you continue to spend your money on frivolous things that you don't actually need...  It's not like every time you go to buy something your heart does a little leap of worry just incase today is the day that the shop assistant will look up at you with a sympathetic face and asks 'do you have another form of payment? This card's not working...' Yep, been there, done that, got several t-shirts.  It's definitely time to build a better relationship with the bank!

What are some of your mistakes that you keep making and should really put in effort to stop?

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Tales of a wanderer // Musings

'Today, find a point of stillness:

Brief, but precious. 

Slight, but full. 

Small, but luminously real...'

- Na'ama Yehuda

I'm pretty sure I've already mentioned this about 542987 times before but the University of Nottingham has such a beautiful campus and it shares its grounds with Highfields Park which is quite possibly my favourite place in Nottingham (apart from my house of course, because, you know, food and my bed. Oh and my family I guess).  It's nothing spectacular but it's the place I like to go when things get a bit blearuurrrghhmehhharghh (oh yes, that familiar feeling) as it's always really peaceful or, as my friend likes to say, 'tranquil'. 

So I go, wander around for a bit, find a nice bench with a lovely view, sit and just people/squirrel watch before heading home.  Sitting on a park bench and doing nothing or wandering aimlessly around the grounds may seem like a complete waste of time, I mean, time is the biggest commodity we have, so why waste it right??  As the one thing we strive to use efficiently and constantly crave as we get older, time is the most important thing there is. As the saying goes, time is money and however we spend it builds up who we are as a person. But among the deadlines, exam revision, house chores, life errands, work schedules, social dates, family commitments etc etc etc, sometimes you need a moment, some space and some time to just be still. Some people like meditation, others choose yoga while for some a run on the treadmill works best. For me, it's a moment on a park bench. It's a place of sanctuary and peace, a place to be still while the world keeps going and a place to think with no distractions, no messages, no stress... no worries. 

I think everyone needs their own place of stillness - a place of quiet among the raging noise of the world - so I challenge you guys, if you don't have one, to find one. A place and time where your phone goes off and you just listen to the sounds around you, to your own breathing, to your own thoughts... completely aware of your being in that present moment.  I sound like I'm a new found Yogi telling you to 'search for your inner eye' but I can promise you this - learning to take a moment to be still is priceless and one of the greatest lessons I've learnt.  It's one of those things where you start doing it you think to yourself 'why the hell have I not thought about doing this before??!!' 

What do you like to do to find a moment of peace?

Check out my latest YouTube video HERE 

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I know this great little place... // Lincolnshire

A couple of weeks ago my friend and I decided to head a little further up North to Lincolnshire for a day visit. It was pretty spontaneous actually as she called me up the night before and since I've officially finished uni now (ohhhhh yeeeaaaah) I have quite a bit of spare time at the moment. So I decided to put the job applications to one side for the day and went along with her.

Lincoln is just under two hours away by train and the best way to describe it is a sort of hybrid between a town and village.  It's so pretty and I can imagine it being even more stunning during the summer months. We wanted to head to the Cathedral which is about a 10 minute walk from the main city centre and it's situated on top of what is quite possible the biggest hill I've ever had to climb. Ever. One of the streets leading up to the Cathedral is actually called Steep Hill and, let me tell you, it lives up to it's name. At one point me and my friend were half way up and there was a woman walking up behind us who was pretty much wheezing as she was walking up and it just made me feel 1000x more sorry for people who lived at the top and had to do the walk everyday!

This was about halfway up the hill and already the view was pretty incredible.

The Cathedral was HUGE.  The design and architecture of the building was so great you have to just take a couple of minutes to take it all in. 

We also decided to visit Lincoln Castle and climbed up one of its towers to see such an amazing view. I must have taken so many pictures up there but this was one of my favourites, It's of the Cathedral from afar and just shows you how big the building is and also how high up we were.  My camera doesn't really do it justice but if you're ever in Lincoln make sure to also visit the castle and go up one of the towers - it's the best.

I made my friend take a quick ootd photo for me!
Top; H&M // Denim Shirt; New Look // Jeans; New Look

I've never been to Lincoln before and walking around reminded me of when I used to live down in Devon. We lived in a sort of town/village about half an hour away from Exeter that was filled with one off shops and tea rooms that felt quintessentially British.  Living in a main city it's quite nice to take a trip to somewhere a bit quieter.

Where is one of your favourite quick getaway places near where you live?

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A Few Moments With: Being Ashleigh // Interview #7

London based blogger Ashleigh is a photography student and freelance stylist. A self-confessed lover of layering, mixing textures & patterns and the super casual 'just rolled outta bed' look, her blog, Being Ashleigh, captures her cool, casual and creative style along with lifestyle posts and behind the scenes of her freelance work.  I've mentioned a few times before about the opportunities a blog can offer you and Being Ashleigh is a great testament to that and so to find out more I decided to ask her a few questions on blogging, her freelance work as a stylist and her blogging goals for 2014.

Hello Ashleigh! Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Hello! I am a twenty one year old from London. I’m in my final year at UEL studying Photography and I run a fashion and lifestyle blog. I also work in Sainsburys; so I’ll give them a shout out too!

How and why did you first get into blogging?

I have always had a presence on the internet since my early teens. My blog was originally started on Tumblr which I used and still to this day as a mood board for inspiration and pretty things. I then started a passion for reviewing beauty products so I changed my aesthetic on Tumblr and strictly only used it to write up beauty reviews. I then realised one day I wanted my blog to be that bit more professional, so I started a proper blog.

What are your top 3 tips for blogging?

One: Be consistent. I often have blogging breaks due to too much pressure or sometimes I am just too damn busy to blog but I always try to blog at least three times a week to keep my readers wanting more.

Two: Be patient. When I first started my blog (and all the big bloggers will agree!), followings were slow at first and I had zero comments on my posts. However, once you find your niche, people will find your blog and a network of followers will start to build up.

Three: Enjoy it. Don’t blog just for the sake of getting a post up. That’s how you know you aren’t enjoying blogging for you. Never feel pressure to fit in with people either. It will take control.

What are the trends you’re excited to see everyone rocking this year?

Probably the skater trend! I am a huge fan of simplicity and the “just got out of bed and don’t give a crap what I look like” look. I’m quite excited to mix it up a bit with high waisted shorts, a bra-let, oversized shirt and vans. Oh Summer, hurry.

Where do you get style inspiration from?

Definitely other bloggers mostly! I’m always buying clothes I like on other bloggers. Tumblr and the street style features in Company magazine also help a lot!

If you could shop in one store for the rest of your life, where would it be?

Topshop, obvz.

You’re currently working as a freelance stylist which is cool! Has your blog helped with element of your work?

That’s right :) Definitely! My blog helps me a lot to get me opportunities. For example, I mentioned it in a job interview and got the job. When applying for stylist jobs or even assisting jobs and internships, I always mention Being Ashleigh which I think helps as the person offering the position then questions it and possibly checks it out at home on the sly!

Do you have an plans/goals for your blog this year?

I have quite a few. I slack at getting outfit posts up consistently so this is something I really need to work on. I also want to extend my blog more and start making consistent Youtube videos. It’s also been a goal of mine for a while to get my blog mentioned in a magazine (in print).

Lunch with the girls is coming up! How would you style your outfit?

I’d probably play it stylish but easy and comfy. I’d got for an oversized smock dress, my black fedora hat from H&M and some little ankle boots… not forgetting my very much loved black faux fur coat from Topshop!

Thank you! Where else can we find you?

My pleasure! My blog is Being Ashleigh, I have Twitter and Instagram too at @ashllyd 

___

Check out my latest YouTube video for all you 20-somethings out there HERE! 

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#EastMidsMeetUp // Blogger Event

Myself and Rosalie                                                                   Myself and Gavina

Thank you to Gavina for the photos (as my camera was rubbish on the night haha!)

Last Saturday I went to the #EastMidsMeetUp which was hosted by the lovely Emma and had such a great time! It was so nice to meet up with other local bloggers and take the blogging community offline and into real life for the day. We had been using the #EastMidsMeetUp hashtag on twitter for quite a while too so it was nice to meet people in person and figure out who was who from their twitter/blog pictures (que lots of 'ohhh so yoooouuu'reeee so & so, nice to meet you' comments!) We started off by doing some shopping in Westfields in Derby (which is mega crazy huuuuge) as this gave us an opportunity to mingle and get our Secret Santa presents. I had picked out Charlie and so decided to get her a bath bomb from Lush. We then made our way over to The Fat Cat Cafe for the whole group to meet up and get a chance to mingle with others and talk some more. After stuffing our faces, Emma handed out all the goody bags that she had spent months organising and preparing for us and there was so much stuff to go through! We also swapped our Secret Santa presents which was exciting and I got the Snow Fairy shower gel from Lush bought by Emily from What Em Loves which smells like sweets and bubblegum and candyfloss and summer so thank you to Emily for that!

All in all it was a lovely day/evening and was nice to see how many local bloggers there are! A massive thank you to Emma for organising and hosting - I can imagine it was stressful but was a definite success! Hopefully I'll have a couple of reviews up about some of the samples soon!

Have you guys been to an event recently?

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Urban Outfitters comes to Nottingham!!

GUYS URBAN OUTFITTERS IS NOW IN NOTTINGHAM AND IT'S SO COOL AND EXCITING. 

Cool because, well, it's Urban Outfitters. Exciting because, you have no idea how much people have been talking about the store opening. It's like the highlight of the year for Nottingham shoppers (slight exaggeration? I dunno...) I was lucky enough to be invited along to the press day and went along with Gavina yesterday to take a look round which was pretty exciting! I've only ever been in the one in Liverpool One so it's nice to have one here in Notts that I can check out IN REAL LIFE instead of browsing through their online collection (and perhaps spend all my money in? Oh dear...)

Every time I go shopping I've started paying more attention to mannequins and how they're styled which I never really did before for some reason (I used to just ignore them and think 'oh they're dressed too cool for me to try' haha!).  I love the layering of different colours and textures on these mannequins and as soon as I finish writing up this post I'm going to YouTube how to tie a scarf/turban so I can gain extra cool points (you think I'm joking...)

Apart from loving the Urban Outfitters brand/style I also love love love the general design and vibe of the store.  It's a lot bigger than I thought and myself and Gavina kept commenting on the quite rustic/old school vibe it gave off with graffiti and street style art dotted around. There's also a Vinyl wall and an area full of quirky books and gift ideas (I'm pretty sure I saw a couple of furby's hidden at the back somewhere!) adding  to the whole shopping experience.

If you live in/near Nottingham and haven't done so already then you should probably go and check out the store for yourself, it's so flipppin cool! It's in such a great location too (the entrance to Victoria Centre) and it's opened just in time for some serious Christmas shopping. I'm so glad I got to go along to check it out so thank you to the guys at Urban Outfitters for the invite! I was also lucky enough to pick out an item so I shall do a separate outfit post for that so look out for that! Also, make sure to check out the #UONottingham hashtag on instagram for some pictures from their store opening party last night!

What do you guys think of the store? 

Currently, I've been loving:

Fast Car - Tracy Chapman

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'We shall never know of the good a simple smile can do' // OOTD

Hat - H&M
Top/dress - Primark
Cardi - Primark
Skirt - Topshop

I recently found my green hat I bought last year and literally haven't taken off my head - it is definitely hat weather now! To be honest, the weather hasn't been too bad, it's just the cold air... anyway, I'm being a typical Brit talking about the weather! I remember opting for the green option rather than black as it just stood out to me - I think it can be hard to still incorporate some colour into your wardrobe in winter as everything can be quite dark/monochrome etc so was quite happy when I discovered this at the back of my wardrobe!

Not only is it hat weather though but it's exam season too AND GUYS I'M A BUNDLE OF STRESS. But at least it's stress I can handle, not like performing-open-heart-surgery-or-jumping-out-of-a-plane-stress because I definitely could not handle thaaaaat kind of stress!

Currently I am loving:

Kid accidentally steal cup from a restaurant -

(I've literally seen this 2489 times and cry with laughter each time ha!)

The Science of Happiness - An experiment in Gratitude 

Brand New Voices Grand Slam Finals (Amazing!)

Check out my latest YouTube video on Things I'd tell My Younger Self HERE 

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Everybody's free (to wear sunscreen) // Musings

Last week consisted of hours upon hours of job searches and online applications so it was lovely to meet up with Nora and eat and talk and wander about town till our hearts content.

*

The fact that it is already July and that time is moving so fast scares me a little bit. My sister is doing her GCSE's and I seriously still remember doing mine like it was yesterday (ha, how old does that make me sound?!) Your time is probably one of the most valuable things you have and sometime it can be so easy to waste it - on hate, on regret, on worry, on fear, on people or on doing something that we don't even enjoy. I think that's the saddest thing. If we could see how much of our time we actually waste I think we would do things a bit differently. On the other side of the scale though, quotes such as 'live everyday to the fullest' make me feel a bit uneasy because I don't really know how to do that when all I've done today is chill at home while I sent of a couple of CV's and wrote up this post. That's not exactly what you think of when you hear 'live everyday to the fullest' although I guess it's about productivity.

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Tomorrow it will be exactly a year since I got me degree results from University and began my preparation for graduation.  Not only does that add to my 'omg-time-is-moving-so-fast-don't-waste-it' thoughts it also makes me think how, despite not being in education anymore, you should never stop learning. Ever. Not just about yourself but about what's going on around you; about politics or religion or environmental issues or whatever it is that interests you - small or big.  In school and education you learning for exams, coursework, grades and your teachers whereas in life you learn for yourself and own peace of mind. Does that even make sense?!

*

Currently, I am loving:

Everybody's free to wear sunscreen - Baz Lurhmann

If you haven't already heard this then I suggest you go right ahead and click on that link man!

'Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth'

*

Check out my latest YouTube video HERE 

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Casper and Pearl // Current Love

My new current love is Casper&Pearl, I actually discovered them after they left a lovely comment on one of my posts a while back and have been meaning to share their blog and site with you. They are an Australian fashion brand taking inspiration from 'days gone by, innocence, the 70's and vintage fashion' and their upcoming Secret Garden collection captures just that. Think whimsical, arty, playful and fantastical - I love this collection so much!

Image Source

Think lazy summer days, spontaneous adventures and time spent putting daisy chains in your hair.

The thing that strikes me about this collection is how creative it is. It's not just about the clothes they are selling, but there's a story too, a 'character' if you will, that embraces a free-spirit I think is in all of us. 

What do you guys make of it?! Lovely isn't it! Make sure to check out the Casper&Pearl blog HERE and find inspiration from their other items HERE

*All images are sourced from Casper&Pearl blog 

Music wise, I am currently loving:

Noah and The Whale - There Will Come a Time

Imagine Dragons - On Top of The World

Macklemore - Can't Hold Us

Check out my latest YouTube video HERE 

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