Thanksgiving | 5 Things I'm Thankful For

Living in the UK I've never celebrated thanksgiving but it always gets me thinking about things that I'm thankful for over the year. So here are 5 things I'm thankful for this year:

My fiance -

I never imagined at the start of this year that I would be engaged but I'm happy and grateful that I am. I've never experienced happiness in a relationship like I have with Jack.

My family -

My family never really have an easy ride and this was no different. But despite everything they always come back fighting and stronger than ever and I always admire them for that.

My first trip to Disneyland Paris -

I've been a massive fan of Disney since I came remember but I've never been able to go to Disneyland Paris until this year. We tried to go back in March but the heavy snowfall meant our flight was cancelled. So we decided to try going again in October and we finally made it! It was as magical as I could have imagined and we also got engaged at Disney!

My fur babies -

This year we added 3 new additions to our family in the form of fur babies. We got two guinea pigs at the start of the year called Dobby and Yoda and then a couple of months ago we got a frenchies called Daisy. Our little family is so cute!

My friends -

I have the best and most supportive friends a girl could ask for. They're all so fabulous and strong and I love them all so much.

This year has been incredible and I absolutely don't want it to end but I'm so excited to see what the next chapter of my life holds!

Zoe x

What are you thankful for this year?

Happiness is not a privilege | Take charge

It goes without saying that we should all make ourselves a priority in life, after all who's going to look out for us more than ourselves. But we can all admit that we've neglected ourselves more than once and put others needs before our own. I'm certainly renowned for doing it anyway. But the past year or so has taught me the importance of self love and understanding your own needs.

One thing I'm not fond of about myself is the fact that I find it difficult to make decisions when other people are involved because I care so much about hurting or upsetting those around me. I feel too deeply and that leads to me not making decisions when I should and ultimately hurting people more. A perfect example of this happened last year when I was in a relationship with someone who I thought I loved but when I actually looked deep inside myself and was honest with myself, I realised that wasn't true. It was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to face and acknowledge and I'm ashamed to say that I handled it so badly. But it was the start of a change in me.

A change that I think comes to us all eventually but perhaps not till later in life. I realised just how important it is to surround yourself with people who bring nothing but positivity to your life. And since then I've cut people out of my life that bring it no value, have no time for me or simply make me feel bad. And I've never been happier. The people around me are all wonderful and supportive and I've noticed a massive shift in my mental health.

So I guess the point of this post is to remind you all to stop worrying about what other people think and do things that make you happy, ask the questions you need answers to, cut people out of your life that bring it no value, surround yourself with positive vibes and just be happy!

Till next time!

Zoe xx

Bloggers Event | Lush Spring Collection

Normally I wouldn't describe myself as lucky but on Wednesday I just so happened to scroll through twitter at the right time and I saw someone tweet about a bloggers event at my favourite place; Lush. And so I got to work and between us me and Nicole got ourselves an invite! I'd been to a Lush event before so I was extremely excited and this was Nicole's first event so she was a ball of excitement!

I'd been into the store a few days before and ended up speaking to a guy there named Haz for about an hour, so when I saw that he was working the event I headed straight over to him. He not only remembered me but was just as amazing as I remember him being. We started off looking at some of the new bath bombs and bubble bars which were all incredible, there were quite a few newbies as well as returning favourites such as Golden Egg, Bunch of Carrots and Which Came First. Some of the new products include, Incredible Mum, April Showers, Mother of Pearl, Purple Rain and Cream Egg.

                 

We then headed over to the skincare section where Haz gave both me and Nicole a skincare routine. He got a slate board full of products to try and was really informative about everything he had chosen. He also had lots of little stories about where the ingredients in the products had been produced and how. For example, did you know that the honey in their products is hand pollenated! how cool is that!? Afterwards we headed over to haircare where again Haz was a fountain of knowledge!

                 

                  

After exhausting Haz of his product knowledge, we made our way upstairs to the spa to have a nose around. If you've never been to the spa to have a look around then I would highly recommend it! The initial part of the spa is made to look like a kitchen as the kitchen is the heart of the home! It's incredibly cute! This then followed on to an area with a window seat and comfy chairs for you to sit and relax before and after your treatment. Then there's a shower room that you can use and if there is a product that you want to use in the shower that isn't already on the room, they will run to the shop floor and grab it for you! This was followed by the treatment rooms which were soooooo relaxing with soft music playing and candles lit. After hearing about all the available treatments, me and Nicole decided to book in for The Comforter and I'm so excited to go! Definitely expect a blog post on that one!

                 

                 

We then went around and grabbed a few products to buy and I've never had to pull so much self restraint as I wanted to buy everything! But as it was the week before my pay day I really couldn't afford to! I absolutely love the Lush bloggers events and I'm so glad I found out about this one before it was too late! We had so much fun and Haz is a true credit to that store! If you ever go to the Cardiff store and need a skincare routine that fits your needs and desires, than ask for him! And of course the icing on the cake was the gift we were given in a beautiful knot wrap!

Zoe xx

My Birthday | All I could think about was Taylor Swift

If you read my first post then you will know that my birthday was a few weeks ago. On February the 14th to be precise and 2018 was the year I turned 22 (the title makes so much more sense now right?) and it was quite possibly the best birthday I've ever had. I'm not one to make a big fuss so my quiet day doing the things I wanted was perfect.

it started with breakfast in bed which comprised of pancakes and orange juice that Jack had made for me and presented on a tray with roses. I then opened all my presents in bed and we caught up on Rupaul's Drag Race All Stars 3 because we both absolutely love it! This was followed by a fish and chip lunch on Penarth Pier, coffee in Starbucks with friends and visiting Jack's family as his dad had injured his face and his sisters boyfriend fractured his ankle.

                                              

Finally we went home and I had a bath with lush products, candles and music which was as heavenly as it sounds! And Jack cooked us dinner of a beef stroganoff with mushrooms and rice followed by a raspberry cheesecake. Considering he never cooks, I was incredibly impressed! So now you can see that my birthday was a lovely, quiet day that was perfect for me!

Zoe xx

Alidia Cosmetics | Make Up Event

This Friday myself and several others were invited to a make up event held in The Plug cafe in Dinas Powys. The event was held to promote my friend Alexandria's make up brand; Alida Cosmetics. Alex established her brand back in 2015 and prides herself on being cruelty free, hypo-allergenic and paraben free. I met Alex through work and she's done my make up on a number of occasions. She's super talented and the make up doesn't feel heavy at all but lasts all night through all the dancing, heat and alcohol the nights usually entail.

I'm not really a girl that knows an awful lot about make up or even someone who makes much of an effort really, so to be in a room full of people who were all so beautiful, did make me feel really conscious of my face. However, I'm learning to love myself for who I am and this was the perfect moment for me to practice that!

Alida cosmetics is a brand that largely focuses on face make up such as foundation, highlighters, contouring and lips. So Alex gave us a demonstration of how to master these basics, using her products followed by Tia Adams demonstrated how to do eye make up. Vicci Valentine was also at the event doing a demo on how she applies individual eyelash extensions. And aesthetics nurse Becky was also there showing us how she does non-surgical nose jobs and lip fillers.

       

Alex was also kind enough to give anyone who brought a product a free goodie bag that contained a sample of one of her highlights (I got the shade Ice which is just magical), a candle, some tissues, and vouchers for money off of your next purchase with Alida Cosmetics, Vicci Valentine or B's Aesthetic's.

                   
     

Overall, the event was a lot of fun and really peaked my interest in beauty again, making me want to learn more about it all. I ended up getting a matte lipstick from the collection which I will be reviewing in a later post. I would definitely recommend Alida Cosmetics for anyone looking for a high end make up brand without the price tag!

Zoe x

Welcome | My new start

Hi everyone - and welcome to my new blog. I'm Zoe and I'm 21 at the time of writing this, although my birthday is 2 weeks away!! I'm currently in bed in the flat that I recently moved into with my other half, Jack, in a beautiful city that you know as Cardiff and I know as home. I took white girl blogger to the next extreme and became a barista at Starbucks so expect to see A LOT of the siren logo in my photos!

(Me and Jack)

I decided yesterday that I wanted to start blogging again because I miss having an outlet and somewhere where I can ramble on about whatever is on my mind. I felt like I needed a fresh start with my blog rather than just a rebrand and that's why I've made a brand new page.

I don't really know what to tell you to expect from the posts on this page as I've not decided myself yet but I'm sure it will be a mix of lifestyle, beauty, mental health and general wellbeing. Like I said, I'm mostly just going to be using this page as an outlet for myself, but if anyone wants to follow then of course you are more than welcome!

Until next time!

Zoe x