How to survive a family holiday...

Going away on a holiday avec the family, sounds great right? Sure. Until arguments start and chaos descends. However, worry not! Here are my top 5 tips for how to survive a family holiday, I assume they work as I'm still here and I haven't murdered anyone...yet.

1) Try and be a peacekeeper
I love a good debate as much as the next guy but when it is escalating into a full blown argument or the other person is taking it too seriously, it might be time to just leave it. Yes it can be frustrating - particularly when you are right - but it's just easier.

2) Avoid drama
If you are not in the argument and it seems to be getting pretty heated...EVACUATE THE PREMISSES IMMEDIATELY!   You will get either sucked in to the argument or asked to pick a side. Simply go to a different room with a different family member and hide there until the storm passes

3) It is okay to take time for you
Yes you are there for a family holiday but that does not mean that you need to be with them 24/7. It is absolutely fine for you to have some down time by yourself be it to walk, draw, write or whatever you want to do. You should not feel bad about relaxing and wanting to do a fun activity alone - your family will not hate you.

4) Be willing to try new things
While away with family or extended family it is most likely that you will be subjected to things that you might not necessarily want to do. For some people this might be going on a walk, going to a museum etc. However, please try and find some aspect of it that you enjoy. This not only makes it more enjoyable for you but your family doesn't have to listen to complaining the entire time.

5) Bond
During the rest of the year you might be so busy that you may actually be left feeling slightly cut off or disconnected from your family, a holiday is a chance to fix this. You actually have time to talk and do activities together and this will definitely bring you closer together. I really love this because after a holiday I really feel connected to my family.

These are my top 5 tips for survival: good luck!

10 Summer Trends You Need...

Hello,
so as we are now at the beginning of summer (eep!) most of us just want to be out socialising and enjoying the sunshine. Unless you're in Scotland, in which case, how's that rain going? So here are 10 hot summer trends that will help you spice up your look no matter what style you are going for:

1) Summer Dresses
Despite my love for a simple jeans and a top combo sometimes it's nice to feel super girly and pretty in a dress. This not only is hella cute but also keeps you cool in hot weather - double win!

2) Short(er) hair
Now I know not everyone suits a short hairstyle however getting a little trim helps keep you cooler and less sweaty. Also, it can look amazing and you may be surprised at the outcome.

3) Colourful skater skirt
These are very popular so chances are you may already have one. However, it's time to ditch the dark colours and go for a bright or patterned skirt that is bound to catch an admiring eye from those who see you!

4) Feet chains
Personally I love feet (weird I know) but I love painting my toenails and making them look pretty etc. Feet chains add a certain attitude to your look and are certainly unique whilst being tres trendy

5) A nice set of lingerie
Now this isn't necessarily just a summer thing, this is nice to have all year round to be honest. However a fancy set of lingerie can make a girl feel so beautiful and lovely so, for that reason alone, lingerie is very important
 
6) A cool pair of sandals
Personally I absolutely hate the original flat sandals that you first think off. However there are so many sandal adaptations that you are bound to find a pair that are extremely cute and suit your style. These are more my style:


7) A flannel
Flannels are super versatile and soooooo comfy. Need I say more?
 
8) A see through over top
This is clearly not meant to be worn on its own however this look allows a supercute layer whilst being able to see whatever outfit is being worn underneath. Much much nicer than having to wear a thick jumper that simply covers everything up.

9) Long floaty skirt
Too be honest, I don't see enough of these. They are so stylish as well as being comfortable, modern and covers more leg if you're more comfortable with that. I would absolutely love to see more of these as well as getting one myself!
 
10) White temporary tattoos
These are the epitome of hot plus they make you look more tan! Bonus! I adore these so much but they look even cooler if you're hitting up some summer music festival...just saying

These are my top 10 summer trends, I would love to hear your opinions and what summer styles you;re loving this year.
Lots of love 🌞

Why Vegetarian?

Hey guys!
So, as some of you may or may not know, I am a vegetarian. Not a weird thing, right? A lot of people are. Well you would think however I get asked a surprising amount about why I chose to go vegetarian so I thought I would write a wee bit about it and explain why I personally chose to go veggie. Here we gooo:

1)  The animals: when I was younger I really did not care about the meat that I was consuming...at the age of three I marched into a restaurant, announced "I SMELL BEEF" and then proceeded to eat an entire adults meal. I think that pretty much summed me up. Then as I got older I began to do more research into vegetarianism - not because I wanted to be one but I was just curious. I explored how animals were treated and I was absolutely horrified. I don't really want to go into too much detail about it but I have to honestly say that what I saw was worse than any horror movie I have ever seen. Also...how could you eat that little guy?! ^


2) Religious reasons: I am a Buddhist. Now whilst it does not say directly anywhere in Buddhism not to eat animals and many Buddhists are not vegetarians, I felt bad because the first precept is 'Do not harm or kill another living being'. It can be argued that you are not really harming the animals directly but I felt guilty and that actually took a lot of pleasure out of eating meat to the point where all I was seeing when I was eating it was the animal it once was.

3) My final reason was health and environment: my family ate a lot of meat, we were consuming it two or three times a day which is actually more than we need protein wise. The body does not need the amount of protein we were giving it and that results in the fats being stored. Since going veggie I have noticed a definite loss in weight. The environmental factor is that the meat industry is actually one of (if not the) leading cause of global warming and by not consuming meat you are cutting back the amount of resources used and pollution released.

I would like to clarify that this was not to pressure anyone into being a vegetarian or anything like that but simply to clarify the reasons why I went veggie. At some point in the future I would like to go vegan and see how that goes.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed :) xx

Holiday Times

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Hey guys!
So I am currently away on my holidays. Don't worry - I'm still in the Uk so it is still as rainy and cold as ever. However as it is with family and it is escaping all responsibility it is rather pleasant. I know that a lot of people see a holiday as a chance to relax, do nothing and neglect the chores that we would normally face doing. Not me. I love the relaxing etc. as much as the next person but I also like to try and use my holiday to better myself. Lame? I know. A lot of people might find these strange but these are the things I really love doing on my holidays:



The first thing that I really love to do whilst being away is exercising more. I do quite a lot anyway but when you're away you get a whole new environment and a whole new feel - usually a better one. Something I particularly love is running across the beach. It is a good workout as well as being such a pleasant place and really helps to clear your head. Yoga on the beach is really good too. Anything on the beach is pretty good though to be honest.


Pretty nice right? My next thing is self discovery. Sounds a little pretentious I know. But while I am away I really like to think about things I would like to achieve and how to do them and you may even realize you want to do things you hadn't thought about before. It was while I was away on holiday that I realized I want to travel the world and move to London. These are big decisions but the research I did on both whilst away made a big difference. I truly believe that a different environment brings out different, often better, sides of your personality.



Another aspect I really (sometimes) enjoy is spending time avec la famille. It is nice to have some bonding time and almost reconnect with your family. Although I appreciate that sometimes on your holiday you may want to kick them...rather hard, they are great to be around and a stronger connection is very important.

And finally, and possibly most importantly, sleep. I know this isn't true but I kind of have the belief that if I sleep for a very long time over the holidays it makes up for the lack of sleep we get during exam season etc and kind of balances out the scale.



Well that's all from me just now but I hope you found some of these things relatable.
happy holidays and all my love xx

Sizing in shops......

What clothes size are you?

Seems like an extremely personal question doesn't it? It is one that many people feel self conscious or concerned about. One of the reasons why clothes sizing and shopping can be very difficult and potentially embarrassing is because of the ridiculous sizing in many shops. Don't know what I'm talking about?

It appears to me that, as I travel from store to store (not that I go shopping that much), my size morphs to up to 2 whole sizes bigger than the one I started at. This can be very humiliating when attempting to try and squeeze into something in a size that should fit me fine! It can also really knock your confidence.

It has become increasing apparent to me, over the years, that most woman are not skinny. The majority of us have big boobs and big bums. We are curvy. However, despite the overwhelming majority of woman shaped like this, clothes still look as if they are designed for 10 - 12 year olds who are yet to fill out, fully develop and are, well, skinny. It is obviously important to create clothes for those of us who are lucky enough to have a petite frame, however that doesn't mean others should be left to buy clothes that are unflattering on us because we have no other choice or have to buy massive sizes when, in reality, they're not that big but just need something to fit over their boobs!

Take places like Topshop and Primark for example, is it a size 10 or an age 10? And, when I do find one I can get over my boobs how am I supposed to deal with it hanging off me completely shapeless and making me look like a box?! After doing some ordering of clothes online instead of actually going into the stores, I discovered that the measurements for different sizes changes completely depending on what shop you go to! How exactly does that work? Allow me to show you a thing - 

Topshop sizing guide:

M&S sizing guide:

As you can see, the sizes are pretty much exactly the same (give or take a very few cms). If this is the case then why is it that I can fit perfectly fine into a size 12 from Marks and Spencers but still struggle to squeeze into a size 14 from Topshop? WHAT IS THIS TRICKERY?!?

A friend of mine once had an encounter with a shop assistant at Hollister, where she asked why all the clothes were so small and they didn't do larger sizes, to which the shop assistant replied:
                                              "We don't make clothes for fat people."
Okay. You want to know what you make clothes for? Clothes hangers. You make clothes for hangers.
You create something that looks appealing when just on display in the shop that will attract people to it enough to, at least, try it on. For curvy ladies however, a lot of truly flattering clothing looks miles better on than it does on the hanger.

But enough about my pain, I want to know about yours. Have you had any embarrassing or mildly traumatic experiences thanks to unreliable sizing guides? Do you feel your confidence disappearing as you travel from store to store and notice that either you've put on a lot of weight in the last 2 minutes or the clothes are shrinking? Does anyone else experience these things? Please tell me I'm not alone. Or if you have a theory on the mystery of the mystical changing clothes sizes then please feel free to tell me how you did it and which Genius company you're working for.

Thank you for reading my rant,
love you loads ❤️

Oh and clothes companies