5 Things I Achieved in 2016

2016 wasn't a very productive year for me in terms of my blog and YouTube channel and generally, when I look back over the year, not that much really happened. Although I didn't accomplish that much in 2016, there were a number of things that I did achieve. So here are 5 of them:

- I hit 60,000 video views on my Youtube channel -

In the last month of the year, my channel reached 60K video views. I was excited just to reach 50K so 60K was amazing. The views on my channel more than doubled since last year which is really cool. I'm hoping to hit 100,000 views in 2017 if not more,

- I lost 20 pounds -

At the end of 2015, I realised that I had put on nearly 2 stone in weight. For lent in 2016, I decided to cut out all the junk food and that was the start of my weight loss. Once lent was over and I brought some of the junk food back into my diet, I started using calorie counting apps to try to lose the weight. I aimed to only eat 1500 calories each day (not always sticking to it) and that, along with exercise, lead me to lose 20 pounds over the year. 

-I got a job at Benefit Cosmetics-

This one really felt like an achievement. It was such a long and hectic interview process. I am quite an introverted person so a regular interview is pretty scary for me. The Benefit interview process had so many stages and one of them included a lot of traffic stopping, which is when you approach someone in a shop, start a conversation with them and try to get them to come back to the Benefit counter with you. I'm thinking of writing a blog post about the Benefit interview process so let me know in the comments if you would be interested in that.  

- I reached 1500 followers on Bloglovin -

When I first decided to write a blog, my goal for the number of followers I wanted to reach was 1000. I thought if I can reach 1000 followers then my blog will have been some sort of a success. Now I've surpassed it which is crazy. I never imagined reaching more than 1000 followers. I'm planning to hold a giveaway soon to celebrate reaching 1600 followers so look out for that. 

- I Made Lots of New Friends -

I've never been the girl who has hundreds of friends. I've always struggled in social situations, and have had social anxiety in the past. It weird now even writing "in the past" because I really feel I've come on leaps and bounds when it comes to social anxiety in the last 3 or 4 years. I went from not being even able to order at McDonalds to traffic stopping and approaching strangers for Benefit. There are still situations that scare me or make me feel anxious but social anxiety affects me way less than it used to on a daily basis. Anyway, at the start of the year, I had only 3 friends (two of which live in a different county). Now I have 10+ people who I can message to hang out, go drinking, see a movie or whatever, and I feel like that is some sort of achievement considering how hard is has been for me to turn acquaintances into friends in the past. 

So those are my big achievements from 2016. I've been looking back on the year as not such a great year but reflecting on it now, I feel like it wasn't so bad. What was something you achieved in 2016? No matter how big or small. Let me know in the comment section below. I hope you enjoyed this post. If you did then please make sure to give it a love on Bloglovin or a +1 on Google Plus. I hope you have a great day and I'll talk to you soon. 

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My New Year's Resolutions

Happy New Year Everyone!!

I love this time of year because everyone is alway so motivated to change their life for the better. This year I am especially excited about because I'm taking some time out from work and am looking forward to having a few months to spend more time creating and hanging out with friends. I have lots of creative projects that I will be working on and each of them makes me so happy and excited going into the new year. 

So anyway here are some of my New Year's Resolutions for 2017:

• Wake up earlier. I'm planning on waking up at 7 every morning with the exception of maybe one day a week where I can have a lie in. This is probably going to be the hardest resolution to stick to because I find it so difficult to get up in the mornings. I am definitely not a morning person. 

• I want to have a better relationship with food this year. I want to have more of a balance and not go on massive binges where I eat loads of rubbish. This is so difficult after Christmas because there is still loads of junk food in the house but I'm going to try my best.

• I am going to make more time for friends this year, especially now I am in charge of my own schedule for a few months. When I was working I didn't have a set schedule and my hours could change with as little notice as the day before and it was so hard to plan things with friends. Also, I've always had a fairly small friend group and have found it difficult to make new friends, but somehow in 2016 I've made loads so I want to make sure that I keep in touch with them all. 

• I want to be really productive this year. I've been spending the last few days trying to set up a schedule for each week so I can be as productive as possible. Now that I don't have a job with crazy hours, there is no excuse for not getting things done. 

So those are some of my new year's resolutions. Hopefully, I'll be able to stick to them. If I could just manage to get up at 7 every morning I would consider it a massive achievement. Anway, what are some of your new year's resolutions? I'd love to know. Let me know in the comment section below. Also, if you liked this post then make sure to give it a love on Bloglovin or a +1 on Google Plus. I hope you have a great day and new year, and I'll talk to you soon.

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5 Simple Ways to Be Happier

Something I am always trying to do is be more positive and happier in my life. Some people appear to be naturally positive people whereas others have to work on in each day. So if you are like me and are prone to negative thinking, here are some of my simple ways or things you can do to feel happier each day.

1.Be Grateful
By trying to come up with a list of all the things you are grateful for each day it can really help to improve your overall mood. Starting the day in such a positive way helps to get you off to a great start so try to come up with a short list of  the things you are grateful for at the beginning of each day. 

2. Get Moving
It is proven that exercise improves our mood because it helps your body produce endorphins which interact with the opiate receptors in the brain to reduce our perception of pain and improve your mood. Even doing some small exercise each day, like walking your dog or jumping around to your favourite song, is guarenteed to lift your mood. It doesn't have to be the drag or effort that everyone thinks. Even if you just do a small bit, you should feel the benefits.

3. Don't sweat the small stuff
A lot of us are rushing around and stressing about all the things we have to do when some of them aren't half as important and we make them out to be. If you don't let the little things get to you and learn to take them in your stride, you will be able to relax and enjoy life more.

4. Have Faith
I am defintely guilty of overworrying and overthining, especially about the future. I put myself into a bad mood by fretting over what is going to happen next year or stressing that I don't know what to do with my life yet. If we all just have faith that no matter what happens, it will all turn out okay in the end and this is the path we must take (even if it doesn't look so great right now). Believing that it will all work out eventually will help to stop you bringing yourself down with negative thoughts.

5. Do Something you love every day
Life would be pretty awful if we never got to do anything we truly love so try to do something you love every day. I'm not talking about making a living out of what you love, but just do something that you love each day even if it is just for 30 minutes. If you love reading, meeting your friends or painting a piece of artwork, then make time to do it. This also gives you something to look forward to for the rest of the day.

So those are my 5 simple tips to become happier. I hope you enjoyed this blog post. If you did, then please save it on Bloglovin or give it a +1 on Google Plus. Also, leave a comment below of any tips you have to become happier in your day to day life. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Talk to you soon.

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New Wardrobe Organisation

Hey guys! Recently I went on a shopping spree and I was forced to deal with the awful state my wardrobe was in. At the time, I didn't go near the wardrobe, and most of the clothes that I wore were in piles on my office chair and out on my bookshelf. I never wore anything out of the wardrobe or drawers because they were really disorganised and I didn't know where anything went. Nothing had a place. I decided once and for all to deal with the mess that was my closet so I would be able to wear all my new clothes, and the old ones that I had almost forgot were there. So I did a massive clear-out and now everything has a place. Here is the new layout of my wardrobe:

On the top shelf I have all my jumpers and skirts folded. Then I have some going out bags, pajamas and bikinis that I don't need for everyday at the real back. Everything else is hanging, folded in my chest of drawers or out by the shoes.  

The fist section of hanging clothes is all my jackets, hoodys and sweatshirts. Then I have my two checked shirts.

After that I have some hanging long sleeves tops, and the I have all of my t-shirts and dressy tops. After that I have my casual everyday dresses.

After my casual dresses, I have interview or generic work clothes if I ever need them and then I have all my going out dresses. After that I just have my belts.

In the chest of drawers, which I didn't photograph, I have a drawer for underwear, a drawer for pajamas, a drawer for all my tank-tops and then a drawer for all of my pants or jeans. Before, I used to have half my pants hanging and half folded in different drawers so I never knew what pants I had to wear. This system is so much better.

After I organised the chest of drawers, I realised that I had nowhere to put my gym clothes; all my sweat pants, leggings and tops. I borrowed a small travel set of drawers from my sister who doesn't live at home anymore to put my gym clothes in. I put this in the hall outside my room with a shoe rack that my sister also gave me.  I organised all my shoes on the shoe rack but unfortunately my heels are too small to put on it. They fall right through the bars. 

So that is my new way of organising my clothes and shoes, and believe me it is so much more easier to navigate than the old way. I think the best way to organise is to group everything by what it is. If you have all your trousers together and all your tops together then you know exactly where to go when putting an outfit together. 

I hope you liked this post and it inspired you to organise your wardrobe. Let me know in the comments below what way you like to organise your wardrobe or if you wardrobe is a total mess that you don't even want to attempt to tidy. I'll talk to you soon. 

Gift ideas for Sisters

Hey, guys! I've been thinking lately of what to get my sisters for Christmas and I came up with a few ideas that I thought I would share with you. One of my sisters is in her twenties and the other is nearly fourteen so I've put together a little mix of presents ideas for both of them. So here are my ideas:

1. Too Faced Boudoir Eyes Eye Palette - Boots (€38.00)
When I saw this I thought of my older sister, she has a too faced palette already so I know she likes the brand. I thought the colours in this palette would be perfect for her, there are neutral ones for every day but there is also black and silver to create a really dramatic smokey eye. It's pretty expensive though so it would only be that present on its own that I would get her and I want to get her a few things.

2. Essence Gel Nails At Home - Pennys/Primark (€25- €30)
This is something that I just think would be a great present for any girl. I mostly put this on the list because I would really love to get this for Christmas and I know both of my sisters would feel the same. If you haven't heard of it yet, it's basically a really inexpensive kit to create gel nails at home. The beauty of it is that you can use it with any nail polish including the Essence ones that are less than €2 and it turns them into a gel nail finish so your nail polish will last much longer.

3.  Sleek 7 Piece Brush Set- Boots (€15.99)
I really think my younger sister would love a makeup brush set. She has a few random brushes but is constantly stealing mine. This one is really inexpensive and has all the essential brushes that a 14-year-old would need. It also has a brush belt that I think she would love because it makes the brushes look a bit more professional and she can take them with her anywhere she goes.

4. Rose Gold Tine Bracelet Watch (€37.00)
I love this watch, my mom loves this watch and I bet both of my sisters would love it too. Any girl would love this watch for Christmas. I don't know how many of my friends in work have rose gold watches but I know that these are a big favourite right now among them all. I think I might actually get it for my mom now because when I showed her the sister gift ideas picture I made she completely fell in love with the watch and wouldn't stop talking about it.

5. Maybelline NY Limited Edition Fashion Look Box - Boots (€24.99)
I think this set is perfect for younger teenage girls who are starting off their makeup collection, or maybe don't have that much makeup yet because it has a lot of different products in it. There is mascara, blush, baby lips lip balm, nail polish and more and it isn't too expensive.

I hope you liked this post. What are you thinking of buying your family members for Christmas? Has everyone already started Christmas shopping? I still haven't gotten half the things I need. Leave a comment below.

Don't Give Up!

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Hey guys! Today's post is about not giving up on something you that you want to achieve. I myself, always set out to do something and then, when I find that I am completely rubbish at it, lose all faith in myself and just quit. I've found this with a bazillion things such as juggling, solving the Rubik's Cube, learning dance routines,wanting to run a marathon, being able to fix cars, etc. You name it I've probably attempted to master it. But there is something that I have learned. First of all, how much does this particular thing mean to me? I know I probably won't end up crying on my deathbed because I didn't learn to juggle, but if I didn't achieve any big life goals in my life I think that I would regret it. 

The main reason I think that I (and probably a lot of people) give up things is that it has to be perfect. I am a bit of a perfectionist and if something I do isn't as good as I think it should be it makes me feel like crap, but what I keep forgetting is that it takes time for you to become good at something and just because you are not where you wanna be with it right now doesn't mean that with a little time and practice that you might end up being as good as you want to be. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT! And I think that this quote by Thomas A. Edison really applies here. If there is something that you want to do and you try it and suck really bad, maybe give it a week to get rid of all the bad memories of the last time you tried it, and just try again. Always say "I'll just give it one more try" and you will see that you might even get a little better after another try and eventually, over time, succeed.