Goodbye 2015

Another year has gone by.

 

I can safely say this year has been a complete and utter rollercoaster for me. So many ups, and so many downs. Loss, grief, change, surprise, heartbreak, reconciliation, celebrations to name a few. I have experienced every single emotion, and I am happy to admit I am really glad this year is almost over. A lot of people use the New Year as a fresh start, and I am definitely one of those people. But 2016 will be a little bit different, and maybe a little bit more selfish, but in the best possible way.

 

2016 is the year of Me.

 

It is the year I put my happiness first.

And no, it doesn’t mean I’ll forget everyone else’s happiness, or indeed shut out everybody else on my quest for inner contentment, but it means I am going to put a bit more thought into what it is that makes me happy.

Somebody very wise once said to me that I am sensitive to people’s feelings, sometimes a little too sensitive; in that I worry so much about what people think that it stops me doing things, in fear I will be judged. And it’s true. I think a lot of people suffer from this irrational fear of what people will think of them, but people will think what they want, regardless of what I do or say.

I am going to say yes more, and also say no to things which is just as important. I want to travel more, see more of the world, and meet new people. I want to work on how to push my career further, and aim higher than ever before. Yes this will mean leaving my comfort zone, but nothing is worth anything without a little risk.

 

An arrow can only be fired by first being pulled backward; so have faith that if things seem to be falling down, you will soon be fired into something amazing.

I’ll do a post early on in the New Year with a review of my bucketlist of 2015, and then a brand new one which is looking very exciting 😀

 

But for now, take this as my promise, that 2016 is the year of me. And I am so excited for it.

Hello Again…

Hey guys!

I cannot believe the last time I posted was AUGUST. So much has happened since then; both good times and some maybe not so good, but now is time to get back on it. I have spent so much time thinking ‘oh I really must get back into my blog’, and life has just happened. So I apologise for that, I’m back 🙂

While I sit in my bed with a hot cup of tea I thought this would be the perfect time to look over my goals for the past year and review where I am so far. If anyone had told me this year would have gone the way it did I wouldn’t have believed them.

 

So… if you want to look at my post in January here it is

It’s so interesting to look back, this is one of the many reasons I love blogging. Do any of you guys do this, read back through old posts and get a little nostalgic? I love a bit of reminiscing.

 

So let’s have a look how I have done with my goals.

 

‘2015 is the year I complete my Post Graduate degree and (fingers crossed) become an Early years Teacher.’

I did it! I completed my EYTS in August woop! I worked so hard and it was all worth it, I was graded Outstanding which is unbelievable!

‘It will also be the year I truly focus on my blog, attend bloggers events and interact with my fellow bloggers!’

I have to be honest and say my blog took the back seat this year, and while I have made some amazing friends from blogging, I want to attend more events and meet my blogging friends next year.

‘I am also really hopeful that 2015 will be the year I feel a bit more settled, and spend more time with loved ones.’

Sadly this hasn’t really been the case. I lost two members of my family this year, which has been really tough on us all. It’s horrid how grief can affect you. I also had a really tough few months from September to November, and so I haven’t really felt settled at all. However, I feel so positive now I have had the time to grieve and restart, I feel secure in my relationship and my friends and family are just so wonderful! Here is to 2016.

‘I want to look back and see that 2015 was a pivotal year in my life in terms of career path. The year that I set my own challenges and surprised myself. I also want 2015 to be the year I embraced the people/things I love.’

I definitely see 2015 as a pivotal year in my life, although not how I thought it would be at all. I feel that due to shit (excuse my language but sometimes no other word will do) going on, I really have learnt about who I need in my life, as well as what I need to do to keep them in my life.

Rather than focus on work, work, work, for me, my lifestyle is what is important. My happiness. I work to live, not live to work. This next year is all about saying yes to new experiences, not being afraid to go for what I want, and being proud of who I love.

 

‘What is your number one goal for 2015?

Be a total badass, work hard, and play harder.’

 

I will carry this forward into 2016, I will continue to be a total badass.

 

 

 

In January I will be posting all of my new year’s resolutions, I can’t wait to read all of yours!

How do you think your 2015 has gone?

Was it how you expected it to be? Any surprises?

Love,

Sophie xxx

 

Gran’s Rock Cakes

Hey guys.

So on Saturday my beautiful and wonderful Gran passed away.

It’s all very raw still and it’s early days but I feel I need to keep busy and fill my time with small happy moments amongst all of the sadness.

I want to dedicate this post to one of her very favourite recipes The Rock Cake. My earliest memories are (I must have been about five years old) standing in her kitchen licking the spoon covered in rock cake mixture. I remember them being HUGE and can even imagine the smell now! She absolutely loved baking, and made the best cakes. So I feel like it is my job now to bake and preserve her memory.

Ingredients

8oz Self raising flour
pinch of salt
4oz margarine/butter
3oz raisins or dried fruit
2oz caster sugar
1 egg
A little milk to mix
Demerara sugar to sprinkle

Method

1. Heat the oven to 190°C, grease/line two baking trays.
2. Mix the flour and salt, rub in margarine,
3. Stir in raisins/dried fruit.
4. Stir in sugar.
5. Mix to a stiff dough with the egg and a little milk.
6. Roughly place on tray and sprinkle a little demerara sugar over the top of each cake.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes

If you happen to make some rock cakes, I would love to see your links and photographs so feel free to paste them in the comments. Make some happy memories with your loved ones that you can always look back on.

Enjoy a cake with a lovely cup of tea, and think of all the great times you’ve had and have yet to come.

Love you Granny xx

What are you happy for?

Hey guys and happy Monday!

I hope you have all had as relaxing an Easter weekend as mine has been; I have barely moved!

So one of my fave bloggers Louise has written a lovely little post as part of her ‘Motivational Monday’ series, which you can find here. Here she lists some of the things that make her happy, so I thought I’d write a little list of my own, and encourage all of you to do the same 🙂

Sometimes it does us good to remind ourselves of the things that make us happy; big or small, and that sometimes, parts of life aren’t bad at all ❤

This Monday I am happy for –

Waking up to sunshine streaming through the window
Green tea
My newfound love for yoga and all the wonderful youtube videos out there
My lovely squishy doggy
Long phone calls with loved ones
Family time
Leggings with cats all over them
Reuniting with my university friends and nothing changes (they’re still crazy and wonderful as ever)
Ideal home magazine
Beautiful notebooks full of ideas and lists
Leave in conditioner
The smell of coconut. YUM.
The blogging community (especially on Twitter the little gems)
The rewarding feeling when you work with children and how magical the journey can be
Chocolate buttons and cup of tea

So let’s all make this Monday a truly happy one, list some of the things that make you happy on this lovely sunny Monday; it will perk you up and make you smile!

Welcome To My Workspace.

I love my workspace.

It’s completely personal to me, a bit quirky, full of little interesting artefacts that remind me of where I’ve been and what I’ve experienced. Depending on my mood, I might sit at my desk and write up an essay for my postgrad degree, or if I’m feeling relaxed, I’ll sit on my bed and think up some blog ideas. Whatever it is I choose to do, I love that my room makes me feel comfortable and creative. It’s home.

I love light, so my workspace is airy, bright and full of lighter colours such as creams and whites, and you can see there are little pops of colour here and there. I keep my deskspace fairly minimal, like they say; tidy desk, tidy mind. The books I keep on my desk include notebooks (love a notebook, who doesn’t?), my Filofax, and my happy book. I also have a few postcards from various people and places. Looking at them just makes me ooze with nostalgia, and a smile always pops up on my face. For that split second I can look back and reminisce on those happy memories, then focus back on my work.

As I write about all kinds of stuff, I change up my space according to what I’m writing about. I have a lot of beauty and make up trinkets and treasures in my drawers, but the things I use most I keep out for ease of access. I guess you could say I’m a bit of a magpie, in that small sparkly things really attract my eye and I love to see them on display! One thing I’m definitely working on is how to create a bit more storage for my beauty products, so any suggestions feel free to send them my way! How do you store you makeup?

I love that my bookshelf is overflowing with different recipe books, children’s books, romantic novels and photo albums. I love to look at things that bring back amazing memories and inspire me to make more. I’m so lucky to have travelled so far in my life so my little tourist books are always on display!

 

Another thing in my space is a lot of interior design magazines. I am always dabbling with different ideas and themes to create my dream environment, especially innovative ways to use the tiny amount of space I have. Through my mini interior design journey I came across WeWork who are a coworking  company that specialise in creating shared workspaces. On their site you can see some of their amazing spaces, all designed for people like us bloggers and beyond! They really motivated me to have a think about my space, and how I can make it unique and personal to me, and get my creative juices flowing. Check out their Twitter page here.

Check my Pinterest to see some of the workspace ideas I’ve pinned, and feel free to send me any links to your Pinterest boards in the comments! Follow me on twitter, my name is @sophie_d247

I’d love to see some of your spaces, send me your blog links 😀

Love,

Sophie xx

What Makes You Happy?

Hi everyone and happy Friday!

I’m not one for all of these days with labels but I love the idea of today being the International Day Of Happiness, I think everyone could kind of get on board with that one 🙂

So I won’t make this a huge long list of things that make me happy, but instead show you a few, and then I invite everybody, all bloggers, all friends to share some of the things that make them happy. Positive vibes spread to everybody is great, and you never know, you might just make someone smile.

So here are some of the things that make me happy:

I made a little collection of things that make me feel happy. These include:

Cupcake recipe book (with obligatory teething puppy bite marks in corner).

A notebook to write down ideas, list things, doodle.

My filofax. My lifeline. My organisational buddy.

One of my huge collection of teapots (my favourite one).

My Urban Decay Naked On The Run palette. Makes my face pretty.

My Wicked mug. I love Wicked!

Brighton magnet. I love Brighton, it holds a really special place in my heart, so vibrant and exciting!

Sydney Harbour Bridge decoration. I lived in Sydney for 7 months, it is one of my favourite places and bring back so many amazing memories, I will go back to visit, promise!

Lipstick. Just because.

Knitting needles. Because it’s cool, therefore it makes me cool.

Here are a few photos of what else makes me happy:

There are so many other things that make me happy. So many people, places and things. Feel free to let me know about the things that make you happy, it’s so interesting to find out about what makes you smile.

What makes you happy?

Is there anything you are looking forward to?

Is there anything you want to change to make you happier?

Love Soph xx

Tips for Valentine’s Day <3

Everybody has a different opinion on Valentine’s day. Whether you’re loved up and really want to treat your partner, or loving the single life; it was created to celebrate love.

Either way, if celebrating Valentine’s day it should be completely personal to your relationship. It should be reflective of how well you know your partner, and a way to cherish and celebrate your precious shared moments.

That said, V day is also different for us all depending on what stage of a relationship we are in. For a new couple who have recently said those three magical words, you may feel like making the most of it with a slap up meal followed by an intimate massage and extravagant gifts. For those who have been together for years, you may feel as though a takeaway would be just what you need and simply appreciate the time spent together. Whatever you decide as a couple is perfectly acceptable. Nobody made a specific set of rules to follow for this day (or any day) so enjoy it with your loved one!

Check out this cute card from Etsy

Ideas for Valentine’s Day

Take your date for a walk in the countryside

Go for afternoon tea

Go Iceskating

Book a relaxing spa day and unwind together

Have breakfast in bed

Build a fort and watch films all day

Draw a candle lit bath for your partner (and join them if you’d like)

If you live together write lots of romantic notes and hide them all over the house

Create a photobook filled with memories you’ve made together, and leave space for all the wonderful memories you’re yet to make

Order a takeaway

Make your Valentine’s Day personal and whatever you decide to do, love the one you are with 🙂

Ice skating – my new hobby?

    

Hello everybody! I do hope you are all enjoying the festive season as much as I am. I feel like I’ve come pretty late in the game; I haven’t felt particularly festive until now.

All because I did what everybody should do during the Christmas season: I went Ice Skating.

Having lived in Nottingham since 2007, I know it pretty much like the back of my hand now, and every year I’ve enjoyed the ice rink and the Christmas market they put up every year.

My best friend Laura wanted to do something exciting for her birthday, so off we went to the ice rink.

After what can only be described as trapped i n a small hut while people put their boots on,  we were finally released onto the ice. I must admit that after a few attempts at ‘barely’  skating, I took my time and enjoyed the scenery, from the edge of the rink. As I held on for dear life.

Even though it is  obvious I won’t be taking up a career in figure skating any time soon; I had such a wonderful time. There is just something magical about the twinkling lights, Christmas music, laughter and singing with good friends. It really puts into perspective how I feel about Christmas; which is to be surrounded by friends and family and relaxing, being happy together.

I would recommend ice skating to you all, and even if you aren’t great, you can always stand at the side with a mulled wine and giggle at the people that are either awful and know it, or the ones who think they are great and spectacularly fall! It’s all in good fun, and there is a lovely communal  feeling about it all, let’s all share in our wobbly legs and bottom flips.

I wish you all a Merry Christmas, and feel truly grateful for all the people who read this blog, I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy reading yours.

Love,

Sophie xxxx

100 followers!

I woke up this morning to 100 followers. I know in the grand scheme of blogging terms that isn’t a huge number but I cannot believe 100 people read/like my posts! It makes me so happy and I want to thank you all 🙂

If there are any blog posts you would be interested in me writing about please do let me know! I have a big list of posts coming soon!

Thanks again ❤

Love,

Soph xxx

The Wonder of a Best Friend.

I am one of those lucky people. Whilst I have many friends, I have a handful of the most wonderful friends who I value and adore individually and as a group of people I love.
My friends come in many different forms. My family, my best friend, my beautiful girls from Nottingham, friends I met in Australia, old school friends, work friends and more. Each person in my life brings so much and all I can hope for is that I show my love and appreciation for them all.

In the crazy mass of life, it is so easy to plunge into the darkness and forget you have your support system right there, you just need to remember that. In that friendship you will find a loyal, non judgemental person, who will love you no matter what.

There are times you don’t want to be given advice, times you really need it, and your friend won’t always get it right. But they are here for you. If you need that helping hand, they would drop everything to be there and help.

I hope I speak for everyone when I say that laughter is a huge part of a friendship. I am a positive person and I can’t remember a day where I haven’t laughed my head off when I’ve been with friends.

Some people say that a true friendship is how long you have known them. In some cases this may be true but some of my friends I have known my whole life, some a few years and some are very recent new friends. I value them all the same. It doesn’t matter how long you have known them, it’s the quality of the friendship. The honesty, loyalty, trust.

Sometimes we forget how lucky we are. And today I want to show my appreciation and love for all of my friends. I love you all ❤ Spend time with your friends, make the effort to be there for them. Text them, call them, write to them, hug them, tell them how much you love them.

Love,

Sophie xxx