There is an understanding when you go to school. You are given a time when you must be at school, ready for class. If you do not get to school on time, more often than not, you are given detention and if the lateness is consistent you are brought to the principal’s office. Please take a seat in the principal’s office. I’m afraid you have been late for over 400 years….. In the last week or so I’ve seen a multitude of people, most of whom have never uttered a word on racism that they both participate in and benefit from, using Twitter and Instagram to “show solidarity” to black people. Whilst I ..read more

There are no words...well there are....it's more that there are no right words. How can there be right words when everything around you is so wrong?! Of course you know what I'm talking about. The continued violence against black people weighs heavy everyday. Story after story, hashtag after hashtag; it all feels too much. This weight - the weight of black blood we're forced to carry on our backs, is breaking us and if people don't want to see or understand that, you will be forced to. That's why you see protests and that's why you see looting, so before brandishing your judgement know that ..read more

There's a saying that I'm very much here for: 'Don't should all over yourself'. I don't know the origins (hit me up if you know), but I think it's one of the best pieces of advice I've ever heard. The problem for me is that I very rarely practice this advice. I'm the first person to be everyone else's cheerleader, but often fail to be my own. As a shy introvert, I find it hard to shut off the brain that is constantly ticking over every decision and every event that happens, that I find myself standing still a lot of the time. I talked about taking the leap in my last post and I've defini ..read more

We've all seen the movie: Our lead wants something and thinks about this thing all the time. People around our lead send positive vibes and encouragement to go for this thing, but our lead is scared to go for it. After some time something ignites our lead to take the leap and go for it. With a set-back or two our lead finally gets the thing and the screen fades to black with our lead beaming from ear-to-ear.......and we sit there as the credits roll with a warm glow, marvelling at the leads bravery and grateful that the lead wins in the end. But we all know that m ..read more

In the blogger world, success is often in reference to money or exposure. Often these two things go hand-in-hand, in that the more exposure you get the more you are in a position to ask to be paid for your work/ name/ face, etc. Blogging has become a business for many and an aspiration to even more, but are we being realistic? Don't get me wrong, I think it's great to have ambition and to work and strive for a goal or goals, but I also think it's important to be realistic with those goals. There are so many factors that come into trying to make a blog a business. For example, bloggers whom ha ..read more

There are so many ways in which I'm old fashioned, and hand writing is one of those ways. I can see your confused faces now. Surely I don't mean actually taking a pen and applying it to paper?! Well yes, actually. I've always loved writing in notebooks and it's how I started, and continue to write creatively - short stories and my never to be finished novel are all in notebooks and I just love the process. I love seeing the misspellings, the crossings out, the brainstorms in the margins and plot twists arrowed on a different page; I love seeing my mind working stories out and it's something y ..read more

"Fake it 'til you make it!" I cannot tell you how many times I've seen that phrase, and although I understand the sentiment, it hasn't been one I've ever really embraced. You see, I'm a self reflector and have always tried to be honest with myself about my feelings and emotions, so looking in the mirror and telling myself that I feel amazing when I don't, just doesn't sit right. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying we should go about our daily lives unloading onto the person unfortunate enough to sit next to us on public transport, and I'm not saying we should wear sandwich boards with our mood ..read more

A much as I love my style aesthetic, I have always wanted to, at times, step outside my comfort zone. It's not about wanting to move away from how I identify myself, nor the fear of falling into a rut, but more about mixing things up and maybe adding elements to my existing style. Fashion is like make-up: versatile with no restrictions other than those we put on ourselves. I'd been meaning to try trousers and jeans for a little while; particularly jeans as they can be worn with almost anything and they're so easy to style, it felt like a no brainer to look for jeans first. However, as much as ..read more

The internet is a wonderful thing. We are one google search away from knowing the worlds secrets, organising a wedding, or a birthday party, without having to leave our beds. We can connect with people from all over the world and from all walks of life, and I have no doubt it has helped us all with personal growth, to understand each other and see beyond our own little bubble. I'm even old enough to remember having to, *gasp*, pick up the phone and talk to someone if I wanted to do something like order a pizza! It's a life changing tool, particularly if you do something as a career or a hobby ..read more

I was talking to a work colleague the other day about what I did last New Years Eve. I ordered a pizza, watched The Revenant, drank a entire bottle of Prosecco all to myself, and was in bed by the time the last chime struck at midnight. Now to most people, this would seem like the lamest thing in the world. Didn't I want to be out? Didn't I want company? Didn't I feel like I was wasting what should have been a social extravaganza of an evening? Well, the answer to all was no. Pinafore Denim Dress: Lost Ink for Very (limited sizes available) Cardigan: Marks and Spencer  Sandals: Dorothy P ..read more