I won't lie: this was an impulsive trip. Mike and I were both starting new jobs and both had a little time off before our start dates, so what do you do with so much free time? Book a city break of course! After Copenhagen, we knew we wanted to explore more Scandic cities and, lucky for us, we found direct flights from Liverpool to Stockholm on the dates we wanted to go. No brainer. After researching all the sites we wanted to see, I knew we'd love the place, but I didn't expect to fall so in love that I never wanted to leave. I could move to Sweden, right? Swedish can't be THAT hard to learn, right? This is doable, yes? Here's a little breakdown of what we got up to on each day and some recommendations in case you're planning a visit: DAY oNE Our flight out on the first day was stupidly early, and anyone who knows me even a little bit will understand that I am not a morning person. In the slightest. But 3am wake up calls don't count when you're going on holiday so my excitement pushed me through. Once again, we didn't bother with transfers on the promise that the transport links were excellent. We managed to catch an Express train to the city centre for £25 each. A little pricey but slightly cheaper than a taxi, and it only took 20 minutes to get to the central station. From there, the hotel was a 5 minute walk so it worked out great for us. We arrived at our hotel, Scandic Klara, way earlier than check in but were surprised when the receptionist informed us our room was ready so we could drop off our things and freshen up. Definitely recommend for a central location (we were literally right in the centre of the main shopping area) and the buffet breakfast was top notch. They even had an 'organic section' for home grown produce, fresh smoothies and energy shots. Bougie. We decided to opt for a trusty Hop-On Hop-Off tour to get our bearings, as per usual. This turned out to be the best decision as it absolutely lashed it down but thankfully, that was the only rain we were going to see for the rest of the trip. I love these tours for getting an idea on where things are, what activities we might want to group together and maybe even discover some places we hadn't originally thought to go to. Planning only goes so far, and I'm crap with directions so actually going around the city really helps map out our next few days. The rain didn't last long, and we found an amazing burger bar near the old town called Omnipollo. We sat outside to soak up the atmosphere and enjoy the sun and ordered a burger and beer each with a side of fries and salad between us. The staff were so friendly and the buns had been freshly baked that day in their own bakery down the street. Honestly, it was probably the best burger I've ever had. Exhausted, we wandered back to the hotel, making a quick stop at Gamla Stan, the Old Town's main square, to take some pictures. The route back took us past the Palace and museums so we took our time taking everything in before retiring for the night. Day Two Day 2 we decided to dedicate to the museum quarter. First point of call was Skansen, the world's first Open Air Museum. We paid £20 each for entry, which I definitely think was worth it. You could easily spend the entire day here, discovering traditional Swedish buildings, wildlife and aquamarine life. It's pretty steep and hard on the ol' legs, but we did find a tram that takes you up to the top if you don't fancy the hike (we found this on the way out of course and had climbed the whole damn thing already by this point). The views from the top of the hill are incredible and it was honestly such a unique experience. For lunch, we bought Swedish flatbreads from a stall in Skansen, costing us about £20 with bottles of water. Next up was the Vasa Museum. This wasn't originally on our list of things to do, but everywhere we went, this place was recommended. For £13 each, we were granted entry to view the world's only 17th Century ship. I genuinely thought it would be overrated but boy, was I wrong. The main attraction is of course the ship, and you can travel up and down several levels to get different viewpoints. There was also videos and exhibits telling the story of how the ship capsized whilst still in the bay but wasn't recovered for 400 years. The museum contains the remains and stories of some of the bodies and items also found in the shipwreck. This is DEFINITELY worth a visit if you're going to Stockholm. There are plenty of other museums to visit in the area, including the ABBA museum that didn't really take our fancy but would be great for any music lovers. We'd spent hours at both Skansen and Vasa at this point so we made a pit stop at one of the boat bars in the bay. Two IPAs cost us £14 at the Strandbryggan Boat Club, but you're definitely paying for the incredible view and novelty of being on a boat. Everyone was dressed like millionaires and wore expensive watches so I felt a little out of place in my Primark smock dress, but it was definitely worth going. For dinner, we decided to give Jensen Bofhus a try. Aside from the fact that the name made me giggle, there was one on every corner so we thought we'd give a Swedish chain a try. We paid £45 for bbq ribs, an unlimited salad bowl, nachos to share and two massive cokes. It wasn't anything to write home about but it was nice enough. Day Three BOAT DAY! After two days of heavy walking, we decided to take it a little easier on the third day and booked a 2 hour Archipelago Tour. We had a little time in the morning to do some shopping. I was absolutely made up to find a Uniqlo and managed to snag one of the viral bags and a couple of the tops with a built in bra. Happy days. After dropping the shopping back at the room, we stopped at Phil's for a couple of salads and 2 cokes for about £24 and went on our way to the harbour for the boat tour. As I've previously mentioned, I'm a bit of a history geek, so I absolutely love anything with a guided tour. The boat took us around a bunch of islands, explaining the history of each before stopping at Vaxholm, an island originally made up of only wooden buildings, before sailing back to Stockholm. The boat was pretty crowded but we managed to secure seats on the top deck for the best view. After disembarking, we wondered around the Palace and Old Town again before stopping for pizza and pasta at Ugolforte. Dinner cost around £42 with drinks and fresh bread. Although food and drink is expensive in Stockholm, it was probably around the same price as a nice meal in England so we couldn't really complain. Day Four On our last day, we took another Hop-On Hop-Off bus up to Monteliusvagen. The Viewpoint provides incredible views of Lake Malaren and there is a stretch of really pretty buildings with cobbled streets. I enjoyed a coconut icecream whilst taking in the views. On the way back down, we stopped to take in Hevig Eleornora, a yellow 18th century church that looked so pretty in the sun. There wasn't much else going on up on the hill so we wondered back down towards the Old Town, stopping for lunch at Miss Behave next to the water. For £45, Mike had a quesadilla with loaded fries and a coke and I ordered nachos with pickled cucumbers and a fanta. Pricey, but SO worth it. Best nachos. Ever. After lunch, we strolled up to the Palace as there seemed to be some kind of event on. We had just missed a free concert outside the palace, so instead we went inside to see the palace courtyard and chapel. This was free of charge but there was a fee to view the rest of the palace, which we didn't bother to do. Still full from our late lunch, we ended our final day with a few drinks on another boat bar, soaking up the rays and already starting to feel the holiday blues. If you're debating a trip to Stockholm, GO. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, it's worth it. I'd love to come again in the winter and see the lake frozen to ice but we absolutely loved coming in the summer. The weather stayed at a pretty comfortable 25 degrees most of the time, but with plenty of suncream and bottles of water, we managed to walk about 60km over the 4 days.
Was Stockholm my favourite city break so far? Does it manage to steal the podium from Copenhagen? Honestly, it absolutely does. There's so much to see and do and plenty of options for food and drinks. With plenty of unique experiences and bundles of culture and history, I'd be adding Stockholm to your Bucket List IMMEDIATELY. Where to next?
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Recent studies (meaning my own opinions) have shown that research conducted (in my own head) regarding the social structure of a team may reveal just how secure you are in your new job. Let me paint you a picture: you're starting a new job. You've bought a new notebook. You've dusted off a well-worn, well-loved blazer. You've even prepped your delicious, nutritious lunches for the week. You've replaced your tatty tote for a brand new one. Maybe you've even bought one of those bag dividers that make everything look super organised. You meet the team, and you spend your first day working out the dynamics in your new surroundings. You can learn a lot about a workplace from observing your colleagues, without having to ask any intrusive questions. Intrigued? Read on to discover the three main categories of team relationships and what they might suggest about your new workplace. The 'We are like a family'This team has been working together for years. The only reason an opening came up is because someone is retiring. They are well-established, have a strong level of communication and will often refer to one-another as their 'second family'. Perhaps they even have a work wife/husband. They value loyalty, honesty, and home-made cakes on a Friday. To join this team, you may need to take part in some sort of ritual for approval. The details of said ritual will not be disclosed to you, but know that you must pass before you are accepted into the family. This environment may be more set in their ways and less likely to accept change. You may struggle to bring new ideas to the table. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, am I right? This team has their own mugs. You must not, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, use the wrong mug. And don't even THINK about suggesting moving any furniture. Your desk is not your own until you've earned it - don't bring any photos of the dog in just yet. And yes, I am generalising here for stylistic effect, but you get the idea. The Something Old, Something NewSomething blue, something...oh, you know how this ends. The point is that this team has a mixture of experience, ranging from some pretty established members with years under their belt, to the fresh faces full of enthusiasm. Experts (well, I) have concluded that this indicates a healthy workplace with plenty of space to grow. The veterans on the team imply security, and show that the company you will be working for is capable of maintaining staff retention. They must be doing something right. And the new faces? This shows that the company is growing, that they are expanding, and that they are willing to take on some new talent with different ideas. Plus, as the newbie, it's comforting to know you're not the only one that doesn't know how Bob has his tea yet. The 'One in, One Out'RUN! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD RUN! There are two scenarios here. Either the company ethics suck, or they are a relatively new company. In the case of the latter, no one has time served, not even the CEO. Perhaps we can make excuses for the lack of experience, but be aware that job security may be sketchy. The company does not have a proven track record yet. Let's face it, everything could go tits-up. In the case of the former, no one has hit the one year milestone for a different reason. The team has gone through more staff than hot dinners. There are so many files with so many ex-employee names, you could open a library. Trees have died for this. An entire forest is sitting on the shelves in the back office. Of the three scenarios, this is the biggest red flag, and begs the question: why can't they hold down a single member of staff? No employees were harmed in the making of this post. Laura's Logic reserves the right to report on profoundly accurate, life-changing matters without repercussion.
Can I start by saying, hi, how are we? It feels so good to be back writing about a city break destination. Travelling. Freedom. Oh, how I've missed you. And first on our list? The German capital of Berlin. Now let's not beat around the bush. The cost of living is hitting everyone, hard. And with Christmas around the corner, we tried to look for some great cost-effective options. Holidays don't come cheap, but we managed to find a great deal for flights and hotel. After changing up our Euros, we were good to go! I'd never been to Germany before, and we were lured in by the promise of endless Christmas markets and Pretzels, so we booked our flight and off we went! (Disclaimer: we actually ended up flying out the weekend BEFORE most of the Christmas markets opened, which was a bit of a bummer. But we did catch a glimpse of the stalls and the pretty lights, and managed to snag a hot chocolate and some festive snacks in a Christmas cabin. Can't complain.) Day 1 In total, we had two full days to explore the city and pack as much activity in as we could. On the first day, we ventured out from our hotel in Alexanderplatz Square in search of some historic monuments. Our first stop, however, was the iconic TV Tower, located just a few minutes from the hotel. We pre-booked our tickets on Get Your Guide online to save on the Euros and headed straight to the top to find the most incredible view of the city. I would highly recommend heading up for the 360 view. Who needs a map when you have aerial vision? There is a little restaurant at the top but we didn't bother heading up. After our trip to the sky, we had a general idea of what direction we wanted to head in and made our way down to the Brandenburg Gate. If you're anything like me and love history, this is an absolute must see in Berlin. We discovered a little more about the Gate and it's significance as we ventured towards the Berlin wall and found a fantastic exhibition called the 360 Panorama Installation. Inside, we found a series of first hand accounts from locals living in Berlin during the time the wall separated the city. Again, history buffs will love this just as much as I did. The main event was a giant room with a 360 painting of the Berlin wall and the surroundings. It was kind of surreal? It was just so lifelike, it felt like you were actually there. Checkpoint Charlie was literally across the road from the exhibition, so we made a quick stop to take some photos. (As a side note, it felt really weird to have a McDonalds right there in the background. Like a strange mix of the old and the new? I don't know. It was just a strange placement of a fast food place.) We also managed to find some Christmas markets by the remains of the Berlin wall, which we were happy about. The hot chocolate and warm cabin was exactly what we needed after a day of wandering around in -1 temperatures. We also wandered to the Welt Globe which was, honestly, kind of overrated. It had been rated as one of the top things to do in Berlin but I don't think you're missing out on much if you skip this one. day 2Day One was pretty history-heavy, so on our second day, we sought out some fun activities to do. Our first stop was the Illuseum Museum just a few minutes walk from the hotel. It was a little smaller than we expected and took us less than an hour to walk around, but it was definitely worth it for the fun photo opportunities. Again, we booked tickets online to save on the cash. We also ended up paying a visit to the Body Worlds Museum that was located right next to the TV tower. All I can say is I was glad I let my breakfast go down. The museum consists of preserved human bones and parts, which was absolutely fascinating, but not something I could have done right after food. After that, we were pretty museum'd out, so we headed back towards the Brandenburg Gate to seek out the Victory Tower. It was quite a walk, but definitely worth it. On the way back, we stopped at the Reichstag Building and caught a boat tour of the Government District. It snowed on the glass roof and made the park look extra festive. We also managed to grab a hot pretzel from a local vendor on the walk back (with cheese, of course), which was unreal. All in all, our visit to Berlin was brief but definitely worth it. We drank beer from a stein, ate a pretzel and discovered some of the history of the city in just a couple of short days. The transport links are great, with trains running directly to the airport every 15 minutes so we didn't bother with transfers. Alexanderplatz square had so many food and drink options and plenty of souvenir shops for your nick nacks and postcards. I would say that if we had more time, I think we would struggle to find more things to do. It was kind of, calm, for a capital city? It was busy, but not overly packed or claustrophobic, which may have been more to do with the weather than anything else. And as for Berlin on a budget? There were plenty of interesting, cost-effective museums, exhibits and galleries to visit. Of course, visiting the historic monuments is completely free, and you can act as your own tour guide with a quick Google search! We loved our time in Germany and can now scratch another city off the map!
Where to next? Jesus, what a year so far.
Coronavirus has struck the nation, nay, the world and in attempt to defeat it, several countries have announced public lockdowns. Whatever your opinion on the politics surrounding the virus, many of us have found ourselves with a lot of time on our hands, something we often take for granted. It's easy to lose purpose and motivation when you're couped up inside, but it's an essential step to contain the virus before it spreads even further. So I've decided to come up with a little list of things to keep us occupied during the coming weeks of our lockdown. 1. Volunteer - thousands have already signed up to help with things like delivering food to vulnerable people, escorting patients home once they're stabilised and giving time to call people that may feel alone during this time. You can choose when and what you do, giving you complete control of your involvement, and it's a great opportunity to give something to the community without putting yourself at too much risk. Here's the link to the volunteering page if you're interested: https://www.goodsamapp.org/NHS 2. Face time friends and family - keep in touch with your loved ones and check in with the people you're closest too. Reminisce, make plans for the future, allow yourself to have something to look forward to. 3. Home improvements - it's the perfect time to do all of the things you've wanted to do around the house but never found the time to. Why not put your time to good use and have a little rearrange, upgrade or refresh? 4. Down time - take advantage of the time you've been granted to read a book, watch a movie or create a masterpiece. Channel your inner creativity and do the things you love. 5. Makeovers - experiment with different looks, drag makeup, dress up, create a character, become someone else. Change up your hair. Now is the perfect time to unleash your creative skills without the worry of having to go out in public with a wonky fringe, makeup-stained eyes or an overly-plucked brow. 6. Channel your inner child - build a fort, play a game, paint a picture. The best thing about kids is their ability to invent, so channel your inner child and create your own fun. 7. Home workouts - what harm can it do? I might even emerge with a summer body at the end of all of this. 8. Relax - don't put too much pressure on yourself to 'get things done'. There will be plenty of time for that over the next few weeks so don't rush it. Don't feel guilty using the time to recharge, catch up on your sleep and refresh your mind before the world starts again. These three weeks are gonna go by in a flash. Let's just stick to the rules, keep ourselves busy and hope for no more casualties. Stay safe, everyone! I'll see you on the other side. In December 2019, I was desperate to inject a little Christmas spirit into my life, and so we looked at the best places to go to visit some Christmas markets. A lot of the places the internet suggested were European cities we had already visited over the past couple of years, so we decided to broaden our horizons a little and looked at the Nordic cities. As soon as we saw images of Copenhagen, we fell in love and booked a 4-night stay in the beginning of December. Here's all the antics we got up to over the festive period in the capital city of Denmark! Day OneAfter arriving at our hotel late the night before, we got up bright and early to make the most of the buffet breakfast (which was honestly one of the best I've ever experienced). We decided to head out and get our bearings before heading over to the highly-recommended Tivoli Gardens. One thing we were a little cautious about was Copenhagen's reputation for being expensive, but we discovered that there was plenty to see and do without spending a penny. We wandered around Christiansborg Palace, the royal stables and through Nyhavn, the beautiful fishing village. We found the Christmas markets at the end of the canal and made a mental note to come back in the evening. At least we'd found them without Google Maps! We stopped off at a coffee shop called Cibo Mambo for a coffee and an orange juice (that set us back about £9 for the two, which is pretty pricey) before heading over to the famous theme park. We paid £15 each for entrance tickets only on Get Your Guide - we were really only there for the lights - and were completely wowed by the beautiful park. We arrived during daylight and were told that we should stay until dark to see the lights in their full glory so we grabbed some dinner at the Italian on-site called Mazzoli's where we paid an extortionate £45 for two pizzas and two large wine glasses of pilsner. I guess you pay for the location, and we were definitely hungry at this point. Plus, it was definitely worth the wait to see the gardens lit up in their full glory. It was the most Christmassy I've felt in a long time. The atmosphere was just magical, and any trip to Copenhagen is incomplete without visiting this attraction. We decided to head back to the hotel in the evening after a day of wandering around (the place was pretty flat so it wasn't tooooo bad on the old feet) and made a quick stop at the Fisketorvet Shopping Mall, which was right next to our hotel, before retiring for the night. Day TwoWe were lucky that the December weather was pretty mild on our first full day in the city, but on the second, it was absolutely lashing it down. We had planned to take a trip to the Freetown Christiania, but were deterred by the awful weather. Instead, we took a metro trip to the National Denmark Aquarium, the second largest in Europe. We paid £19 each on Get Your Guide and enjoyed the rainy day trip watching hammerhead sharks, stroking sting rays and sticking our hands in tanks with those fish that eat the dead skin off your hands (sounds gross but it was kinda relaxing). We stopped at a restaurant called Cafe Phonix were we paid £45 for a bacon and egg burger, the best garlic flatbread with tomatoes I've ever tasted, an enormous portion of chips, a pint of tuborg and a glass of cherry juice. Again, expensive, but the food was pretty good and we were kind of expecting it. Plus, thanks to the amazing breakfast at the hotel, we didn't need lunch so we only really had to pay for dinner. We felt a little cheated out of our day by the bad weather, so we took another wander to Nyhavn in the evening and enjoyed a hot chocolate in the cutest little Christmas mugs (which were included in the price of the drinks) at the Christmas markets at a wooden stall with heaters. By the end of the day, we were hoping for better weather on our final full day in Denmark. Day ThreeOn our final full day, we decided to take a boat trip along the canals to catch a glimpse at the famous Little Mermaid statue. We paid 95 dk each (about a tenner) for a one hour tour. If you know me at all, you know I'm a bit of a geek at heart and love learning about the history of a city, so I loved the guided-tour's comments as we cruised along the canals. You get an amazing view of the Opera House, which apparently local Danes dive off into the canal each year in the summer. We also got a glimpse of the floating canal homes and the backside view of the Little Mermaid. Once back on land, we decided to get a better view of the statue and took a hop on hop off tour bus up to the statue, passing the beautiful Amalienborg Castle on the way. I'd definitely recommend the hop on hop off bus tours in any city you visit because you really do get to see the highlights and get your bearings. Plus, it's easier on your feet. The bus stopped at the Little Mermaid, allowing passengers 10 minutes to take photos. We learnt from the boat trip that the poor statue had been defiled and replaced a number of times due to vandalism, but she was still standing strong amongst the rocks of the canal. On our way back, we made a stop at the National Museum, where we paid 95 dk each (about a tenner), drawn in by the promises of a Viking exhibition, and I'm a sucker for Viking history. Besides that one small section, the museum itself was a little underwhelming for me, but the replicas of human Vikings was worth going to see. We paid 230 dk (£25) for two sandwiches, a hot chocolate and a coke at a cafe in the centre that evening, took one final stroll down the main shopping street and one last wonder around the Fisketorvet where we enjoyed a cheeky maccies (you just can't beat cheap, fast-food) before our departure the next day.
We actually skipped on the transfers in Copenhagen and used the metro system instead, which was pretty easy to use and a lot less hectic that the London Underground. All in all, I absolutely loved our time in Copenhagen, and found so much more to do in the city than just visit the Christmas markets. The city is incredibly clean and fresh, which ultimately made our experience much more pleasant. Our hotel, Copenhagen Island Hotel, was absolutely beautiful. Honestly, the standards don't even compare to the other city breaks I've been on. I will say that our hotel was about a 20 minute walk to Nyhavn and the central areas, but we didn't mind the walk. The views were incredible. I'd love to go back in the summer, wander around Christiania and explore all of the other corners of the city we didn't get to discover. In terms of cost, yes it was more expensive than some of the cheaper European cities like Krakow, Prague and Budapest, but it was definitely worth the extra money. Copenhagen is a beautiful city, and if you haven't thought to go there yet, get booking your tickets! Trust me, you won't regret it. So if you've read my last post about New Year, you'll know about my one-month resolutions in 2020, just to mix it up a little. For January, I decided to give up fizzy drinks. I did originally decide to give up cheese, but that went out the window when I had a four cheese pizza on the 1st of Jan. Fizzy drinks it was. And I'll hold my hands up (whilst clutching a Pepsi), I did cave on a few occasions. I mean, what other mixer would you put with pink gin?! But for the most part, I did massively cut back on my fizzy drinks intake and I do feel slightly better for it. In that respect, my one month resolution for January has benefited me because I think it's encouraged me cut back on fizzy drinks in my everyday life. I know my stomach will thank me for it in the long run. It's almost got me into a routine of drinking water and juice and I do feel less addicted to the sugary drinks, so I'm deeming January a win.
For February, I toyed with the idea of giving up mayo and decided I'm just not ready for that, but I did decide to give up something else that is a massive part of my weekly life: online shopping. I spend unnecessary amounts of money on clothes, makeup and all sorts of tat, which wouldn't be so bad if I ever sent anything back. But I NEVER send stuff back. I'm THAT girl. I have a wardrobe full of clothes with tags on that have never been worn and I know I'll never wear, more makeup than I'll ever need and a surplus of knick-knacks that I just didn't need. I dread to think of all of the money I could have saved. Imagine the holiday I could have had! And so this month, I've decided to give up online shopping, try and save some dollar and actually start going through the things I already own. I thought Feb would be a good month for this because I've got no birthdays coming up this month so I don't feel the need to buy a new outfit (why do I have to do that for every event like I don't have enough things to wear already? Honestly, it's a curse) and I don't need to look for birthday presents. I can have a shop-free month, if I play my cards right. So January wasn't a complete success. There were a few slip ups. But on the whole, cutting back on fizzy drinks has encouraged a healthier lifestyle that I'm sure I'll be able to maintain, as well as being able to treat myself to a fizzy mixer every now and then. This month, I am absolutely determined to have no blunders, so I'm logging out of PLT, closing my Boohoo apps and signing out of ASOS for the month of February. Let's see how this one goes! I love a good city break, exploring the old towns and pretty squares, cruising the rivers and taking in the scenery. Prague has always been on my list of places to go for its picturesque reputation and promise of cheap food and drink, and so we decided to head over to the capital of the Czech Republic for my sister's 21st birthday in November. On the first day, we arrived at our hotel pretty late so went for a quick wander to the main square, treated ourselves to a trdelnik (basically a giant cone doughnut filled with a variety of sauces, ice cream and fruit depending on your preference), had a cocktail overlooking the iconic Astronomical Clock (which was astronomically priced, but we didn't mind so much because of the view) and headed back for a good sleep. The atmosphere of the evening had us feeling a little uneasy with the surplus of stag dos and crowds of leery drinkers. We were aware that the city is well-known for binge-drinking breaks with the alleged cheap ale and plethora of bars, but after a day of travelling, we decided to boycott the rowdy groups and turn in early. On the second day, which was our only full day in Prague, we wandered down to the main square once more to take in the beautiful architecture and decided to walk across the Charles Bridge to the Castle. The atmosphere in Prague in the daytime was much more relaxed with groups of tourists being lead by guides speaking a variety of languages. On the bridge, locals had set up stalls selling everything from paintings to jewellery, and artists were charging tourists for portraits sketched there and then. Musicians played sweet music, tourists took photos of the Vltava River and residents darted in between the chaos, eager to cross on their everyday route. The hike up to the Castle is pretty steep. I have to admit I was pretty out of breath once we'd eventually climbed the seemingly never-ending stairs, (apparently there is an alternative route up by tram for those who don't wish to climb the steep hill) the view of the city was pretty breath-taking. By the time I'd caught my breath, I was excited to see the world's largest ancient castle. The grounds themselves are free to roam around if you're looking for a cost-effective attraction in Prague. You're searched at the gate and groups of armed soldiers are seen patrolling the grounds. Once inside, the architecture is beautiful. I love the Gothic style, and these incredible buildings didn't disappoint. And on the plus side, the trek back down was a lot less strenuous than the hike up. In the evening, we treated ourselves to an evening in one of the city's famous beer spas. For £50 each, we were given a private room with our own individual tubs which are filled with beer and herbs to benefit your skin. In between the two tubs, we had our own beer pumps to refill our drinks as often as we wanted in the hour we were allocated. There was also a heated bed in the room which we were permitted to use within the hour if we wanted, but we just ended up staying in the tubs drinking beer the whole time. At the end, we were each given a free beer to take home with us and we left feeling refreshed after our day wandering the city. On our final day, we set out to find a decent restaurant to fill our bellies before the flight home. We enjoyed a couple of mulled wines on the rooftop bar of our hotel overlooking the city and ended up discovering a pizza place not too far from the hotel. One thing that did surprise me on our trip to Prague was the prices of the food and drink. It wasn't as cheap as people made out, unless you drank the local beer. If you're planning a boozy weekend and don't think you can stomach lager all night, I'd definitely take more than you'd expect. Overall, I'd say the city is full of charm and classic beauty, but it's definitely one that I probably would have enjoyed more in the summer. However, the main square and the views from the Charles Bridge and Prague Castle are pretty all year round and the bars and restaurants open their doors to tourists until late every season. As two girls travelling abroad, we did feel slightly uneasy going around the bars of an evening, but perhaps the atmosphere would be different if you went as a group. We didn't mind so much because we got to do plenty of sight-seeing in the day and enjoyed a couple of quiet drinks in the evening (I know, wild times). Would I go back? Probably not, but only because I've got so many places I want to see before I start revisting. I wouldn't say it was my favourite city to visit, but it's definitely a nice place to go if you're after a relatively affordable break not too far from home with plenty to see and do. Bernard Beer Spa, Prague
I'm not usually one for making 'resolutions'. I find the idea of making a lifestlye change over an entire year quite daunting, impossible even. I'm not sure I could stick to any resolution no matter how minute over the course of 365 days. And so this year, I've decided to do something a little different. I like the idea of new beginnings, of the possibility of change and the hopefulness associated with the start of a new year. I know that I'm not suddenly going to become a better person on January 1st. I'm not all of a sudden going to start running marathons, eat kale and volunteer every waking minute I can. These changes don't happen overnight. However, I'd like to make a few small changes, in smaller doses on more of a temporary basis to see how I get on. This year, I've decided to give up or take up something new every month as a sort of trial period. For January, I initially planned to give Veganuary a go and give up cheese (I know, why would I do that to myself?), but I've decided to start myself off with something a little easier to ease myself into the new decade. And so this month, I'm giving up fizzy drinks. I know that doesn't seem particularly strenuous to some, but when you work in a pub, fizzy drinks are a part of your every day culture. They make up the mixers to your tipple, consist of sugar to give you that energy boost and, let's face it, they're damn addictive. So this month, I'm swapping out the fizzy drinks to see how I get on and see if it makes any difference to my life. A new year for me doesn't necessarily mean a lifestyle change, a personality transplant or the promise of greater and better things. For me, it respresents a new beginning, the possibility to add to all of the previous years, and a new decade feels even more so like the start of a new era. In the past 10 years, I've lost some important people, made some incredible friends, and achieved most of what I set out to do. I got my degree, moved away from home, travelled to loads of different places and so far, I'd like to think that I've made the most of my time. But instead of forgetting about 2019 and all of the years prior, I'll be adding to it all in 2020 and learning along the way, setting new goals and creating more memories. I've got a good feeling about the roaring 20's, and I think the best thing to bring with me into the new year is a positive attitude. Cheers, ears! Hello everyone! Welcome to the last post in my body positivity series. It's been a journey. If you've made it this far, I applaud you. So far we've covered the beauty industry, ageism, male self-confidence, a celebrity culture and dealing with insecure peers. We've gone through a range of demographics and the ways in which their body image is effected by their surroundings. We've thought about coping mechanisms, looking at ourselves in a different light and today, I wanted to talk a little more generally. For my final post, I wanted to address the feeling of inferiority. It's an emotion we've all felt in some form or another and one that massively contributes to a negative mentality about ourselves. But how can we combat human nature and our instincts? As humans, it's in our nature to compare ourselves to others. There's always a prettier friend, a smarter sibling, a more athletic colleague. The problem with that mentality is that we're refusing to accept that we are all different and that we all have different strengths and weaknesses. The world wouldn't work otherwise and, I don't know about you, but a society filled with robotic duplicates is a little frightening to me. Imagine a world without diversity, without culture, without all of the things that make us human and define us as a species. A lot of people in the media claim that being body positive means ignoring these emotions that create self-doubt, which would be a really unhealthy mental process. In fact, being body positive is about acknowledging those negative thoughts and going through a mental process that eventually leads you to body acceptance. Body acceptance is a vital step in order to achieve a body positive state. It allows us to acknowledge our natural instincts, recognise how we feel, and then understand why we feel like that. For example, we could feel less intelligent next to a friend who is particularly successful at the moment. We may feel less attractive when we compare ourselves to a colleague that gets more sexual attention. But through body acceptance, we learn to appreciate ourselves despite any outside influence and accepting that we have our own good points to focus on as well. Some people think that being body positive means that you can't want to make any changes to your lifestyle, which is completely false. We can love our bodies, and through that love, decide to want to make some modifications. For example, you're allowed to want a new haircut, change up your makeup or your wardrobe choices, exercise, get a tattoo, have a tattoo removed, and so on. There are no rules in body positivity that disallow changing the way you look so long as you maintain a healthy relationship with yourself. The thing is, feeling inferior is a natural thing. It's normal to have self-doubts, to question yourself and your abilities. However, when you allow those negative thoughts to take over your life, that's when you need to reevaluate your relationship with yourself. Being body positive isn't a 24/7 process, it's just a means to promote a little self-love and get us thinking more positively about ourselves. I'm not here to tell you that you'll never have another negative thought about yourself. I'm not saying that all of our insecurities are cured when we adopt a body positive mentality. I'm just here to help us appreciate ourselves a little more, to encourage us to boost our confidence and treat ourselves a little better. I'm tired of being told how to feel about my body. Maybe we should all care less about what other people think and more about what makes us happy. Walk a mile in my shoes and then judge me for how I look. Until then, let's all embrace a little more body positivity because damn it, we deserve it. Hello again! Welcome back to another post during my body positivity week. This one is a little different to my posts so far as I've decided to focus on how to deal with insecure peers. I think by now, we've discovered that everyone gets a little insecure from time to time. We all have things we don't quite feel comfortable with, and that's totally normal. But how do you help others deal with their insecurities, especially when they're becoming more and more negative about themselves? Health issues relating to having a negative body image include anorexia, bulimia and so many other eating disorders, body dysmorphia, resulting in varying degrees of anxiety and depression, as well as over-exercising and injury. When these negative thoughts start to take over people's lives then it can have life-threatening results. So what can we do to help those around us? I think one of the most important things you can do for someone is to remind them of their worth and point out all of their great qualities, physical and mental. We are more than just our appearance. Being a supportive friend/family member/colleague etc is often the best thing we can do for our loved ones in terms of boosting their confidence and helping them appreciate themselves. Of course, there are some things out of our grasp. We can't cure many mental health issues surrounding body image, but there are professionals who can help. Encouraging our loved ones to seek this help is also an important step and one that can ultimately be life saving. It's not always easy, but being patient and understanding is the best thing you can do. Another thing we can do is promote a healthy lifestyle. For example, you could cook healthy meals together, join a gym together or take up another physical activity that suits you more. Making healthy lifestyle changes can boost our body confidence and kickstart a healthier way of looking at ourselves, even by just making small changes. In my next post, I'll looking at things from a different perspective and assessing how we can deal with feeling inferior ourselves. Until next time, beauties! Hello again! Welcome back to another topic in the body positivity series. Today, I'm taking on a big one. The celebrity culture. Throughout a lot of the other topics, we've discussed how the media and a celebrity culture can have a negative impact on our self-esteem. First of all, I have to point out how difficult it must be to constantly be in the public eye, to be body shamed and verbally attacked for perfectly normal features. A lot of celebrities and influencers have recently taken to social media to express their body positivity, including Stacey Solomon who frequently shares unedited pics of her stomach in real-life positions to show that no one is completely flat and that she is proud of her figure post-children. That message is so empowering to me, so I have to admit that celebrity culture doesn't always have a negative impact on our body image. However, a celebrity culture in which photo shopping is normalised and figures are portrayed at their best angles in the best lighting is a little unrealistic. Plus, we have to bare in mind that these people are literally paid to look the way they do. Their jobs are to work out, wear nice things and constantly look their best, which must be exhausting, but it's also an unrealistic portrayal of real-life. An article in the Guardian found that a survey carried out by the YMCA youth charity discovered that 62% of 15-16 year old's felt that social media increased their expectations of how they should look. A celebrity culture is damaging minds from a young age and training them to believe that they are not enough when in fact the image they're aiming to live up to is often unobtainable. 58% of 11-16 year old's were reported as claiming a celebrity culture was the main influence in their desire to achieve 'physical perfection'. We have to start changing the way we feel about our bodies and accepting that they are functioning just perfectly as they are. We're all guilty of selecting the most flattering photos of ourselves to showcase to the world via social media. It's the way our brains have been trained, to only show what we deem to be the best of ourselves. In a sense, we are striving to conform to this celebrity culture by also adopting the mentality that we must edit our photos and snap at what we are told is our 'best angle'. This is only creating more mental health problems and promoting anxiety and depression from such a young age. The likes of Face Tune and Photoshop have a lot to answer for in terms of deteriorating our self-esteem. All in all, I'd say we need to quit comparing ourselves to others, celebrity or not, and start appreciating ourselves for what we are. We don't need an app to edit our features. We don't need to touch up our 'flaws'. We need to be complimenting each other and ourselves. With that in mind, I've decided to do a slightly different post for tomorrow's addition. I'll be focusing on dealing with insecure peers and how we can help others to acknowledge their worth and improve their self confidence. Until next time, beauties! Bonjour mes amis! Today I wanted to talk to you all about ageism, the rise in plastic surgery and the pressures to maintain a youthful look even as we grow older. With a new anti-wrinkle cream on the market every 5 minutes, the normalisation of ageism is growing and growing, and something we should be addressing in relation to body confidence. How many times have you heard the term, 'they look amazing for their age!' How many times have those words actually left your own lips? And how many times has that comment been in relation to a real-life person or a celebrity? More often than not, we're astounded to discover the actual age of celebrities. Thanks to high quality plastic surgery, cosmetics and photo editing, it's now easier than ever to maintain a youthful appearance. The BAAPS (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) reported that over 28,000 procedures took place in 2018 alone. Of those procedures, 92% were women, with the most popular alterations being for the breasts and eyelids. However, the biggest increases for women were liposuction, which increased by 12% from the previous year, and face lifts, which rose 9%. Liposuction procedures averaged out at a 9% increase across both gender which, to me, suggests that our body positivity is at an all time low. More and more people are feeling the need to make cosmetic amendments to their features and figures. The rise in liposuction operations implies that people are feeling the pressure to obtain a smaller frame, whilst the increase in face lifts suggest that more and more of us are trying to halt the ageing process. Interestingly enough, Mental Health online stated that one survey found that one in five adults over 55 felt anxious or depressed specifically due to their body image. Being body positive shouldn't stop once we reach a certain age. We should be respecting our bodies and thankful for all of the things it's got us through. The ageing process is inevitable for everyone, and whilst our bodies may function a little differently to a younger version of ourselves, it's something we must come to accept. I actually think that there is a certain grace and beauty in growing old. It's such a shame that the media and social pressures make us feel the need to modify bodies. With that in mind, I've decided to dedicate my next post to the Celebrity Culture and the impact is has on our body image. Until next time, beauties! Hello everyone! Welcome back to the last post in my body positivity series. It's been a journey. If you've made it this far, I applaud you. So far we've covered the beauty industry, ageism, male self-confidence, a celebrity culture and dealing with insecure peers. We've gone through a range of demographics and the ways in which their body image is effected by their surroundings. We've thought about coping mechanisms, looking at ourselves in a different light and today, I wanted to talk a little more generally. For my final post, I wanted to address the feeling of inferiority. It's an emotion we've all felt in some form or another and one that massively contributes to a negative mentality about ourselves. But how can we combat human nature and our instincts? As humans, it's in our nature to compare ourselves to others. There's always a prettier friend, a smarter sibling, a more athletic colleague. The problem with that mentality is that we're refusing to accept that we are all different and that we all have different strengths and weaknesses. The world wouldn't work otherwise and, I don't know about you, but a society filled with robotic duplicates is a little frightening to me. Imagine a world without diversity, without culture, without all of the things that make us human and define us as a species. A lot of people in the media claim that being body positive means ignoring these emotions that create self-doubt, which would be a really unhealthy mental process. In fact, being body positive is about acknowledging those negative thoughts and going through a mental process that eventually leads you to body acceptance. Body acceptance is a vital step in order to achieve a body positive state. It allows us to acknowledge our natural instincts, recognise how we feel, and then understand why we feel like that. For example, we could feel less intelligent next to a friend who is particularly successful at the moment. We may feel less attractive when we compare ourselves to a colleague that gets more sexual attention. But through body acceptance, we learn to appreciate ourselves despite any outside influence and accepting that we have our own good points to focus on as well. Some people think that being body positive means that you can't want to make any changes to your lifestyle, which is completely false. We can love our bodies, and through that love, decide to want to make some modifications. For example, you're allowed to want a new haircut, change up your makeup or your wardrobe choices, exercise, get a tattoo, have a tattoo removed, and so on. There are no rules in body positivity that disallow changing the way you look so long as you maintain a healthy relationship with yourself. The thing is, feeling inferior is a natural thing. It's normal to have self-doubts, to question yourself and your abilities. However, when you allow those negative thoughts to take over your life, that's when you need to reevaluate your relationship with yourself. Being body positive isn't a 24/7 process, it's just a means to promote a little self-love and get us thinking more positively about ourselves. I'm not here to tell you that you'll never have another negative thought about yourself. I'm not saying that all of our insecurities are cured when we adopt a body positive mentality. I'm just here to help us appreciate ourselves a little more, to encourage us to boost our confidence and treat ourselves a little better. I'm tired of being told how to feel about my body. Maybe we should all care less about what other people think and more about what makes us happy. Walk a mile in my shoes and then judge me for how I look. Until then, let's all embrace a little more body positivity because damn it, we deserve it. Hello again! Welcome back to another post during my body positivity week. This one is a little different to my posts so far as I've decided to focus on how to deal with insecure peers. I think by now, we've discovered that everyone gets a little insecure from time to time. We all have things we don't quite feel comfortable with, and that's totally normal. But how do you help others deal with their insecurities, especially when they're becoming more and more negative about themselves? Health issues relating to having a negative body image include anorexia, bulimia and so many other eating disorders, body dysmorphia, resulting in varying degrees of anxiety and depression, as well as over-exercising and injury. When these negative thoughts start to take over people's lives then it can have life-threatening results. So what can we do to help those around us? I think one of the most important things you can do for someone is to remind them of their worth and point out all of their great qualities, physical and mental. We are more than just our appearance. Being a supportive friend/family member/colleague etc is often the best thing we can do for our loved ones in terms of boosting their confidence and helping them appreciate themselves. Of course, there are some things out of our grasp. We can't cure many mental health issues surrounding body image, but there are professionals who can help. Encouraging our loved ones to seek this help is also an important step and one that can ultimately be life saving. Another thing we can do is promote a healthy lifestyle. For example, you could cook healthy meals together, join a gym together or take up another physical activity that suits you more. Making healthy lifestyle changes can boost our body confidence and kickstart a healthier way of looking at ourselves, even by just making small changes. In my next post, I'll looking at things from a different perspective and assessing how we can deal with feeling inferior ourselves. Until next time, beauties! Hi friends! Welcome back to another post in the body positivity series. This time, I'm taking on the stigma that men are less effected by insecurities and have less issues with body confidence. Men are often overlooked in a number of contexts, including mental health and body positivity. These things tend to be associated with the female mind, when in fact, these issues occur in all genders. Expectations to look a certain way, not acting 'manly' enough, expressing how you feel and having insecure moments are not things commonly associated with being a man, when in fact they are all-inclusive problems. We should be complimenting the men in our lives and boosting their self confidence just as much as we do for the women.
So, I'm actually not a dude, but I do have some experience dealing with insecure men in my life. Plus, I decided to do a little research and found it so much harder to find articles about male body positivity! I even had a lot fewer choices when it came to choosing a picture for the title, which is kind of ridiculous. This is 2019 and we need to accept that we are not restricted to our gender stereotypes. We are all human, and all feel human emotions. Which means, contrary to popular belief, that men also have self-confidence issues. An article in the Guardian indicated that four in five men (or 80.7%) talk negativity about their own appearance. The article suggested that men were conscious of their stomachs, their chest size, their hair line and their weight. According to a Health Line article, 90% of teenage boys exercise at least once a week in order to 'bulk up'. The article attributes this Superman Effect to a celebrity culture and the glorification of hunky Hollywood stars. The reality is that these results are so unrealistic that the majority are left feeling inferior. Men are exposed to unrealistic bodies in films and through the media thanks to the rise of Instagram models. The suppositions men face are often overlooked when we assume that women are more insecure, which isn't always the case. Both genders seem to have equal amounts of expectations to live up to. Male body positivity is about more than just accepting the shapes of their bodies, it's also learning to deal with other factors such as their height, penis size and the definition of their muscles. Although you may think these are just physical insecurities, research has found that men feel emasculated by being shorter, having a smaller penis or having fewer muscles on display. Physical insecurities carry a lot more connotations, and men in particular can feel as though they identify less with how they feel society requires them to be. A survey found that 64% of students drew a political leader to be taller than average, and around 3 inches of height can separate an income by more than £4,000 a year. The implication that a persons height makes them more or less capable is just absurd to me. The reality is that male stereotypes have been constructed by society and the media and, honestly, are a load of crap. First of all, our physical attributes don't make us any less of a man or a woman or anything else we identify as. It's all about how we feel about ourselves and deciding that stereotypes are a load of rubbish anyway. I think the issue with male body positivity is that it isn't talked about as widely. It's important to be open about your insecurities, but also to acknowledge that bodies in the media are often unrealistic and/or photoshopped. These people are literally paid to work out, eat kale and utilise the best lighting for their modelling careers. The majority of us just don't have the time for that. Developing positive habits, like trying to be active when you can and treating your body well is the key to maintaining a positive relationship with yourself. Let's get more people talking about male body positivity in order to normalise the fact that everyone can feel insecure and that we should all be working towards appreciating our bodies, regardless of our gender. For my next post, I wanted to address the issues surrounding a different demographic. Ageism is a fast growing problem in society, with the rise of plastic surgery and a new anti-wrinkle cream on the market every five minutes. In that post, I'll be talking about the struggles of coming to terms with the changes your body goes through as you get older and learning to accept appearances across all ages. Until then, beauties! Well hello again! Welcome to another instalment in the body positivity week. Today I wanted to address a few issues concerning the Beauty Industry, including the influence it has on us, the expectations it creates, but also the liberation of allowing us to create. This topic is a little ambiguous for me. On the one hand, my initial relationship with cosmetics was pretty toxic. From a young age, we're programmed to believe that we must look a certain way in order to be beautiful. Flawless skin. Zero pores. Bright eyes. Plump lips. Makeup and beauty trends obviously change over the years, but the message is loud and clear: you need cosmetic products to be beautiful. Which is obviously a load of bollocks. Growing up, I was suffocatingly insecure, as a lot of kids are, about my features. The pressure to look a certain way is overwhelming. And so I turned to fashion magazines and the internet for help. I discovered eyeliner and would rim my eyes inches thick with black kohl in the hope of making my eyes appear wider. Over the years, makeup became a mask to me, a way to hide my insecurities. Eventually, it got to the point that I wouldn't leave the house without it. Even on a summer holiday, I would sweat underneath a thick layer of makeup for the sake of preserving my insecurities. I hated my freckles, and would spend hours layering foundation and concealor on my skin to hide them. When puberty hit, I used makeup to to try to hide my breakouts, which in most cases only made them worse. I used makeup for all the wrong reasons, to try to turn myself into someone I wasn't and I was ashamed to be seen as anything other than this mask. Brands sell you the dream. Buy this and you'll look like them. Use this and change your face. 24 hour wear (even though wearing makeup for such a long time is SO bad for your skin). The reality is that mentality is incredibly unhealthy, and so I decided to try to change my perspective on cosmetics. I've always loved cosmetics, the pretty colours, the shimmering effects and the beautiful packaging, and I knew that giving up makeup altogether would just make me miserable, so I had to change the way I looked at it. Instead of using products to cover and disguise, I used them to highlight my features or to create a work of art. Through this, I discovered that beauty products are innovative. If used for the right reasons, you can create masterpieces, express yourself with colour, or a lack of. Paint pictures, add sparkle, or don't. Who cares! The point is that at the end of the day, the picture you've created all comes off. The fact is that you don't need it to be beautiful, but you can use it to create if you don't take it too seriously. The damaging thing about the beauty industry is that young women especially are targeted by brands to boost sales, but it's at the expense of their self confidence. If products were marketed in a different way, in a way that shows people that makeup is temporary, that we should also be embracing our natural skin, then perhaps there would be less insecurity going around. Interestingly enough, society seems to have the opposite perspective about men in makeup, which is absolutely ridiculous. A girl wearing a colourful smokey eye is attractive, but a boy wearing eyeliner and a colourful lip isn't? I think it's a load of crap. Cosmetics isn't just limited to one gender or one sexuality. We should be more accepting and appreciative of how people decide to portray themselves, regardless of who they are. The beauty industry is still something I struggle with to this day. For me, my bare face is the hardest thing to embrace as it's what people see the most, what people notice the most, and in the back of my mind, I still have these voices telling me that I look better with makeup, which isn't the case. I gradually started to use less and less makeup until eventually I was comfortable enough to brave the bare face. It's only been a recent revelation for me to actually leave the house without a stitch of makeup on, and you know what I found? No one treated me any differently. No one asked if I was tired or under the weather. No one looked at me like I was an alien, which was how I was made to feel without makeup. The fact is my day went by exactly as it would have if I'd have been wearing an entire face of my most perfectly crafted makeup. Shock horror. I think the important thing about cosmetics is to enjoy them and enjoy the time you spend applying them and creating. If you find yourself thinking 'I can't be arsed putting makeup on today, but I feel ugly without it' then you know you're using it for the wrong reasons. What helped me the most was to spend a day without makeup, even if it was somewhere I wasn't likely to see people I knew, and I found that no one recoiled in horror at my face. I also found that treating my skin better boosted my face positivity. Drinking water, actually removing my makeup properly at the end of the day and trying to limit the hours spent wearing a full face gave me the confidence to go bare faced. I took selfies without makeup on and eventually, got myself used to the image of my naked face. I'd almost become so accustomed to my face covered in makeup that I didn't recognise myself without it, so familiarising yourself with your features and learning to love them with and without makeup has improved my relationship with cosmetics as well as my own self confidence. I've touched a little bit today on male body confidence and the expectations bestowed on them by society, and so my next post will be dedicated to discussing male stereotypes. The media portrays this image of how an attractive man should look, when in fact, an attractive person comes in all shapes, sizes, colours, lengths and so on. Until next time beauties! According to a Glamour survey, 97% of us admitted to having an "I Hate My Body" moment, with young women in particular recording an average of 13 negative thoughts about their bodies each day. With that in mind, I decided to start a new series, promoting body positivity in all ages, genders, shapes and sizes. During this series, I aim to tackle a number of issues, including The Beauty Industry and Celebrity Culture, Ageism, Inferiority and the importance of self-love in all genders. In this first instalment, I wanted to address the fact that we are not alone. The majority of us have negative feelings about some aspect of our appearance every day, including myself. It has almost become the norm to hate on our own features and discuss physical features of other people in a derogatory manner. Promoting this self-hate only leads to further insecurity and mental health issues, as I'll be discovering during the series.
The first thing I wanted to address was my definition of the term 'body positive'. In the media, a lot of voices have expressed their doubts, branding the movement as a 'false' and unhealthy way to promote certain body types. I saw a lot of posts claiming that being body positive is a forced emotion that limits your acceptable emotions as you're essentially banishing your human instincts by telling yourself to ignore how you're feeling. And I agree. It is unhealthy to ignore your emotions, and it's totally normal to have negative thoughts and doubts about yourself, or to want to make some changes. However, for me, body positivity is a way to work through those emotions by acknowledging them, and then changing the way we see ourselves. A lot of people also found that the body positivity movement was exploited by companies to promote predominately curvy and/or plus size figures, when in fact I find it to be an inclusive movement that works towards normalising all body types in their varying conditions. It is not a way to promote an unhealthy lifestyle, it's a way to promote self love and encourage us to respect our bodies. As a teenage girl, I grew up with the mentality that I was 'out of proportion' because society had deemed me a 'pear shape'. Magazines recommended styles of clothing to compliment my figure. Shops sold me padded bras to balance me out. Peers advised me to wear slimming clothes to create an illusion. This was just part of the every day for me, and so I developed a form of body dysmorphia. When I looked in the mirror, I saw fat where I didn't want it and bone where I was told I shouldn't see it. The shape of my body seemed so severe. I felt like people were staring at me, laughing at me, noticing my imbalance. I compared myself to my friends, as is only in our nature, and I decided to diet. When my body changed again, people noticed the weight loss and made comments about it. My family were worried. We went to see a doctor and was told I was very underweight for my height. I had to bulk up. As the years went on, my body changed significantly. A combination of a diet change, an ageing metabolism and the introduction to alcohol resulted in me gaining weight, which people again noticed and commented on. I now had different body confidence issues, but issues all the same. I started to feel conscious of my thighs and my stomach, and even started researching techniques to lose weight from my face. I started seeing my friends less because I was embarrassed to go out and worried what they would think. In actual fact, I was still a pretty healthy size 10-12, but I felt bigger than that. Throughout my life, I have been 'too skinny', and I have been 'too fat', and everything else in between, but never have I been deemed 'just right'. So I've decided that a clothing size is just a number, so whether you are a size 0 or a size 24, you're not defined by that number. You just have to focus on being happy and healthy enough to live your best life. Throughout my body positivity process, I found it extremely helpful to find people I could relate to on Youtube and watch them try on clothes. I found Lucy Wood and Helen Anderson, who are similar shapes and sizes to me, and I watched them trying on clothes I would never have dared to try, and my first thought was, 'wow, she looks amazing in that'. Not for one second did I hone in on the parts of their bodies that they later described as their insecurities. I didn't even notice the things they pointed out on themselves. All I saw was an incredible outfit that I was really jealous of, and through that I rediscovered my love for clothes. I started shopping for things I liked instead of things that would 'compliment my shape'. These girls that I've never even met made me realise how in my own head I was, and that was a real wake up call to me, realising that the things I thought about myself really weren't that big of a deal. And I have since decided that if someone were to point out a flaw in a negative way, then that's their issue anyway, not mine. So welcome to my first instalment in my body positivity week! As Keith Lemon would say, 'so what's the message?' And I guess the message of this first post is to appreciate the body you've been given. It's got you through a lot and we owe it our respect. The main thing is to appreciate your own skin and be healthy. In my next post, I'm going to be talking about the Beauty Industry and the expectations we have to look a certain way, but also the positive aspects of the beauty industry and how we can use products for the right reasons, to create and express as opposed to hide and oppress. The pros and the cons, if you will. It's all about the mentality you choose to take. Until next time, beauties! 2019 is going crazy fast, and in just a few short months, I turn 25 (*cries). I feel as though 25 marks a whole new era, an older generation, and so I found myself reflecting on the past 10 years and the difference all that time has made. It was almost a decade ago that I was 15, sitting my GCSE's and still struggling to find an eyeliner that didn't crack, which was pretty much the extent of my teenage issues. I'd yet to meet so many people, learn so many lessons and experience so many things. So I decided to write a little letter to me of all the things I'd tell my 15 year old self.
1. Stop smearing orange gunk on your face. First of all, it doesn't match the rest of your body (blending was not a concern of mine back then). And secondly, you really don't need to hide underneath it all. Decorate your face, by all means. Makeup is a wonderful, fascinating and creative invention. But don't use it just to hide your insecurities or try to make yourself look like everyone else. Where's the individuality in that? 2. Frostie Jacks is NOT a bargain. They're robbing you of your £3. Daylight robbery. You will throw up. You will feel crappy the next day. You will not, however, remember much of the evening. Don't do it. Just don't do it. 3. Gaining weight is not the worst thing in the world that can happen to you. And it will happen to you, when you discover that you do actually like pizza and beer and your metabolism just isn't what you're used to. You may not recognise the body you will have in 10 years, but that's cool. It just shows you had a damn good time in the past decade. 4. Male attention isn't all it's cracked up to be. You don't get much of it now, my insecure teenage self, but you haven't started working in a pub yet. Creepy drunken men will appear in your life in the next year or so and it doesn't feel as self-assuring as you think it might. And on the subject of men, you may think it seems impossible that anyone would ever be into you. It won't be like that forever, you just haven't met them yet. 5. Friends was then, and still is, the best TV show to have ever been aired. 6. Speaking of friends, not everyone is gonna be in your life forever. Don't take it personally. People grow apart, grow up or just simply lose touch. It happens. Others may turn out to be convenience friends that will only be in your life whilst you have constant communication with them, like school for example. When you leave school and no longer see them every day, friendships will fizzle out eventually. It's part of life. 7. You may think that someone having a negative opinion of you would be the worst thing in the world. You think you're invisible. You're not. People just think you're shy and weird, so you may as well just do what you like. People will talk no matter what. Worse things have happened. 8. Matt Cardle wins the X Factor in 2010. Just in case this actually reaches 15 year old me, put a bet on early doors. You're welcome. 9. You'll go through some boy drama. But I'm not gonna warn you against any of that. You have to take the same steps and make the same mistakes to learn from them and end up where you are now, almost 25 and, for the record, sickeningly happy. 10. At some point, you'll grow out of your 'emo stage'. Your leather jacket is now the most worn thing ever. You don't wear thick black liner daily. Black velvet, ankle boots and pleather are not essentials in your wardrobe. The inner emo will always be there, lusting after dark, edgy clothing, red lipstick and Mayday Parade music. 11. Push past your boundaries. You only regret the things you didn't do, the things you were too scared to try, how you'd look doing them or what other people would think. As Nike would say, just do it. 12. Don't be afraid to travel to new places. In 10 years' time, you'll be all about going abroad and seeing different things. Squeeze more places in during that time if you can. It's worth it. 13. You'll get that degree you've been dreaming about since you were a little girl, but don't take advantage of the opportunity. GO TO YOUR DAMN LECTURES. And maybe, if it's not too much to ask, pick something a little more vocational, like Journalism or Publishing. Your dream job is still pending, but we're working on it. 14. Save some bloody money. You don't need all of the clothes you're going to purchase. Honestly, you won't even wear 90% of them. Ever. And you hate sending things back, so save yourself the ordeal and just buy the things you know you'll wear. Put some money away instead for a rainy day, a new adventure or an important investment. 15. You're going to have dark days. You'll feel anxious, depressed and stressed at times. You'll feel like you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, like you can't get through a loss, a heartbreak or an exam, but I guess I'm living proof that you'll make it. Until next time, 15 year old self, look after yourself, try not to do anything I wouldn't do (ha!) and allow yourself to have some fun. 10 years will go by in a flash! If you're looking for a fairly inexpensive city break in Europe with plenty of culture, history and activities, Budapest could be the one for you. From natural spring water baths to breathtaking views, authentic Hungarian food and even a zoo, the city of Budapest has something to offer to every type of tourist. Here's a break-down of the 5 days we spent in this amazing city! Day OneAfter a long day of travel, a quick wander around the Great Market Hall and nightmare transfers (are transfers EVER actually straight-forward?), we headed to the hotel room for a quick nap. Said 'quick nap' lasted 6 hours, after which we proceeded to share some Pringles, a bottle of water and then fell back asleep for the night. Nothing too exciting to report here I'm afraid, although the Great Market Hall was pretty impressive with its multitude of stores selling everything from local produce to a range of Hungarian fashion, arts and crafts. Day TwoFor our first full day in Budapest, we decided to do a hop-on-hop-off bus tour around the whole city, which I'd definitely recommend to first timers travelling to any new city to get your bearings and work out where you wanna explore further. We ended up doing paying 6000 hufs (about £17 each) which was pretty good value for two 2 hour bus tours and a boat trip. To be honest, I'm a bit of a self-confessed nerd. I love learning new things so the commentary on the tours were right up my street and it was the perfect way to make sure we definitely didn't miss any major sights during our short stay. In parts, the city reminded me somewhat of London. There was even the Budapest Eye, although the real views came right up at the Citadella, where you find the most spectacular view of the whole of Budapest, which was definitely a highlight of my stay. Surprisingly, the tours were pretty tiring so we opted for a restaurant close to the Cosmo City Hotel (which was the cleanest hotel I've ever stayed in and smelt like strawberry lemonade) called La Botte. We tried a local beer called Dreher, which actually reminded me a lot of Budweiser, and only cost about £1.80 a pint. With a pizza, pasta and bottle of water thrown in, we paid 8200 hufs (about 23 quid) for dinner, which also included a service charge so we didn't have to work out a tip on top of the bill. Afterwards, we wandered out to find a cocktail bar and stumbled across the Good Spirit Bar where we ended up paying £17 for two Pina Coladas. Safe to say we only had the one drink there before retiring to the hotel after a tiring day of sight-seeing. The bar itself was pretty artsy with a British-style telephone box that led into the toilets and shelves upon shelves of every type of whiskey under the sun if you're into that kind of thing. The bar staff even had a ladder to reach the top shelves of spirits like the guy in the wand shop from Harry Potter. But still, SEVENTEEN POUNDS. Good Spirits? Bad prices. Day ThreeOn the second day, we hiked the hour walk from our hotel to Budapest Zoo (mistakes were made, but foreign public transport makes me nervous), which is apparently the oldest in Europe. For less than a tenner each we were granted admission under the promise of sighting polar bears, crocodiles and even sharks. The first thing that struck me was that the place could use some tlc. There was some construction going on while we were there and a few enclosures were closed before 10am, which was a little strange as the zoo was open from 9am. However, we did find one section where you can walk about with wallabies and emus and it was truly enchanting to see such animals as polar bears, hippos and even a wombat as I'd never seen them in the flesh before. The 'shark school' turned out to be more of a big tank with a few small sharks and some fish, but it was still a nice little addition to a zoo. Most of the sign posts were obviously written in Hungarian and most of the staff spoke little English, unlike the city centre where most people spoke it fluently, so I can see why the Budapest Zoo is such an underrated tourist attraction but it was definitely worth the visit. On the walk back, we ventured to the Vajdahunyad Castle, which was like stepping into a fairytale it was so picturesque. After walking back through Heroes Square, another historic sight with monumental statues and a museum on either side, we stopped at the Grand Cafe Budapest for a panini, pint of beer and fresh strawberry lemonade (which cost about a tenner). I found the food and drink in Budapest could either be reasonably cheap or fairly similar to what you would pay at a nice restaurant in England depending on where you went, but overall I found it to be relatively inexpensive. In the evening, we ventured to the Verne restaurant, which had a really pretty interior (I'm a sucker for an aesthetic) with a water fountain as the centre piece. We paid around £30 for 4 cocktails, a Caesar salad, beef gnocchi (a Hungarian delicacy), somloi galuska (fancy Hungarian chocolate trifle) and some pancakes, which was ridiculously cheap. Most food places we found were open until past midnight and people in the city seemed to eat out later so the restaurants were never over-crowded and the food was pretty good value for money. Day fOURAfter all the walking from the previous day, we decided to treat ourselves to a trip to the Gellert Thermal Baths, consisting of 10 pools with varying temperatures and sizes, saunas, steam rooms and both indoor and outdoor swimming pools. I booked the tickets online and paid for access with our own private cabin, which was more of a changing room with a fancy lock. It was around £18 each for a day at the baths, which seemed pretty steep but the internet informed me that it was a must-see in Budapest. Reviews advised us to go early as the evening could get quite crowded and we found that there was plenty of space without feeling too packed between 10am-12pm. Some of the pools were heated to 40 degrees, which kind of felt like taking one big giant bath with a bunch of strangers, which I suppose is the idea, but it was pretty relaxing and definitely soothed our aching muscles. The intricate details on the walls and ceilings added to the serene atmosphere and were certainly something to admire while you relaxed. Overall, we left feeling relaxed and refreshed after a busy couple of days sight-seeing so I'd say it was worth the money. We planned an evening boat trip across the Danube that night, which cost around £18 each for an hour tour with commentary and a welcome drink and I'd highly recommend the attraction as the views across the river in Budapest at night are unparalleled. Lit up, the houses of parliament and castles reflected upon the water had me awe-struck. We had dinner en route to the boat tour at a place called La Lucia, which was probably the most expensive food place we went to. For a pizza, spaghetti bolognaise (we're so English) and two fresh flavoured lemonades, we paid £35. I know. It's pretty steep. But the location was definitely more central and the restaurant itself was pretty cosy with outdoor heating at every table. The place offered a wide variety of dishes, including sushi, steaks and even the classic battered fish and chips which was a pretty unusual find in Budapest, so perhaps that was why it was a little more expensive (even though we only had basic dishes, typical). We also stopped at an outdoor bar outside the Cafe de Paris for a couple of beers besides a heater, which offered a selection of Hungarian street food we later wished we had gone to instead. DaY fIVEOn our final day, we headed towards the main shopping area before our flight home. If you're after a good place to get some shopping done, Budapest offers a variety of high end and high street stores, including Louis Vuitton, Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Rolex, Zara and H&M. We got a few last minute souvenirs (accidentally spending about £30 on a couple of keyrings, fridge magnets and post cards without realising - damn exchange rate) and enjoyed a cocktail and a coffee at Anna Cafe, which offered a wide range of fancy cocktails costing no more than a fiver each. Our final stop was the Hummus Bar, a place I had been eager to try since the day we arrived. It had always seemed busy and popular so I thought I'd see what all the hype was about. We received a free shot of mint tea when we were seated, which was a nice touch. For 4530 (about £12, £12!) we ordered a falafel dish with pitta bread, chips and salad, a minced beef dish with pitta, rice and salad, extra coleslaw and two cokes. The portions were astronomical, so much so that I'm ashamed to admit that I couldn't finish my dinner, and I HATE leaving food. Unlike every other place, there was no automatic service charge but the service was really friendly and quick and we had paid next to nothing for so much food so we tipped 1000 hufs. One of the best things about Budapest is the food. I'm a pretty fussy eater (okay, a reeeeally fussy eater) and it can be quite testing the find veggie friendly options wherever you go, but Hungary was really accommodating and definitely veggie-friendly. I was sad to leave Budapest after just 5 short days. Although our days had been packed with activities (cough, excluding the first day, cough), there was still so much more to see, like Margaret Island and the Budapest Castle. It's a city full of history, culture and nature, offering an abundance of synagogues, castles and statues for the historian; shops, cafes and markets for the artisan, and; hikes, views and picturesque walks for the adventurer. If you've not yet been, you definitely need to!
Bonjour mes amis! Today I wanted to talk to you all about ageism, the rise in plastic surgery and the pressures to maintain a youthful look even as we grow older. With a new anti-wrinkle cream on the market every 5 minutes, the normalisation of ageism is growing and growing, and something we should be addressing in relation to body confidence. How many times have you heard the term, 'they look amazing for their age!' How many times have those words actually left your own lips? And how many times has that comment been in relation to a real-life person or a celebrity? More often than not, we're astounded to discover the actual age of celebrities. Thanks to high quality plastic surgery, cosmetics and photo editing, it's now easier than even to maintain a youthful appearance. The BAAPS (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) reported that over 28,000 procedures took place in 2018 alone. Women attributed to 92% of those procedures, with the most popular alterations being for the breasts and eyelids. However, the biggest increases for women were liposuction, which increased by 12% from the previous year, and face lifts, which rose 9%. Liposuction procedures averaged out at a 9% increase across both gender which, to me, suggests that our body positivity is at all time low as more and more people are feeling the need to make cosmetic amendments to their features and figures. The rise in liposuction operations implies that people are feeling to pressure to obtain a smaller frame, whilst the face lifts suggest that more and more of us are trying to halt the ageing process. Interestingly enough, Mental Health online stated that one survey found that one in five adults over 55 felt anxious or depressed specifically due to their body image. Being body positive shouldn't stop once we reach a certain age. We should be respecting our bodies and thankful for all of the things it's got us through. The ageing process is inevitable for everyone, and whilst our bodies may function a little differently to a younger version of ourselves, it's something we must come to accept. I'm usually a drugstore kind of girl. Having tried a wide variety of drugstore foundations, I discovered that the Maybelline Fit Me is my absolute go-to. The lightweight, oil-free formula is comfortable on my face and doesn't provoke my acne-prone skin. The coverage is medium to buildable without making me feel cakey, and although it's perfect for oily skin, the water-based formula leaves a healthy glow on my skin you don't often get with matte foundations. Whilst I was completely sold on my £6.99 foundation, I was recently given some samples of a couple of Chanel foundations to try out so I decided to give them a whirl. Chanel Vitalumiere Satin Smooth Fluid Make The first foundation I tried was the Vitalumiere Satin Smoothing SPF 15 in the shade 20 Clair. The title 'lumiere' initially had me skeptical. My oily-combination skin often doesn't take well to illuminating foundations as they can highlight my pores and don't do a great job of keeping my oils at bay, leaving me looking like a big grease-ball by the end of the day. However, the promises of an anti-fatigue finish piqued my interest. Of the two foundations I tried, this one was my least favourite. The consistency was liquidy but quite thick, meaning the illuminating finish was thicker and therefore more obvious on my skin. It overall had a more heavy-weight feeling to what I'm used to and I had to use a substantial amount of powder to mattify my t-zone, leaving my face feeling extra cakey and looking more dry than usual. Because of the extra powder I had to apply to my face, any anti-fatigue effects were somewhat counteracted. However, I will say that the foundation is perfect for those with normal to dry skin as it does leave a pretty sheen to the skin with decent coverage, and, being Chanel, it does have a more luxurious feel and smell than some of the drugstore foundations I've tried. I also found the shade range was more skin-like than some of the drugstore ranges which can often be more dramatically orange or pink toned. I found that a little went a long way with this base in particular so I guess the luxurious price tag is a little more justified. Retailing at £37 at Boots.com, I think it's a worthwhile purchase for those with normal to dry skin looking for a luxurious foundation to provide decent coverage and an illuminating finish. Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua The second foundation I tried was the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua SPF 15 in the shade 40 Beige. After trying the Satin Smoothing from the Vitalumiere range, I admit I was skeptical about trying the second foundation, but the water-based formula appealed more to what I was used to.
Again, this foundation has a luxurious feel and smell that isn't too offensive. The lightweight consistency reminded me of the Fit Me and I was immediately impressed with the illuminating finish which, whist glowy, didn't feel greasy at all. I fell in love with this foundation after just a couple of wears and may have just replaced the Fit Me as my favourite base. Although the foundation has a low coverage, I found that it doesn't irritate my skin so I therefore didn't need the extra coverage. One layer of the foundation covered any blemishes I wanted to conceal and any other marks I may wish to cover in the future could easily be camouflaged by spot concealing with either a concealer or a thicker foundation. I've recently started really enjoying a more natural glow to my skin as opposed to a heavy, matte finish, so the low to buildable coverage is perfect for everyday wear. Again retailing at £37 at Boots.com, I'm more than tempted to purchase a full-size bottle. Admittedly, the price tag is a little daunting, but a worthwhile investment for a reliable base I’ll save for special occasions or days my skin feels particularly bleak. I may have just been converted to a luxurious foundation, but I'll still be keeping a couple of bottles of Fit Me on my dressing table. What an extraordinary book.
Heather Morris writes the true story of Lale Sokolov, who arrived at Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942 and swears to survive this nightmare in any way he can. It is because of this motto that he becomes the tattooist of Auschwitz, permanently marking prisoners with a number they now branded with. Stripped of all identity and freedom, the tale of each individual prisoner is heart-breaking and powerful. No words I can ever convey will explain how powerful and important this novel is. What I loved most about the character of Lale was his will to survive, and his will to help others survive as best as he can. In particular, he sets out to aid Gita, a girl he falls in love with, as he attempts to keep her alive and promises a better future outside of the camp together. Their story is a reminder that love and hope can survive where everything is bleak, and it is their endurance that I admire so much. There are some harrowing images throughout the novel, which Morris depicts perfectly from the perspective of Lale without dramatizing. The horrific atrocities Lale and his fellow prisoners witnessed and encountered on an every day basis become the norm to them, and this is portrayed perfectly in the simplistic narration of events. As Lale works to save those he comes to love, he doesn't depict himself as a hero. He is merely obtaining his humanity in a place that has been deprived of it. It is so important to remember the Holocaust, the people that lost their lives and the loyalties and relationships that remained even as death surrounded them. It is these stories of friendship, survival and endurance that fills us with hope that even in the darkest days, a shred of humanity survives. This story brought me to tears and even made me wretch with disgust at times, and it is for that reason that we must always remember the unthinkable crimes committed, not just in Auschwitz, but all over the world, so that no one has to endure such torture and humiliation ever again. I encourage everyone to read this heart-wrenching tale about a man who refused to be defeated and a love that prevails all. Tomorrow is officially 1st December which meaaaaaans...IT'S CHRISTMAS! With the list of people to buy for ever-growing, it's easy to lose track of how much you're spending. Well gift-giving doesn't have to break the bank! I've searched the shops and the web looking for the best affordable options for stocking fillers for the ladies in your life. From your mum to your sister, friend or girlfriend, wife or work's secret santa, here's a few affordable gift ideas for your loved ones this year: AccessoriesLittle accessories like nail polish sets, hair accessories and scarves are the perfect way to bulk up the gifts for your loved ones, and they're a great way to personalise your presents. At the moment, Primark have an amazing range of accessories to suit everyone. For example, for makeup lovers, the monochrome and pink makeup bag is spacious and compact, which makes it perfect for travelling. For anyone into Disney, the snow white makeup bag is an adorable option. You could always fill a makeup bag with little essentials for your loved one, like a lipstick, mascara and this Tinkerbell copper hand held mirror, for a personal touch. Primark also have an amazing range of purses, like the Harry Potter 9 and three quarters coin purse. They also have black quilted coin purses with initials which would be cute for a more personal gift, and everyone needs a 'town purse' for nights out when the normal purse is just too big for a clutch bag. For your mum, sister, auntie or grandma, you can't go wrong with a pair of slippers. The Aristocats pink slide-ons are just one example. Hair accessories are also a great stocking filler, such as this two-piece scrunchie pack for that 90s feel that's everywhere this season. StationaryFor stationary lovers, writers and artists, check out Wilkos range for affordable but cute options. For the person in your life who's crap with money, check out the Wilko Budget Planner. For students, the Big Ideas notebook is perfect for project planning and this adorable set of revision cards is the perfect way to encourage your daughter or friend to revise for a big exam. The Kindness Diary is a thoughtful gift to encourage your friends and family to do a good deed and feel good about themselves. For artists and photographers, the Wilko scrapbook is great for storing snaps and cut outs. Finally, the Travel Journal includes dividers to help the traveller in your life plan the trip of a lifetime and record memories. Gift SetsAnother option to fill those stockings is to invest in some gift sets, ranging from beauty and cosmetics to beverages and home ware. For example, this set of 6 bath bombs from Wilko comes gift wrapped and ready for a luxurious scented bath. The No.1, No.2 and No.3 candles from Aldi retail for just £3.99 each and are said to be great dupes for the Jo Malone scented candles. The Studio London 10 Piece Brush Set from Superdrug is amazing value and the makeup lover in your life will get great use out of them. The Studio London 6 Piece Nail Varnish Set is also great value for money and is a perfect stocking filler for your favourite girly-girl. The Yankee Candle set from Asda is the perfect home ware gift to have any home smelling cosy and festive. Next have amazing, affordable perfume options, like the Rouge 100ml gift set. Who's For What?For your mum, step-mum, auntie or grandma, I'd suggest slippers, the candle gift set or bath bomb set. In terms of stationary, you could opt to buy them a 2019 Diary to organise events in the upcoming year. It's the perfect staple in every woman's handbag. As well as perfume gift sets, Next also offer small perfumes for the handbag which are also a perfect gift for a family member.
For your sister or your friend, I'd suggest any of the cosmetics options, such as the nail varnish set or a makeup bag filled with affordable essentials. Asda offer great drinks gift sets, such as Absolut vodka and a selection of Gins for the party animal in your life. Beauty Bay offer some really affordable skincare and cosmetic options as well, such as The Ordinary skincare brand, Wet and Wild Cosmetics and a wide variety of other well-known brands. For your daughter, the stationary options are great for any students or creative girls. PJ sets are also a great option for your daughter. Boohoo have a great range of Christmas-themed PJ sets and Primark also have a range of fluffy pjyama sets with bed socks and a matching eye mask for just £12. For your girlfriend or wife, why not get her something that smells nice? Perfume, bath bombs and body lotions are all great options for your other half. You could also get her an underwear set, so she looks good and smells good all year round. So today, Twilight turns 10! Or, at least, the films do. And now all of the films are available on Netflix! I've recently just finished reading the entire Saga (I know, I'm crazy late to the bandwagon) and thought I'd share my thoughts with you.
So the first thing that struck me as odd was the unhealthy relationship between Bella and Edward. I understand that she was drawn to him but she then came to depend on him. Edward's protectiveness of Bella can be perceived as either sweet or a little controlling, but I realised that this novel influenced so many young people. Does it teach them that this level of dependency and control is normal in a healthy relationship? I also found I felt a little sorry for Jacob throughout the series. I found him to be the most real character of them all, despite turning into a werewolf and all that. But his character had weaknesses and flaws that made him more relatable. I found that the Cullens in particular seemed to have few imperfections (excluding Rosalie, who I actually came to wish would be killed off). Should one of them have died, it would have made it almost impossible for readers to bare. For example, Carlisle is depicted as the perfect selfless vampire. As the head of the family, he acts only in their best interests with diplomacy, but above all, a fatherhood and commitment to be admired. Perhaps the Cullens were depicted as such perfect beings as the story was told from the perspective of Bella, who so desperately wishes to become one of them. In the short section narrated from Jacob in Breaking Dawn, we see a different perspective of the Cullens as he discusses his distaste for their kind. Having said all of that, I found the books impossible to put down. I was almost addicted. Obsessed, even. Despite the glaring characterisation flaws, I found I could relate to Bella quite a lot. She's a people-pleaser who just wants the best for everyone. Despite hurting Jacob, she does actually have a conscience about it and in the end, he does find his own happiness. I don't know how I felt about him not ending up with Bella though. I couldn't quite imagine him with anyone other than her, and so I suppose who he eventually will end up with is the closest thing to it. And the connection between Bella and Edward is undeniable. They are in awe of each other. So perhaps their relationship is a little unhealthy, but could it also be said that perhaps we as readers become a little jealous of their obsession? But is that jealousy healthy in itself? We should be teaching young people that people have flaws and that every relationship requires hard work and real commitment. I think my favourite of all of the novels in the Saga was actually The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. I enjoyed the story of her growing relationship with fellow newborn Diego more than Bella and Edward, perhaps because their was an innocence and plausibility to it. I actually read this epilogue to the saga as a prequel to the others having already seen the films and it tied together a lot of the back story involving Victoria's army and gave a greater insight into the individuals she created. Reading that gave greater value to the eventual sacrificing of Bree's life by the Volturi, who I again have mixed feelings about. On the one hand, they are almost essential to the existence of vampires by regulating and enforcing the rules, but they are also slightly corrupt and twist the rules in order to obtain the outcome they desire. Kind of like MPs. I actually kind of liked Aro though. His eccentricity made him more interesting that Marcus the boring and Caius the angry. All in all, I suppose it is nice to be lost in the romance of it all just for a moment. And I think that's what drew me to it so obsessively. Something about Bella and Edward's story made me feel safe and confident with their abilities, even as they went into battle. I don't know. It's an odd one. On the one hand, I loved the read and became obsessed with the story, but on the other, does it portray a positive and plausible depiction of real-life romance? Probably not. But it was still a good read. The Coca Cola advert has hit TV screens all across the nation. The shop shelves are stacked with festive decorations and gifts. The lights have been erected in city centres and the Black Friday sales have already begun. If you're still in denial that the Holidays are coming, look around you! The Christmas spirit has well and truly begun and my Facebook is full of images of Christmas trees proudly decorated in the homes of friends and family.
However, amongst these posts of festive cheer and joy are the negative posts, claiming that it's 'too early to start celebrating Christmas'. To you naysayers of Christmas spirit, I say embrace the holiday atmosphere! Bah humbug, you Grinch! There's no shame in putting up the Christmas decorations and starting the shopping. December 1st doesn't mark the start of festivities. People argue that there are only 12 days of Christmas, but who are we to deny such premature joy? Live your best life and sprinkle yourself with tinsel and glitter. Play Jingle Bells on repeat and cosy up on the sofa to watch Elf with a hot chocolate. Life's too short to get grumpy about it. |
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Part-time student/bar-associate |