Goodbye 2013!

Hola mis amigos!

It's officially the last day of 2013! We finally made it through this year!
For me, 2013 was definitely one roller coaster of a ride! It definitely had its ups (I mean, I actually met Justin Bieber!) but it definitely had its lows.

I'm not going to dwell on that which has passed as I believe we ought to keep positive! I'm a firm believer in happiness being a choice (thanks to Shay Carl of the Shaytards for enlightening me to this view). If we continue to look at those moments in life which were most definitely negative or impacted us in a negative way, and never try to view the positives in them, it will just bring us down. For example; in January 2013 I was very stressed out with school work and I gave in to it and left high school. I was then, by my mum, made to find some sort of job or January start college course. To cut the story short, I joined what I believed to be a course aimed towards musical theatre (a passion of mine). However, the course turned out nothing like that, I hated it and left after a month. For a long while I hated myself for leaving school and not getting by qualifications and then not even getting a certificate in the college course. I could look at this as a negative time in mylife, however, I did end up with a job for a while, more money than I ever had, and free time in which I found myself discovering my love for blogs and YouTube (zoella, sprinkle of glitter, stilababe09 to name but a few)

I decided to go back to school for my sixth and final year and picked up three of the same four "highers" (qualification) I was going the precious year along with Higher Philosphy.

School is great now! I don't hate it as much and I've only had two days absence! (From third year up until fifth I always had a very bad attendance. One year it was 22%...)

I still sometimes think about how if I had stuck in for another month or two of school I could've passed these exams already and be sitting Advanced highers in them. Alas, I cannot change the past, only the present and the future. The past year has shown me that I cannot allow these things to upset me. Yes, I can be seen as being a "step behind" but I view it as being a step forward. Everyone in my class is now about to go to college or university, and this may or may not be the right place for them. I already know this for myself and I am also more self-aware as to what is right for me and what I enjoy.

While I do not know what I intend to do next year - 7th year at school, a job - I do know that I really want to get right into my blog and my YouTube. I love sitting in front of the camera and talking to my  (so far not many, but wonderful!) subscribers and sharing things I have purchased and my favourite things etc. 

I also very much enjoy writing up my blog and spending time changing its design and layout to make it the kind of blog I, myself, would love to visit/read! I do it out of my love and passion for this area. Not because I think I'm the "next zoella" or anything. Wether I have 2 followers or 2 million followers, as long as somebody is enjoying the content I create I am happy. 

I guess I've went a little off topic!
For 2014 I have a few "new years resolutions". The first of these I've spoken about to you before; and that is uploading a video to my youtube channel once a week as well as writing a blog post once a week. I intend on making this the same day (a Tuesday) but the day for blog posts may change :)

I hope you all ring in 2014 full of joy and are looking forward to it! Let me know what your plans for the year are in the comments below or what positive experiences happened to you in 2013!

See you next year ;)

~Emma x

PS. this weeks video can be found here: http://youtu.be/gVUsuMSyUGU

       

 

Boxing Day Bargains!

Hey Everyone!

As you all know (well I'm guessing you all do), it's the day after Christmas which - apart from meaning it's only 364 days until next Christmas - THE BOXING DAY SALES HAVE STARTED! woohoo!

Normally, my mum, gran and I get up about nine or ten to get along to the shops but this year, we got up at 6am to head out shopping and to get to boots in time for it opening at 7! Whilst we were all knackered, this was honestly the best idea! The car park was so busy but that was for the masses of people queuing outside NEXT for the 6am open so Boots was relatively quiet.

I wouldn't say I bought a ridiculous amount of stuff, but in comparison to my normal purchase amount and my bank statements, I definitely got a lot:

 

See? no? ok.

Boots wasn't as amazing as I'd hoped, but I believe that is down to my lack of enthusiasm for any of the gift sets this year. I did however get a pair of amazingly soft and comfortable PJ's (Jimmi Jams) which I am wearing now and utterly adore! Along with a Simple minis set and some Toni&Guy hair products

 

 

We then stopped off at New Look where my bag obsession was no longer dormant! I have been looking for a backpack for a while now and kept going to one in New Look which was £20; admittedly, this is not expensive, but I'm used to a £10 bag from Primark so when I walked in to New Look and found said £20 backpack for £10 I HAD to buy it! It is such a perfect size for me and the straps go to exactly the length I like. It is extremely good quality and I feel it will last for a long while!

 

I also got another bag for £10 which I feel is great for a shopping trip uptown or if you're aiming for a 'smart casual' look. It's black (fake) leather with a sort of wicker-ish patterned material in the middle. There is so much room on the inside for everything I need and the neutral colours mean it will go with everything!

 

I also bought a pair of fluffy socks because they are irresistible and sooooooooo soft & cosy!

 

I received a £20 giftcard for Next but their sale this year wasn't impressive to me. I did find an adorable little cushion that goes perfectly with my room, which is Parisian themed (lamp and duvet) so for £6 I figured it was a bargain!

 

Also, I purchased a cute little necklace in Claires and a pair of fake pearl earrings. The necklace was just a silver chain with a teeny tiny Eiffel Tower and I thought, for £1, it was a must!

 

Finally, I was in the Card Factory (mi madre wanted a new years card) and all their Christmas stock was half price. This little festive box caught my eye and I impulse bought it because it was so bloody cute! (I have used 'cute' and 'adorable' faaaaaarrrrr too much in this post. SORRY!)

 

I wanted to share this with you as I had so much fun shopping today and I in no way wish to brag about this. I didn't receive any extravagant gifts this year and mostly received money and giftcards which is why I bought most of these items :)

 

I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful Christmas full of happiness and laughter with your family, friends and loved ones.

See ya!

 

~ Emma xx

 

P.S: New Video going up soon! Haul of all the above products http://youtu.be/AB42A0VYVMM     

Bodyshop Skincare Product Review

Hey, guys!
I haven't posted any solely beauty things for a while and I recently bought some new facial/skincare products from The Bodyshop and decided I'd do a little "review" on them today.

Nailed It!

Doing my nails is one of my favourite things to do (albeit I'm not extremely good at it). Wether if it's to go with an outfit for an event or just because I'm bored and want to add a splash of colour to my life, I tend to do my nails 2 or 3 times a week.
 
I felt like sharing some of the brands and colours I have and give you an insight into which ones I think are the best!