What is Achievement?

My pet hate is when people say that if you don't go to University, then you've achieved nothing and you're going to be stuck in a dead-end job that you'll forever hate and you'll just hate life in general. This is bollocks. I'm not saying don't go to uni, you may aswell get a job after school/college etc but for those of you who feel pressured to go to uni to impress your parents - don't.

I understand mum & dad's p.o.v: I mean sure, you want your children to achieve, climb the ladder and earn cash like there's no tomorrow...but will they be happy?

 

Around the start of Autumn my mum and I religiously watch The Real Housewives of Beverley Hills. These people are loaded, and they're certainlly not afraid to show it. However, although they're fortunate in the 'never having to work again' principle, they seem poor in other areas: for example, their friendship with "friends" are as fake as Katie Price's knockers. Maybe it's a little cliche to say this, but I value friends a lot more than money; I feel like what is the actual point in having so much dolla if you have no friends to share it with? I know of people who are so unhappy and yet they're the most spoilt people out of the lot, who never have to worry about money and yet still struggle to sleep at night or who suffer from other issues. Then there's the complete opposite end of the spectrum; when you watch documentaries of people living in Third-World areas and yet they still have a genuine smile on their face. This just proves to me that money isn't everything.

Achievement to me is short and simple: to have those around me who love & care for me, people who are there when I need them and to have enough money to live on and have a good time. With really really good friends, you don't need an awful lot of money to have a good time with; a simple walk with Leanne and Zoe, or a little cry with Steph and Abi at some disney movie, even just a drive round with Danielle and Emma makes my day. I just feel like people put so much effort into how much money they have that they almost make themselves ill, and forget what it's really like having little or no money.

Therefore, achievement isn't nessicarily passing college with flying colours, going to University, having so much money that you don't know what to buy first - but something which you enjoy and makes you happy - just whatever you plan on doing, make sure you're doing it for you.







Favorite Summer Photos - 2014

*Sigh* Oh how I miss the summer. All that's getting me through my last year of college is the fact that after all exams, the hot weather will meet us and there's no priorities for 3 months, yay! (for me, anyway!) 

Steph's party was fabulous - from left to right: Steph, me, Abi - April 2014

Myself & Jack: Start of April - when we all went to the Bath Fair! Really fun day out

Me @ Bristol Balloon Fiesta - August 2014

Bristol Balloon Fiesta again - left to right: Leanne, Jack, Grace, Jamie, Me

Went on a hugeee bike ride back in June 2014 - Whitchurch to Chew Valley Lake! 16 miles

Jack's party, good night! - June 2014

Spending summer on the field at Sixth Form was adorable - have a lot of lovely memories from there! May 2014

There was a time when myself & Steph had an obsession with going to town like every day

Really really really bad quality photo - but this sunset was so beautiful - so many beautiful summer times spent in Yate

Review: Toni&Guy Glamour 3D Volumiser

Birthday & Christmas is always a time for me to explore new products that I haven't used before. I had heard many people rant and rave about Toni&Guy, although sadly I never have enough money to go wild and try out new hair products. However, I was super excited when I unwrapped one of my gifts and it was the Toni&Guy 3D Volumiser (sad, right?) and couldn't wait to give it a try!

I was not disappointed; after washing my hair with a volumising shampoo, I wait for it to dry until it's damp and then I just lift sections of my hair and spray this into the roots. The spray really enhanced my very fine hair and made it look not only fuller and thicker, but also vibrant and full of life! Unlike using mousse, which I find can sometimes make my hair sticky or greasy, this 3D Volumising spray worked a treat by feeling light when sprayed into my roots and massaged in.

If your hair falls limp and dull and you're sick of trying out different hair products which don't seem to have a lasting affect on your hair then look no further! I couldn't imagine my life without this little handy spray bottle now and I will definitely buy this product again as it is well worth the money!

*Tip: To increase the volume in your hair after using this spray, use a back-combing brush (I bought mine from Boots, but other pharmacies will also sell them) and back brush at the root of the hair; hairspray to keep in place after you've brushed the back brush out so you don't look like you've been dragged through a bush backwards!

How To Feel Confident Without Makeup

I know too many people who would never go out makeup free and this fact worries me. Why should people feel that their natural face needs to be covered in order to look good? 

I was this girl once. I wore makeup everyday to school because people told me I looked better with it, and this really did have an effect on my confidence. It has taken me a long time to accept my face without it, and realize that there are other ways of looking good without having to wear a face full of makeup.
So with that, here are some tips that I use rather than wearing makeup, which make me feel better. I hope you find them useful! 

1. Stay hygienic and cleanse
This is the key to making your skin glow and stand out! Now in my time I've used a hell of a lot of face washes until I suffered with minor acne. After a trip to the doctors to pick up some Duac cream, I asked my doctor about face washes and he assured me that actually, face wash is no different from ordinary soaps. As long as you don't use perfumed soaps, your skin won't react badly and it's equivalent to using a face wash. So as long as you wash your face as well as your body daily with a good organic soap (I use Simple personally) your ready to go!

2. Moisturise! 
...Or are you ready to go? Not so fast! I know a lot of you oily skin types out there who skip this step - I used to be the same, trust me! But actually not using a moisture cream can increase oil as your skins dried out and your body wants to keep it moist. This can also increase acne and spots, from my understanding. The best Moisturiser by far is again the Simple Kind To Skin Light Moisturiser, which for those of you who have oily skin (like me) will find really refreshing and dries into your skin within minutes! For my skin in general I use lots of different moisturising creams, which are: 

Nivea Body Moisturiser Rich Nurishing 
Made With Love
Ghost The Fragrance
Baylis & Harding Skin Spa
Champneys Spa Indulgence Distant Shores Body Butter
(P.S. Some of these moisurisers I had in a set for Christmas so I'm not sure if they can be sold separately!)

 So moisturising is a must guys in order to freshen your skin and keep that shimmering glow from your cleansing! 

3. Wear something which flatters your figure
This is where a lot of people go wrong and I blame fashion; I know of people who literally buy things because they're "the in thing" which I'm not saying isn't fine but come on people...have some originality! Don't buy something for the sake of it, buy something you feel comfortable in and feel confident in. Honestly, when you feel confident in an outfit and comfortable it's so much more noticeable that if you wear something because everyone has it. For example, I would say my build is slim & curvy, so for example, I tend to wear a lot of play suits in the summer as they outline that I do have a waist so I don't feel frumpy. You will add to that inner glow if you feel confident guys, trust me!


4. Vaseline!
Oh Vaseline, you have been my savoir many a time.  I feel like Vaseline is like a mother; never fails to make us look or feel better (Is that what a mother does?). What I tend to do is rub a little bit of Vaseline onto my eyelashes and my eyebrows, then wait 2 minutes for it to dry in a little bit. I then use my £1 eyelash curlers from Primark (and they've lasted me years!) and curl my eyelashes for about 5 secs on each eye, then smooth out my brows either with my fingers or with an eyebrow brush. I find this really makes the eye area stand out without using mascara or any other makeup for that matter. And, you can itch your eye without the fear of having panda eyes, bonus!

I hope this post helped people out there who feel unworthy without makeup. I am not slating makeup at all, I wear it on a night out but I do not wear it as a regular, daily thing, but that's me. I think as long as you feel happy in your skin then why let others judge who you are? 

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A Few Favorites

I decided to post a few things that I enjoy using or just generally love, not to promote the product as such, but merely to share my favorite objects and why. 

My Owl Hand Mirror

When I opened this on Boxing Day I was so touched by the thoughtfulness that had gone into this gift: every time I receive a gift from Jamie's parents it's always something owl and I loooooooove it!

The Mirror itself is actually quite delicate as it is made from some sort of metal (come on guys, you should be use to my vagueness now!) and it's just shiny and so pretty! Honestly I don't know what else to say about it, I mean just look at the photos and see for yourself!

Nintendo 3DS

Ah my trusty companion...you have helped me through boredom many a time. For those of you who had one of these in one hand wherever you went in your childhood and are still in love - look no further! I'm so in love with mine; from the little things such as game demos you can download and try out, to big things such as the full games themselves. I'll tell you a secret - Ocarina of Time looks amazing 3D!

 My Baby Owl Candle

Behold! Not only is this small Owl a cute little ornament, but also a candle! And it has a sweet scent of Vanilla, too! I need to learn how to use lighters so I can try this baby out...

Lip Butter

I guess with this item I just really love the scent and the softness. Whenever I went round Steph's I'd use her's and one day I was shopping in Morrisons and found them lingering around waiting to be bought...I'm a sucker for sweet smells!

My Beautiful Rings

As I may or may not have mentioned in previous posts, I'm devoted to my rings! And I'm picky too: real silver, natural semi-precious stone - or it's a no-no.
Starting from top-left: 1. (Amber) Flower ring.
Properties: balances emotions and clears stress
From: Crystals
2. Silver leaf ring.
From: Silver Scene
3. (Labradorite) ring.
Properties: enhances self-esteem and said to be 'the stone of magic'
From: Silver Scene
4. (Malachite) Vintage Indian-style ring.
Properties: 'Green is good for the heart' 'Green is the color of love'
From:Crystals

Books

In this photo are books I've read, in the process of reading, or have not read. But in general, you can't beat a long relaxing read in a bubbly hot bath. For those who can't make out what books are there, here is the list from top to bottom: To Kill A Mocking Bird - Harper Lee
Goodnight Mister Tom - Michelle Magorian
His Brother's Wife - Val Wood
The Color Purple - Alice Walker
Katherine - Anya Seton
P.S. I will start doing book reviews on the books I have read! 

Birthstone - Dedicated To My Stephanie

'You have to wait here,' Steph said. It was one of our many trips into town and we were in Waterstones having a browse. 'Why?' I queried.
'Because - because -' She sighed as she usually did when I pestered about something she was obviously trying to cover it up. 'I'm getting you a presant.'

'Oh!' Finally I understood. Grumbling to herself, Steph stalked off for ten minutes abd returned with a small paper bag. 'Open it!' She inisted.

Myself and Steph are actually quite sweet like that. We'll buy each other small gifts to remind the other that all the hateful banter is to hide our true loving feelings.
So, as you've probably guessed, it was this stone, hence why the title is dedicated to my Badabajja. It's the birthstone for Aquarius from Evolution, one of my favorite shops. The stone is called Aqua-something (no surprise, but I can't actually remember - will have to get it re-identified!) however unlike my other gemstones I tend to wear on my fingers, I think this one is not natural - although I could be wrong...

A Few Photography Favs

One thing I really regret about A-levels, is the fact that I never took photography. There's something therapeutic and relaxing about taking photos of something or someone and then editing them - or so I find, anyway. Therefore, I decided to share a few of my favorite photos taken rather than edit my history coursework. Enjoy!
P.S. All of these photos are taken by iPhone 4S, so the quality up close may be a little blurred - we don't all have the money to buy a Nikon! 

**DISCLAIMER - ALL PHOTOS BELOW ARE TAKEN BY ME, MYSELF AND I**

Fields, fields, fields - Whitchurch Summer 2014

More fields around my area - Summer 2014

Ruins in Penzance, Cornwall - July 2014

Beautiful view, so relaxing - July 2014 (Holiday)

Anne Hathaway's Cottage, Stratford-Upon Avon - March 2014

Ozzie cuddled up with his bone - strangely quite adorable!

Trafalgar Square, London - Nov 2014

My pooch Ozzie - snoozing on my leg

Talent! - Trafalgar Square

Labradorite ring

Bunny Selfie - Lionhead

Ozzie waking me up in the morning

Every rose has its thorn

Hi all, this is one of my more depressing posts. If you want more jolly stuff then scroll down or sit back and wait for some more joyful blog posts coming your way!

Losing the closest person to you (in some cases) can be the most heartbreaking and hardest period of your life ever! Especially if that person has been through the pleasurable times as well as the oh-my-god-kill-me-now times with you.

I have recently lost my best friend and it has been horrible. I have lost many best pals in the past but it really doesn't make it easier every time someone who was once that close to you has left you. Honestly, in some cases, I think losing your best friend is equally as severe as a break up.

I know it's hard to trust others, especially if you have been betrayed or let down by this once important person to you, but there are way better people out there who will treat you with the dignity and respect you deserve. This can be applied to general break-ups or friendship break-ups, and I know you're probably thinking 'oh god Charlie,you sound just like my mum -.-!' but trust me, there are strategies to help you sit & wait for these angels and here are a few of mine:

1. Keep yourself busy. 
Go out with your other friends and try and keep your mind from thinking about that person and the good times you had. Try new things, go to new places! Avoid at all costs going somewhere that once held a lot of importance between you and that person. If you don't feel you have many friends or that you're not that close to others - take this time as an opportunity to get close to people and start again - build your life back up and be the person you want to be with these awesome new people. They don't need to know anything of your past and that's the beauty of it. Learn from the mistakes you made with the other person and change things this time around. Treat the past as an experience, not a regret!

2. Block, block, block!

I feel this is very important: the amount of people who still have issues with their exes or ex-best pals due to not blocking them completely, whether they're giving you grief or not...just do it, OK?
Even if they haven't done anything wrong, if you're struggling to fight the urge to see what they're up to on Facebook or Twitter then this is only going to worsen how you feel. The best thing to do is distance yourself from the stimuli and focus on other things. Remember that coursework due this Monday? Get it done! Remember that book you never actually read throughout? Finish it! Again try different things to take your mind off of things, and thus push that person to the back of your mind. It is unlikely you will forget (especially if they were a big part of your life) but it will ease the pain and sooner or later you will realize & accept the person they are and find people to replace who will make you happy, people who will treat you much better than the previous stimuli.

3. Lose ties with those who are part of the situation.
Just cut out anyone involved in the situation in a negative way. You know, interfering exes or people who are just making everything 99% more difficult. Add them to the block list!

4. Delete/remove any pictures or posts which resemble or remind you of the stimuli.
Again, like the blocking method, this can also help prevent your feelings from worsening. You don't necessarily have to delete them as such (hypocrite, I know) but put them somewhere you won't look or move them onto a memory stick and give that memory stick to your friend or family member if it takes that much. It'll ease the pain an awful lot and will stop you dwelling on what was and what is no longer.

I hope these strategies work for you, please let me know any other methods to ease these sorts of feelings either in the comments or feel free to message me!

Outfit of the day

Finding what to wear when having a catch up with your friends can be one of the largest First World girl problems. I'm usually scowled at by my mother for decorating my bedroom floor with mountains of clothes until I find something I think is half decent to wear. 

Well a few weeks previously I had this exact issue; too many clothes but no decent ones to clothe myself in. Until I found this cute polka-dot shirt hiding in my over-crowded wardrobe. 

Originally from Select, I actually was given to this when my bud Steph (who purchased it from a charity shop) was sorting out all her old clothes. I've always been a sucker for shirts - I feel they really bring an outfit  to life, giving it that casual - formal look. 

I'm not actually sure if you can even buy this shirt anymore as I know my friend had it for quite a long time, but the best places to shop for clothing I feel, are charity shops. For those of you who want to know what charity shops I shop in, I will be doing a blog post about it at some point. 

The material of the shirt is soft and actually quite see-through (note: when I do wear this shirt I always make sure I have a vest on underneath or a crop top!), feeling quite light weight, yet unbreakable. 

I decided to put this shirt with some Primark legging, choosing to tuck the shirt in rather than loose but either still gives the same affect. I also decided to wear my thick pink winter socks also from Primark with my DMs - which I am absolutely in LOVE with at the moment! I am a firm believer that shoes really enhance an outfit and honestly Doc Martins dress up any outfit. Due to having second day hair, for the final touches, I decided to give my hair a half-up/half-down style - which is a really good look if you blast it with plenty of dry shampoo beforehand to give it extra volume and texture. I felt this hairstyle really gives a casual outfit that carefree, old-school feel and enjoying sporting this hairstyle an awful lot more than I should. Finally, I finished this hairstyle with my floral scrunchy from Loot (which I'm not sure is even visible in the photo - bad quality soz guys!) 

Prices - 
Leggings - £3
Socks - Under £2
Floral scrunchy - £2.50 
DM - £95 (Schuh)

Jock - Reviving my confidence in riding

Back in September of 2014, I went to a horse yard which held the pony that Leanne was renting. His name was Jock, and I wish I knew my breed of horse - but I don't so sorry to disappoint.

(If you can spot what breed he is, please let me know!)

Jock was beautiful and so easy to ride. For someone who hasn't rode a horse in 10 years, Jock took things at a slow pace for me - almost like he knew how nervous I was. The first time I rode him, Leanne walked me around on the rope and took the rope off when I felt confident enough. I never knew how tough it was to direct a horse, finding a fine line between being stern yet listening to him. 

I bonded so much with Jock and really started to look forward to taking a trip down Yate to ride him with Leanne. However, there was one horse who was a youngster called Billy who I fell for instantly.

He was gorgeous - once again I can't recall the breed he is and I really need to ask Leanne for this info. I never rode him as he was too young - but I had never felt so at ease with a horse. He had the most beautiful temperament, he was so playful and friendly. I honestly felt such a connection with him.


Both Billy and Jock lived on this cute secluded yard just down a country lane in Nibley. Nearing the autumn, myself and Leanne would stroll down the lane and spend hours upon hours just brushing Jock or taking turns riding him or playing with Billy. I've had some really lovely memories there, although sadly I haven't seen Jock or Billy in so long as Leanne doesn't rent Jock anymore. However, in the summer months I will persuade her to go and visit him with me just because of the memories and how much we bonded with them.


Honestly, this experience really changed my view on horses. Before I went and saw Jock for the first time I was petrified of them, although when I was younger I used to ride horses every Saturday and it became my hobby. I grew close to a small dark brown pony whose name I cannot recall (sorry guys, my memory's crap!) but after a while I just stopped doing it and I slowly became more and more awkward and anxious around them - although I had never been extremely confident to start off with. The amount of times Leanne tried to get me to ride Molly, the mare she loaned before Jock and I chickened out last minute with is ridiculous. One time, I went to my Aunt & Uncle's yard where they sat me on a pony identical to Jock called Bounty to ride and I just froze up in shock and was removed off him immediately.

I wouldn't say I am completely over my nervousness of being around horses, but I have definitely improved, all it takes is the right horse and a little time! You can apply this to many things and I guess the message I'm trying to portray here is a cheesy one -
Just try everything at least twice. And if it doesn't work out then know that you put your heart and soul into that last chance and you gave it a good go.