The idea of making a New Year's resolution has always been super cringe to me - mainly because everyone I know who has made one has given up! However, New Year's Eve I actually made one...yes just the one : that each night as I got into bed, I'd start reading again. Reading a proper book, not an e-book, not a blog post, not a Tweet, not an Instagram caption, a proper book. Apart from the last couple of nights, I have been completely on it. I finished my first book One of Us is Lying in 5 days and I was falling asleep approximately 3-4 hours before I normally would! No joke.

However, these past few nights when I haven't picked up my book have got me thinking. Do people put so much pressure on a New Year's resolution that when they don't do it every single day, they've failed? Have I already broken my resolution 17 days in?

Take the resolution of dry-January or losing weight for example. If you mess up for x amount of days or weeks, is it easier to say "oh well, I've broken it now, may as well not continue."? I read something similar in the dieting world. Somebody said, "If you broke your phone screen, would you continue to smash it?" No. You'd repair the damage and try your best to look after it again.

But the first night I didn't feel like reading, I immediately felt this sense of guilt. It's stupid when I think about it - IT'S ONLY A BOOK! but I'd set the goal for myself. Then the days followed and I was beating myself up about it so much that I'd pick up the book, read a couple of sentences or a page, just to mentally tick off that I'd done it and then go back to my phone or iPad.

I asked my friend how many days out of a year constitutes 'passing' your resolution? She replied that each resolution would be different but if you're doing it the majority of the year, you've passed! She also raised a good point - "Why do we need New Year to set a goal, we should do it all year!". Plus, goals change all year round.

If you have a goal, set it NOW! and also, if you think you've failed already with your New Year's resolution, pick yourself up and start again tomorrow! I will be picking that book back up tonight :)

Sidenote: As soon as I was finished writing this, I went to buy a new book and the website said "Progress, not perfection - Fresh thinking for 2019" Sums it all up really, doesn't it :)

Until next post,

Amy x

There comes a time when it's natural for friendships to drift apart. Maybe one person did something, maybe you did something, maybe nobody did anything and it just happened. Maybe you just need a break from each other and space to grow up. The best kind of friendships though, are the ones that come back together like no time has passed.

I have recently reconnected with the person who was my first high school friend and my best friend for 6 years. Neither of us really know why the friendship ended, other than it was to do with the interference of other people creating typical high school drama.

A whole 7 years had gone by since we last spoke which is a crazy amount of time but as soon as I saw my Instagram friend request from her, it put a smile on my face and just felt like the right time to get back in touch because even after all these years, I missed our friendship.

The best part is having someone you can say "oh my god remember when..." which is something I really missed and struggled with when creating new friendships at university and trying to form new friendships in the UK. Don't get me wrong, I know that one day you will be able to say those things with your new friends and the friendship has to start somewhere but high school memories are one of a kind.

We finally talked on the phone tonight - annoying time difference between England and Australia! - and both started the conversation laughing about being nervous to speak to each other after such a long time. After 30 seconds had gone by though, we were our 18 year old selves, laughing about the same things we always did and recounting stories and memories. It felt weird being asked "how's your life been the last 7 years?" because it really didn't feel like we ever lost touch. It's amazing that now we are in our mid twenties we can cheer each other on through the next phase of our lives.

What I'm trying to say in a very rambly way is that the people who are meant to be in your life will find a way back there. If there is someone you miss or you feel you need in your life and they're most importantly healthy for your life and not toxic, reach out to them. Friendships can change and develop and also be exactly the same as they used to be. And it's great.

Until next post,

Amy x

Every year my neighbours on the main road fill their driveway with Christmas decorations and cover their house with lights. They've done this for a number of years but last night was the first time we were able to go and see the big switch-on.

The owners put in so much time, effort and more importantly their own money, all in order to raise money for the Midlands Air Ambulance. For every pound donated to the cause, an unnamed sponsor matches it, therefore, doubling the donations which is fantastic. The donation box stays up throughout December meaning that even if you can't attend the opening night, you can always support the cause later on; and it's because of this that the couple raise thousands each year.

Not only do they have decorations and lights but they really try and make it special for everybody. For the last couple of years they have had real reindeer for kids to take photos with but sadly they couldn't attend this year. Instead, they had a simulator of an air ambulance, reaffirming the cause we were all donating to. They also grill up some burgers and sausages to keep everybody nicely fed on the cold night. The star of the show was of course Santa Claus who made a special guest appearance. He came and took photos with the kids and talked to them about being good boys and girls and then gave them a little gift each. I had 2 kids come up to me bouncing up and down telling me they'd just met Santa - very cute.

It was such a great night, wrapping up nice and warm and having an excuse to catch up with our neighbours and people from the area. I have attached some photos below of the incredible decorations. (Note the slightly failed panorama thanks to my Dad, haha!)

Until the next post,

Amy x

This blog has been on hiatus WAY too long, but I thought, what better time to kickstart it again than Blogmas! So this first post is going to be a bit about me and what I love about Christmas.

Christmas has always been my favourite holiday and ever since I was little, my family have always made it magical for me and my brother. Even when, *kids look away now!* the big “Santa secret”was revealed, the magic didn't disappear. Now that I'm 25, whilst the excitement has slightly diminished, I love that we are all adults now and can still play games and enjoy more of a conversation.

Spending 12 Christmases in Australia was certainly a different experience. One that we could never quite get used to or allow ourselves to fully embrace. I think when you step away from your home country and experience the polar opposite, you truly miss what you used to take for granted. The most obvious difference was the weather. December is the beginning of summer over there, so temperatures were reaching around 30 degrees on Christmas day - there's no chance you'd wear a Christmas jumper, put it that way! Whilst most people have a roast dinner on Christmas day, my friends would have seafood platters or a BBQ and head down to the beach. We kept to the traditional roast turkey dinner even though none of us wanted to be standing over a hot stove!

The school year is different too so the kids are all off school for 6 weeks. Most people go on holiday during this time so I feel like Christmas day and Boxing day are just shoved out of the way and everybody moves on to what they had planned. There's not much of a build up - due to the constant sunshine and lighter nights - and people definitely don't go overboard with decorations. During our later years over there, the shops started making more of an effort with decorations but still only like the UK was many years ago, not like nowadays. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Christmas in Australia is awful by any means, nor will everyone have the Christmas I'm describing, these are just my opinions having experienced Christmas in both countries and how it was for us as a family.

So the past 2 years we've been living back in the UK, Christmas (and winter in general) has been a bit of a novelty for me. I really do love the cold and I think cold weather and even snow if we're lucky enough to have it, define Christmas time. I absolutely love the decorations; the lights; decorating the tree; the warm winter clothing; seeing real reindeer at the garden centres; the community feel at Christmas; watching Christmas films; the carols; catching up with friends and family; sitting and playing games and so much more.

I'm very excited to continue with Blogmas this year and really make an effort with my blog in the New Year now that I'm entering the marketing world career-wise.

Until the next post,

Amy x

One of my all-time favourite things to do is look up 'christmas' on Pinterest. Seriously, if you haven't done it, get on it now!

After seeing the photo on the left on Pinterest months and months ago, I thought it was really cute and wanted to make some for myself, my brother, and my parents this Christmas. Even managed to persuade Mum to put her gold present place card holders in the box this year. I'm really not very good at arts & crafts but this is beyond easy to make in less than 10 minutes.

Firstly, grab a box of candy canes, you need 3 candy canes per person/place card. You'll need to position them so that 2 are at the front to hold the place card and one is at the back acting as the stand. I found the best way to position them into place is by using a rubber band.

Next, choose a ribbon to tie them with. These work best with fabric ribbons, rather than the plastic shiny ribbon you would tie around presents. Also, it helps if you keep the rubber band on and tie the ribbon over the top so you can't see it.

And that's literally all you have to do. The place cards I have are the ones that come with the Christmas Crackers so that was easy enough and I like that they fold in half so you can see as much of the ribbon/candy cane as possible.

xx

First up, shampoo. I use two different shampoos. The first one is Kevin Murphy Hydrate Me Wash which was recommended by my hairdresser in Australia. I've used this shampoo for a really long time and am about to order a new one. This has been so super helpful to me since I arrived back in the UK because my hair was in for a big shock with the climate change and the hard water. It lasts ages, it lathers up really well which I was surprised with because I've had mixed results with salon shampoos in the past. It keeps my colour perfectly intact and I find that even before using conditioner, my hair feels really clean and soft, not straw-like. I can not recommend this shampoo enough, truly!


The second shampoo was recommended to me by my hairdresser here in the UK. She advised that if you're going to invest in a purple toning shampoo/conditioner, then the shampoo is probably the better one to buy. I followed her recommendation and bought the Bed Head Dumb Blonde Purple Toning Shampoo by TIGI. My original plan was going to be to use this shampoo and then use my Blonde.Angel conditioner but that didn't work out. I find the shampoo so so hard to lather up, that I end up using more product than I need to which leaves my hair more greasy than clean. Even people who have washed my hair over the sink for me have gotten annoyed with the lather-factor. I also find it leaves it quite dry after putting it on so I found a new plan of action. I use the Hydrate Me Wash, wash it out, do a second shampooing using the Dumb Blonde but only on the ombré, leave that on for a few minutes whilst I wash my face, rinse that out and continue with conditioning as per normal. I discussed this with my hairdresser and she said that was totally fine. Funnily enough, it lathers really well once you've already shampooed your hair once...maybe because your hair is wetter? I don't know.







I have tried quite a few of the Kevin Murphy products, for instance when I've run out and have to borrow Mum's but I won't do a review on each of them as I don't use them permanently. Always impressed and a big thumbs up from me though!

Kevin Murphy Hydrate Me Wash £18.00
Kevin Murphy Hydrate Me Rinse £19.00
Kevin Murphy Blonde.Angel £19.00
Bed Head Dumb Blonde by TIGI There is no price on the website but from memory I think I paid about £17.00

• 1 cup of ice
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries or strawberries
• 1 tbsp honey (optional – the banana adds enough sweetness for me)
• 1/2 cup low fat yoghurt
• 1/2 cup rolled oats