March Goals

Source

I can’t believe its March already! Does anyone else panic when time seems to fly on by?! Although saying that I have to admit that I am loving that the mornings are getting lighter and I’m not leaving work in the dark anymore, signs summer is on its way!

So here I am looking at my March goals so it only seems right to have a little round up of Februarys goals. I got  new car – Kev the KA – I am so in love with him! Getting used to driving a manual after years of an automatic has been interesting!! But its been fun and nice t have a car that’s notes falling apart! I also got a new phone, the Samsung Galaxy s7 Edge, its awesome! After years of being in the iPhone cult I jumped ship and do not regret it at all! Its been such a good decision!

Ive failed at the whole blogging regularly, Feb has been such a hectic month with little spare time but I’m going to add this to March’s goals and will hopefully crack it! Another goal was to dye my hair grey, well I did, and failed miserable! It didn’t take at all! So I went to the hairdressers and went for a dark chocolate brown! So good bye bleach blonde ombre and hello classic shiny brown! I’m so pleased with how it looks and my hair feels so much healthier! Oooh amd a read a whole book! Go me!

Anyway looking forward lets set march’s goals.....

1.    Sign up to some freelancing websites – I’ve always said I want to expand my writing so I’m determined this is the year I’m going to do it, and if I can get paid for doing something I enjoy then bonus!

2.    Sign up for some craft fairs – Im working really hard to expand my shop Pearl Divine and want to spend some more time focusing on this and gaining sales.

3.    Blog regularly – same goal as last month but I want to crack this one! I love blogging and want to spend a bit more time on this little spot on the big world wide web. I’ve been a bit sporadic lately but want to get back to regular posts and do more reviews and lifestyle posts. With this space!

4.    Loose 4lb – ive been so poorly the last couple of months my weight training and running have taken a hit and my diets been very much one filled with comfort food. So I want to get back on it and 4lb which is a 1lb a week seems manageable.

5.     Take time to look after myself – I’m still not well with this Thyroiditis and its so tiring. Its a long term thing so I’m trying to crack on and not let it get in my way but I’m also trying to make sure I listen to my body more and look after myself when I need to. So this month I want to focus on a bit of me time, this could involve things like a glass of wine and a good book, a bit of crafting or anything that’s just relaxing.

6.    Get back running twice a week – I am determined to crack a half marathon this year so need to get back into my training so I’m setting myself the target of 2 runs a week.

7.    Read 2 books.

Wish me luck!

The Beauty Blogger Tag

 

I love a good old tag and have spotted this one going round for quite a while so figured I’d give it a go! I feel a little bit of a fraud doing a ‘Beauty Blogger Tag’ as I feel my blogs taken a bit more a lifestyle twist lately. However beauty is where Lipsticks and Lashes started and I can blog about my love of make up a little less, but my bank balance will confirm that I am still a complete beauty addict! 

Why did you start blogging and how long have you been blogging for?

I have been blogging for just over 3 years, I started writing in this little space on the internet as a way to practice my writing and to be a bit creative. I was super bored, very lost in life and need something to get my teeth into. Hello Blogging! Logging onto Blogger.com and starting this blog was one of the best decisions I’ve made. I thought it would just be me writing to myself when I first started out, I had no idea about the blogging community and that people would stop by here or be as super lovely as you all are.

Whose blog did you fall in love with first?

A Beautiful Mess was the first blog that I got completely lost in for hours, I think at the time I didn’t really grasp it was a blog or what blogging even is!

What was the first blogosphere hyped about product you bought and was it worth the hype?

God I’m such a sucker for when it comes to purchasing hyped up products! I have no will power! I would love to say that after 3 years of blogging I’ve got a bit wiser but nope not at all! So what was the blogosphere hyped up product I purchased, well that would have to be Rimmel London’s Apocalypse Lip Lacquer. I think I liked it at the time but too be honest it definitely wasn’t worth the hype!

What are your favorite five things about blogging and being a beauty blogger? 

1.    Making blogging buddies!

2.    Finding new products I just have to try out due to someone’s lovely blog review

3.    Blogging has increased my confidence loads!

4.    It’s a great creative outlet

5.    I get to waffle on to my heart’s desire about things I love!

What have you learnt from being a beauty blogger?  

That I am more skilled that I thought I was! As a blogger you’re a writer, a photographer, a PR pro, good at marketing… the list is endless!

Have you changed anything since being a beauty blogger? 

Personally, my confidence has grown, that’s the magic of finding something you love and enjoy doing. I definitely feel more confident within myself. In terms of how I blog, I hope I’ve improved as I’ve gone along, I think blogging is something you continually strive to be better at. At least I hope I’ve got better as my first couple of post all those years ago are pretty cringe worthy!

What advice would you give to a beauty blogger just starting out?

BLOG FOR YOU! If you start blogging to gain followers and popularity you’re wasting your time! Blogging is hard work and needs to be something you do because you love doing it.

Name your top five brands: 

MAC, Benefit, Bobby Brown, Urban Decay, Lush

Recommend your top five favorite beauty products: 

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer

MAC All That Glitters Eye Shadow

Benefit they’re Real Mascara

MAC Amplified Lipstick in Girl about Town

Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick in Rose

 

Hope you enjoyed this tag? I would like to now tag you all to have a go at it! Make sure you let me know if you do complete it as I would love to stop by for a read!

February Goals...

Hello and Happy Monday! As I mentioned in yesterdays post I’ve been in a bit of a rut and this year I’m trying to promote lots of positive change in my life and be a bit more productive. I know a lot of bloggers do monthly goals posts and I love to read them and I think by doing my own version ill be stating to the universe what I’m aiming for and it will hopefully spur me on! I’m also shocking at doing series posts over here, I get bored pretty quickly so we shall see how many of these I do but I’m excited to get started!

So here are my goals for February...

1.      Buy a new car and sort out the old one – I’m half way through this one already – I’ve put down a deposit on such a cite little KA. Its just got to go through an Mot and a service then it shall be mine! I’m so in love with it already!

2.      Get a new phone – my phone is driving me up the wall! I have an iPhone 5s and the storage is horrendous and I really don’t like the camera. I’m also having to buy extra data each month as my allowance is pretty lame so I’m spending a small fortune! ANNOYING!! Luckily for me I’m due an upgrade however I’m clueless when it comes to technology so I’m unsure what to go for. I’m falling out of love with Apple at the mo and would like a change so I’m thinking about a Samsung Galaxy 7. Any advice or suggestions on this one would be hugely welcome?!

3.      Blog regularly – I love blogging and want to spend a bit more time on this little spot on the big world wide web. I’ve been a bit sporadic lately but want to get back to regular posts and do more reviews and lifestyle posts. With this space!

4.      Colour my hair grey – I love the grey hair trend that’s doing the rounds and I really really want a grey ombre look. There’s two catches to this – my hairs a mess at the Mo, its a weird orange colour and needs a bit of bleach work done before I can go for the grey. So I’m not 100% confident I can do a home job on it but I am going to give it a try!! Eeeek!!

5.      Edinburgh – okay so this is a give, I’m heading there next week and I’m so blinking excited!! The furthest north I’ve been is Liverpool so I’m so happy to be finally venturing to Scotland. Its a bit one on my bucket list and I want to enjoy every minute of if.

6.      Take time to look after myself – I’m still not well with this Thyroiditis and its so tiring. Its a long term thing so I’m trying to crack on and not let it get in my way but I’m also trying to make sure I listen to my body more and look after myself when I need to. So this month I want to focus on a bit of me time, this could involve things like a glass of wine and a good book, a bit of crafting or anything that’s just relaxing.

7.      Read a book – I have a massive to read list and have been slacking with it so I really want to get back into reading and want to read at least one whole book this month.

Wish me luck!!

Life Lately...

This was the view from my morning run a few days ago, how beautiful is where I live? I can’t imagine not living near the sea, its keeps me calm and has a kind of magic about it.

So there been some radio silence over on this little space on the internet lately as there has been so much going on in my real life world I’ve had to have an impromptu mini blogging break. So where have I been, I hear you ask! Well I’ve turned 31... yikes... I am officially properly in my 30’s now and its terrifying! Its made me reflect ALOT on where I am and where I want to be. I’ve spent the past year in some weird anxious place where life has kind of been flying by me. I’ve felt lost and unconfident and I’ve just been treading water. Its not been awful but its not been fun either. I kind of thought that by the time I was in my 30s I would be all grown up and settled down by now. You know the whole married with babies and a white picket fence shebang by now. Nope, I’m learning that I’m pretty crap at adulting.

Anyways the tides are turning, I’ve finally moved out of the parentals loft, what was meant to be 6 months turned in to 2 years... so now I’ve moved in to a friends spare room and I have actual windows, can stand up without bashing my head and I have actual walls where I can hang things – luxury! Its feels good and has been nice to have a bit of change. Moving house made me realise how fiercely independent I am and how terrible I am at accepting help! So many lovely people offered to give me a hand and I turned them down, I have in my head that I don’t want to bother folks and that I can look after myself. How could I forget how stressful moving is?! So I did it single handed and told myself off a lot for it! My new aim this year is to let people in and accept help, team work makes the dream work and all that!

This weekend I also purchased a new car, like I said lots of new changes going on very here! My poor bashed up Honda civic has had its day and is unlikely to pass its MOT which is die next week so the times come to part ways with it. So I’ve gone for a ridiculously cute black KA Sport which should be with me by the end of the week. I’m so excited!!

So that’s a brief low down on my life lately! I’m excited to have a bit more time coming up and to get back to blogging more regularly!

8 Reasons Why I am a Shit Blogger...

**Dramatic blog post title alert**. So I’ve been blogging for around 4 years now, which to be frank is quite possibly the longest I’ve stuck with anything. I really do enjoy love blogging, however I am well aware that I am not your typical blogger and definitely don’t fit in the ‘in blogging crowd’, and here is why....

1.     I don’t have any white walls or floors in my house, or any fresh flowers (feel free to send me some!). My house is messy. There is dust and everything! My floors are cheap brown wooden laminate – just in case you wanted to know?!

2.     I’m not sat on twitter 24/7 – I’m so out of the loop with the latest twitter dramz. I forget when chats are happening and can very easily forget to check my twitter account for a few days, ok, ok... weeks.

3.     I don’t own all the latest beauty products to do all the latest up to date reviews – how the hell do people afford to do this?!

4.     I hate having my photos lf my myself on my blog – I cringe a bit m the inside when I do put the  up.

5.     I forget to blog regularly, when people chat about their blog schedules I’m like WTF?! If I can get my act together to blog more than once a week I give myself an actual high five.

6.     I spend an unhealthy amount of time in my PJ’s and when I am like all properly dressed I md to have a standard jeans, tee and converse look that would get pretty boring if I were to venture into talking about fashion over here.

7.     I don’t own a marble table, faux marble table cover or a marble pot... I don’t own anything marble, genuine or fake.

8.     Bloglovin followers. Twitter analytics. Bounce rate. GFC followers. ALL THE NUMBERS. I am clueless, I have no idea what half of it means!

#BloggerSecretSanta

What feels like ages now, I signed for Char over at T Rexes and Tiaras #BloggersSecretSanta. I love a secret Santa, I find it so fun becoming a bit of a social media spy (I was going to say stalker but that makes me sound a little nuts!!) and figuring out what they may or may not like. I was given Hazel who blogs at World of Joy. Her blog is beautiful so would deffo recommend heading over there to take a peek! I decided to treat her to a little pamper package which you can check out on her blog here.

My own #BloggersSecretSanta parcel arrived this morning and it is so perfect!! I was this stunning Gin necklace – if you pop by here regularly you will know I am a huge Gin lover and my Santa got it so right! My awesome Santa was Alex at Eat Play Pixels and I would like to say a massive Thank You her! I love the necklace and am pretty sure its going to be one of my key accessories this holiday season!

Life Lately...

I haven’t done a life lately post in so long! I really enjoy doing them so thought I would throw one T you guys today! So here’s what’s been happening in my word lately!

1.      Game of Thrones – okay so I am like 10 years behind everyone but I’ve finally got round to watching this awesome show and I can’t believe I waited so long! I have real issues sitting and watching box sets when the weathers nice and I can be out. I get such bad FOMO. This leads to a massive ‘to watch list’ ready for the autumnal months when all I want to do I hibernate! I don’t feel as guilty hiding away at this time of year. Anyways, I’ve just finished season 3, my gorgeous Rob Stark has just met his death and I’m traumatized and unsure if I can carry on. However I’m assured it keeps getting better and better, I just need to learn not to get attached to ANY characters!

2.      Leopard Print- I bloody love leopard print and always have, however I feel this may have escalated lately! I picked up this gorgeous faux leather jacket from New Look the other day on a whim. Its a beauty, I love the leopard print collar. I’m definitely going to be adding to my leopard print collection over the next few months..

3.      Arrow –  another box set I’m indulging in...  I am half way season through season 3 and have the worlds biggest crush on Oliver Queen -he is FIT. If you love a good old vigilante story then I definitely recommend this for you! He’s topless ALOT which also helps!

4.      Fireworks – or autumn in general! I suffer from SAD so really struggle brain wise but still love all the aspects of autumn especially fireworks night! I love a good fireworks show and last Saturday was no different! I went down to our local beach with some friends to watch a display. It was a great evening. There’s something very magical about fireworks and k love the cold crisp air of this time of year.

5.      CHRISTMAS -OMG I am beyond excited for Christmas already!!! I have started Xmas shopping and have been writing my Christmas cards already! This time last year I was on a beach in Oz which was awesome but I really missed the build up to Christmas which I love way more than the actual day itself! So I am planning to make the most of it this year!

6.      Diet Coke – if you follow this blog on a regular basis you will know I have a slight addiction to diet coke... I drink waaay too much of the stuff but you can currently buy Diet Coke and do a bit of a good deed in doing so as Diet Coke has paired up with Asda to support Tickled Pink, to raise money for Breast Cancer Care and Breast Cancer Now. I cause that means a lot to me. They have 58,000 limited edition 30 can Diet Coke multipacks available exclusively in Asda and 40p from each purchase will go towards Tickled Pink... so if you fancy a doing our bit, pick up a pack!

20 Reasons Why I LOVE Autumn!

Source

1.       Halloween!! I love any excuse to dress up and party! I am currently prepping my little red riding hood outfit – think the grimms brothers rather than Hans Christian Anderson....

2.       Fireworks – one of my most favourite things ever! I love a good fireworks show, there’s something very magical about them!

3.       Log fires – cosy and romantic

4.       Candles – I love snuggle evenings with lots of candles lit around the room. There set such a relaxing mood.

5.       Lazy days

6.       Netflix- am I the only person who can’t do Netflix binges in the summer as I feel too guilty being inside on a nice day?! Although that all changes at this time of year!

7.       Autumn leaves, the colours of the trees are pretty spectacular

8.       Blankets and lots of them!

9.       Chai Lattés – forget hot chocolates this is what autumn is all about...

10.   Crisp air – its so fresh and energising

11.   Wrapping up warm

12.   Berry lips and Smokey eyes

13.   Pumpkins

14.   Fuzzy socks

15.   Wellies and long walks

16.   Thick winter pyjamas

17.   Cosying up with a good book

18.   Oversized jumpers

19.   Darker evenings

20.   CHRISTMAS IS ONLY WEEKS AWAY!!!!

Firstly, hello! Is anyone still out there? If so how are you? And boy have I missed you! I don't think I've properly blogged in over a year. I've tried dipping in and out in that time but nothing's really inspired me to keep at it. I love blogging so much but life has just massively got in the way and blogging always felt like a big commitment and as I couldn't commit to it as much as I liked I stopped. Which is silly really as blogging was always a good outlet for me and I shouldn't put so much pressure on myself about it.

Anyways, where have I been? Well let me start with where I am now. I  currently lying on a bed in Portugal on day 3 of a 10 day holiday feeling pretty sorry for myself. For the past 24 hours I've felt pretty rough. I've got a really horrible headache and keep getting dizzy spells and I feel exhausted. I think I'm just ill but I keep wondering if I've just burnt myself out lately and it's led to this. My anxiety is back with a vengeance too which I haven't experienced in a long while and I feel ridiculously low.

So what's led to this? Well I think a huge number of things. I genuinely can't remember the last time I had a weekend off, one where I could be lazy and do nothing. Life has beyond hectic, I have 3 jobs, there's been friends wedding, hen parties to organize, I care for my mum and I also work out on average 8 times a week. I've also started seeing someone I really like but it's long distance so I've been questioning that tons. My brain feels like it's going to implode. I am exhausted.

And all of this makes me laugh, as non of its things I don't want to do. However I feel like I'm working my backside off and still getting nowhere. I'm 30 and live in my parents loft. I'm skint, like ridiculously skint and I feel like I'm stuck. I'm at that age where all my friends are getting married, having babies and buying houses. Which is awesome but I'm nowhere near any of that. Which is not necessarily a bad thing but I'm also hugely aware that my life isn't moving forward.

So therefore I've arrived on holiday with my lovely friend and her son and I think it's hit me with an almighty whack. They've gone to the beach and I'm laying in bed feeling sorry for myself. I feel like I can't switch my brain off and that trying to stop and chill out is so unknown to my body that I'm
In this mess. I'm hoping a day of rest, naps and lots of water will do some magic and tomorrow I'll be as right as rain.

What a messy first blog post back in a while! I forgot how therapeutic getting my thoughts out into this little space on the Internet can be.

The Bloggers Snail Mail Project - Sign Ups For The Spring Round NowOpen!

Welcome to the Spring round of The Bloggers Snail Mail!! Wahoo! I love this project so much and I’ve met so many awesome bloggers through this project and want it to continue in 2016 so spread the word, tell all your friends, let’s make this a round to remember! 

So here is how it works: A quarterly gift exchange where you can meet other bloggers from around the world and spread a bit of positivity! People get paired up in February, May, August and November. During the sign up period, every participant will be paired with one other new participant and you’ll spend a few weeks becoming BFFs (i.e. reading each other’s blogs, sending happy e-mails, you name it!). After that, you’ll send your partner a gift from your country that you think they may like from the info you now know about them. There’s a £5 limit on the gifts to make this project as affordable as possible. Be as creative as you can and make it meaningful! Motivate them, tell them all the beautiful things you learned about them, and make them feel special! We could all use a little encouragement, especially from our new friends. Also, each package should include a postcard (or a letter if you can’t find one!) with some motivating love or positive words of wisdom written all over it.

So to sign up for the ‘The Bloggers Snail Mail’ you just need to send an email to whatsinyourmakeupbag@gmail.com, title it ‘The Bloggers Snail Mail’ and include in it your name, where you are from, and your blog! Sign ups will be open until the Friday 29^th April. I will then randomly match you all up aiming to make sure you are with someone from another country or at least in another area from you! I will then let you know by Monday 2^nd May who your partner is and you then have 4 weeks to get to know them! So the week of the 30^th May, you can then send your new buddy their Snail Mail

Once you receive your gifts, write a blog post about your experience, sharing what you gave, received, and learnt through this being part of this and meeting your new pal.

If you want to tweet about this project, use the hashtag #TheBloggersSnailMail, You can also tag me @GemmaMarieJames and ill retweet your post, so everyone can share your experience!

Please only sign up if you definitely are willing to take part and if you want to be matched with someone from the same country as you to save on postage then please let me know!!

Also please share this post and let all your friends know about this project, it would be great to get as many people involved as possible!

Blogging and me...The Breakup?

View from this mornings run - beautiful morning here in Weymouth!

Blogging and Me... The Breakup?

I was about to sit down and start this post with what’s become a bit of a familiar starting point around here....sorry I’ve not blogged in like forever... waaaa what a shit way to start a post and it got me thinking, whys it become such a regular point round here?

Have I fallen out of love with blogging? Can I still be classed as a blogger when my posts have gone from 3 times a week to once a month or sometimes even longer? Even worse, have me and blogging split up? Is this a break up?

Lets start from the beginning, I started blogging 3 and a half years ago and up until a year ago I was hooked, if I wasn’t writing a blog post I was either taking photographs for said post, joining in all the twitter blog chats or sending and receiving blog emails. It was BLOG LOVE central over here! When I started blogging I wasn’t in a great place, I was bored, lonely and if I’m honest, completely lost. It sounds cringey and dramatic but blogging kind of saved me. Honest to god, it really rescued me rom a dark place. Blogging gave me a massive confidence boost, it gave me that creative outlet I was desperately in need of and gave me a sense of purpose.

Over the past year I have been spending more and more time focusing on my fitness and this has left less time for my magical little space on the internet. My life has been work, gym, sleep, repeat with a good spoonful of socialising thrown in for fun. Life has been pretty grand.

I know this post is starting to ramble but I think its a personal post for me to clarify my thoughts and feelings and I guess I’m trying to figure out if bloggings done its job in my life and we are over? I truly believe we are blessed to have things come into our lives a the right moment and that sometimes its for a certain purpose and when the jobs done off it pops again. Has blogging given me the boost I needed and now I no longer need it?

I don’t think I’ve fallen out of love with blogging as I still read blogs every day and I have a long list of post ideas that I’m constantly adding too. Its just time and that horrendous guilt feeling of not spending enough time as I would like writing. I do finally have a new laptop so I can spend a bit more time online now which is a bit of a blessing.

I think perhaps me and blogging have been on a break and I’m going to start dipping my toes in, having a few dates with it and see how I get on! I don’t want to give up on blogging  just yet, I just need to take the pressure off and remember what u love about it!

I would love to hear If you've had a bit of a waiver with blogging?

30 before 30 Bucketlist -Did I Complete It?

HOLY SHIT! I’ve been 30 for 2 and a half weeks!! Waaaaaaah!! This absolutely terrifies me as for numerous reasons. I think this is partly due to the fact I think in my head I’m still 17, I certainly don’t feel mature enough to 30. 10 years ago if you asked me what I thought I would be doing ten years from now my reply would have been along the lines of ‘be in a job I love, own a house, married with babies’, damn you Disney for making me want the fairy tale! Instead of any of this I’m now 30 and live in my parents loft and am in a bit of a rut. I guess I also thought I would have achieved a lot more by now. Don’t me wrong I have no regrets, I don’t believe in them and have had the most awesome experiences, travelled to some incredible places so I really can’t complain. My life is pretty great I just need some changes and new challenges and that’s where this 30 before 30 list stemmed from.

I also better state for the record that turning 30 is definitely not the end of the world, it has been ridiculously fun so far and I think I am going to like my flirty thirties. I am feeling confident and happy and can’t wait to see what the future holds!

So if you’ve been a visitor to Lipsticks and Lashes for a while, you will know that for all the reasons above, a year and a half ago I created a bucket list of 30 things I would love to achieve before I turn 30. It was a wide variety of things that I have wanted to do for a while but for whatever reason have been a lame ass and haven’t done yet. They were all things that I felt would help me make the most of life and make me a better person. Now I am 30 I thought id better give you all the low down of how I got on with completing my bucket list, so here’s where I got to…

1. Start dating...  yeah, so, umm, I went on numerous dates and they were all a bit disastrous and I am pretty adamant now there are no nice men on dating websites, they are either bonkers, needy or just wanting to send you willy pictures. So anyone know where I can meet a nice, funny, handsome man without going on tinder or pof then please shout! All tips greatly received!

2. Go indoor skydiving. I so nearly did this a while back when I was in Manchester! Sadly there just wasn’t enough time to do it! I’m going to definitely ass this to my 40 before 40 list!

3. Cook one dish a week from scratch... I smashed this one! Wahoo! Over the past 6 months I’ve really embraced clean eating and am feeling so much better for it! My eczema has cleared up my under active thyroid seems to have levelled out and I have so much more energy. This means I am cooking from scratch, I usually do a massive batch cook on a Sunday now so I can’t slack in the week when I am juggling two jobs and don’t have time to cook.

4. Say yes more! To any opportunities that come my way. – This is an ongoing one and I think I’ve been embracing it pretty well! It’s a great way to put myself out there more and I have had so much fun doing this! I do love this one and it’s definitely going to be continued, it’s pushed me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to experience new things.

5. Learn to long board – I have a long board and am working on it! I am a giant wimp and keep jumping off before I think I’m going to fall off! I have zero sense of balance so it’s been fun! I even had a little skate crew going in the summer which was so much fun, especially when we followed it with hot chocolates in the pub garden!

6. Try a roller derby – Failed this! Boo!

7. Visit Disney World in Florida. Hmm I think this one will be scooting over to my 40 before 40 list as I had no funds to pull this one off! Or any annual leave left to take it with for that matter!

8. Start a ‘grateful’ diary and record 3 things I am happy for every day. – So I started this one but then kind of failed miserable! I just keep forgetting to do it! It has made me realize how important it is to take a moment every so often to appreciate things a bit more, especially when I’m having a bad day!

9. Buy a house – Nope definitely not done this, still in the parents freezing loft….

10. Try Paddle boarding. – Tried it and loved it! Can’t wait for summer to try it again!

11. Start a successful Etsy Shop – a work in progress! Its up and running now (Check out Pearl Divine here) and I am constantly adding new bits, so I hope with hard work it may become successful!  

12. Write a book – I’ve started writing and I love it, just wish there was hours in a day so I could get more done!

13. Live abroad for a month – COMPLETED!! This was awesome! I spent last November in Australia (Blog posts coming soon, I promise!) and it was magical! I spent two weeks on the Gold Coast for a friends wedding, a week in Sydney a week in Ayres Rock and a week in Melbourne. To say I am still suffering with post holiday blues would be an understatement!

14. Get down to a clothing size 12 – I have dropped a stone and a dress size but still not near a size 12, however I am feeling a thousand times more body confident than when I first wrote this, which I thinks an achievement in itself!

15. Run a 10k – COMPLETED! In a respectable 1hour and 20 mins! My next challenge is a half marathon…. From someone who couldn’t run 2 minutes without collapsing when I started in May last year, I am pretty pleased with this one!

16. Do a painting on a canvas – I am behind with this one! I have bought a canvas and some neon acrylic paints!! I can’t wait to have a play with them. If it looks half decent I might even share the final painting here!

17. Go to a music festival – COMPLETED!! I went to a small festival called Blissfield’s last weekend for a friends hen do! I had the best time and determined to head to a few more next year!

18. Visit Machu Piccu – Lack of funds mean this hasn’t happened… YET! Its definitely one I have to do!

19. Fall in love and be loved – see no1

20. See the northern lights – not yet 

21. Visit Ireland – DONE! I was super lucky and for my 30^th birthday we ticked this one off by heading to Dublin! I went with a group of girl friends and had a blast! The best way to turn the big 30!

22. Try Wakeboarding – I’ve tried it and LOVED it!! I found out a local lake is all set up for wakeboarding and I went along for a lesson and it was so much fun! I’m planning to go again this year!

23. Start an art class – didn’t manage this one but I am dropping a few evening sessions at work this year so hoping this may be something I can pick up then!

24. Learn to Surf – Nope, still not managed this one!

25. Learn another language – or this one…

26. Learn the ukulele – there is a local Ukulele group that meets in the local pub, I’ve been to a few sessions now! I am really bad at learning to play but its good fun! I’ve learnt I am just not musical!

27. Figure out some sort of career path and be happy with whatever it may be. – Still working on this!

28. Make a drift wood coffee table – I really really want to do this one, so its going straight onto my 40 before 40 list!

29. Read one book every month – COMPLETED!! I hope to continue this as it’s such a fun way to relax and switch off.

30. Go to New Zealand – I was hoping to do this in March this year but due to a severe lack of funds it’s had to be scrapped! Gutted but I still hope to visit one of these days!

I would say that’s about half completed, and half not managed or still working on. I am pretty pleased with this! I’ve loved having a few goals and working to achieve my 30 before 30, being able to tick them off as done is such an achievement! I am now working on my 40 before 40 list! I will post it here when I have decided on everything I want to be on there!

Do you do lists like this? Do you have any suggestions on what should be on my next bucket list?