Hello my lovelies, it's been a short while, but a while nonetheless. I recently got back from a wonderful holiday with my other half to the Forest of Dean. We stayed in a wonderful log cabin which had an outdoor hot tub (definitely a highlight). We had a really great time relaxing and being active, and so I feel inspired to write this post.

Fresh air is amazing and I feel we should all get out in it more. We spend so much time these days, what with technology advancing, on our phones, consoles and computers, that we shut away the wonder that is nature and the outdoors. So I've collected five reasons for you to get outside this spring and summer...

1.) Fresh air keeps you healthy. Okay, so I'm not saying it'll cure the worst ailments, nor am I saying that it'll prevent anything. But I think we're all smart enough to realise that the outside air can do us a lot of good. I certainly felt better after having a few days walking amongst the trees, discovering new places and lapping up all of nature's goodness.

2.) It can inspire you. I know I felt far more inspired to write after spending time outside. The world is constantly moving and changing around us and it'd be silly not to use this as inspiration or motivation for something.

3.) Being outside can be a social activity. Spring days and and summer evenings are the perfect chance to spend time with the people we love most. Instead of talking on the phones, meeting in a cafe or having movie night, we can go for walks, have a BBQ or enjoy a glass of wine under the stars.

4.) You never know what you might see. This could be a blessing or not but the truth is we can't always control what happens around us. But when we look at this in a positive light, think of all the amazing things that you could discover when outside, perhaps that you never knew existed, and think of all the new things you may learn along the way.

5.) It'll make you feel good. Okay so this links to my first point. But I cannot stress this enough. Not only can fresh air being good for us physically, it also does wonders for our mental health. With vitamin D and enzymes on offer, why miss out? Even a short walk in the sun can be enough to lift your spirits and give you a more positive outlook on life.

what reasons do you have for getting outside this Spring/Summer? Let me know in the comments.

Speak soon

Spring is such a beautiful time of year, and this year I want to spend Spring doing more fun things and really appreciating my time. So I thought I'd put together the top five things I'd like to spend more time on. I'm really interested to hear what you'd all like to spend time on this Spring, so please comment on this blog or tweet me at @alittlebitoflau

1.) Baking and Barista-ing

I love baking, but since working full time I've had no time for it. So, this Spring, at the weekends I plan to make more time for baking and experimenting with new recipes. I also plan to get better with coffee art. The picture above I created using a stencil, and it's still not that good. So the aim is to spend more time on food and drinks and the enjoyment that comes with them!

2.) Reading

I set myself the new years resolution to read more and I bought myself a tonne of books. But thus far I haven't had much time to actually have a good reading sesh. Once the weather warms up, I plan to spend hours in the garden or at the park with a good book, and try and get through all the novels I aim to read this year. And of course write blog posts about them!

3.) Writing

This is a funny one, because I write for a living. But, I really want to spend more time brainstorming for my novel * which I haven't started nor have I even got a real idea for*, as well as report writing for my F1 blog, and of course keeping up with regular posts on this blog.

4.) Myself

I realised the other week, that I no longer spend enough time on myself. I really want to pamper myself more and treat myself. Somewhere in the past 8 months I've lost this and I've felt pretty rubbish for it. I realise now just how important it is to take time for ourselves. I aim to do this by focusing more on my fitness, taking my time getting ready in the mornings, having relaxing baths, and doing more things with my friends and boyfriend.

5.) Yoga and meditation

Last year I was really into my yoga, and was really wanting to work on my core as well as my mental fitness. I love the peace and tranquillity that comes with yoga and I plan to start working from my 'Yoga for Athletes' book again to strengthen myself ready for, hopefully, running the half marathon and one day the full London marathon. These are still dreams however.


What will you be focusing your time on this Spring, let me know.

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!!

Speak soon

So, I thought I'd write about something a little different this week - Netflix. We're all familiar with it, and we're all familiar with how easy it is to become addicted to a show and end up binge watching all six series over the space of a few days. We're all familiar with the feeling of forgetting what fresh air feels like because we've been sat watching our favourite show for perhaps a little too long.

So I thought I'd talk about my top five shows on Netflix that are great addictions.

Just to be clear not all of these shows are 'Netflix orginals', they are just on Netflix....

1.) Stranger Things

I watched the entire series in one day, and I'm sure I'm not alone. This show is thrilling, mystical, action-packed and kind of eery. It's everything I look for in a show to be honest, and the acting is fantastic. I'm not surprised it's done so well. I, along with anyone else who's seen the show, cannot wait for the next series.

2.) Peep Show

This is a current addiction of mine and I am still getting through it. I know it's been around quite a long time, but it's a great show to just watch when you want something light-hearted and hilarious. Mitchel and Webb are both brilliant and their characters Jez and Mark excellently potray the awkwardness and madness that we all perhaps experience from time to time.

3.) The OA

I haven't yet finished this, but I am loving it. I think there are only eight episodes which makes it the ideal binge watch length. I'm loving how unusual the story line is and how you think you know what is going to happen and then it all changes. I feel its a mixture of Stranger Things and The Returned.

4.) Pretty Little Liars

I am currently waiting for the final episodes to come out, which I think come out in April. Ah! I honestly didn't think I'd love this show as much as I did, but I think it's great. Sure, there are a lot of plot holes and and sometimes I finish an episode felling more than confused, but the characters are great and you end up feeling so involved in their stories. I love a good mystery/murder mystery and Pretty Little Liars pretty much took over my final year of University.

5.) Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

I haven't yet finished this show, because I am waiting to watch it with Luke (my boyfriend) - you know when you make a pact to not watch something without the other... yeah. We started watching it randomly and fell in love with it. I want to be Titus. I also love the hilarious back stories of the characters! Ellie Kemper is just fantastically dweeby and lovable.


So if you haven't watched the shows above, I would highly reccommend them. They are all especially good to watch when you're a.) ill b.) lazy or c.) it's raining.

Let me know in the comments box below what shows you're obsessed with, and let me know what you think of these shows!

Speak soon and thanks for reading, as always I am so thankful for every view.

Feeling like an adult... that's something that I've certainly been faced with more recently. I'm even at the stage of having to figure out mortgages... when did like get so real?!

For Christmas I received the lovely Deep Euphoria perfume from Calvin Klein, not physically, Calvin Klein himself did not come to Northampton to give me this gift...

It's a wonderfully sexy smelling perfume and makes me feel like I'm a successful adult when I wear it. Plus I believe the beautiful Margo Robbie was in the advert for this perfume, therefore, its selling point is pretty much sexiness, right?

Talking of sexiness...one thing I promised I'd start doing or at least aspired to do when I was younger was to wear silky, sexy underwear, all the time.

This is so unrealistic... sexy underwear, I'm sorry, it's just not practical. Unless you like having a wedgie, wearing a thong every day is just not something that I, or many women want to do. No!

And I don't know why we are forced to believe that having matching, pretty underwear will make us automatically have our lives together. I know no one is physically forcing us to, but growing up there is/was so much telling us that sexiness and beauty and success comes from the way we look or dress.

In films we see women wearing matching underwear and stylish expensive clothes... of course they are, they have a whole team of costume designers picking out stuff for that one scene; makeover programmes where women are stripped down to their pants and told that their underwear isn't helping their look were on every week.

And even now, in these different times, there is still a stigma over the way we all look. And it's a stigma that will always be there. Appearances are important, of course they are, but there are more important things, and I think we all tend to beat ourselves up far too much if we don't look a certain way.

To any girls or women out there who think they have to match their underwear, or think that all their pants should be silly frilly things... let me tell you.... you don't and they shouldn't. Never try to alter yourself because you think you aren't good enough. Because you are good enough!

I think when you're younger you think that as soon as you turn 20 you'll automatically be a confident 'has it all together' adult. But that just isn't true. Life is a big ol' learning curve. And I also have to say, where is the fun it wanting to be an adult all the time...?

Have some fun and stop trying so hard to be what you think an adult, or a sexy woman, or whatever else, should be.

I suppose my point to this post is: be yourself and don't try to be something you're not.

I will never be one of those women (if they even exist) who wear sexy matching underwear every day...

I will also never be Margo Robbie. Even when wearing this perfume, which is lovely... I'm not Margo Robbie, I am me. And that is fine, it's more than fine, I actually like me! And I smell great in this perfume.

And even though I am a grown up, it is still okay for me to make mistakes, enjoy having fun, and not know exactly what I'm doing...

The same goes for all you beauties out there.

What is it that makes you all feel good, or sexy?

How do you all keep sane with adulthood?

Let me know in the comments...

Speak soon

So recently I've been on a bit of a roller coaster, what with new and exciting things happening, but also not always knowing how to handle them and more importantly how to handle myself.

When your emotions are going crazy, and your mind and life is busy, my best advice would be to stop, take a  second, a minute, a few hours, whatever you need, to think about yourself, and what you feel and need and think.

I don't do this enough, and I get very stressed because I spend far too long worrying about non-existent problems, and being more pessimistic when I should be optimistic... we all should. When you think about it, why would anyone choose to think of the negative when the positive is so much more appealing.

Therefore, from now on I am going to try my absolute best to be kind to myself as well as others, and to focus on the good and the positive and all the beautiful, amazing things that are going right for me, and stop focusing on the little things that don't go my way.

I truly believe that the moment we start seeing the positive and leaving our negative thoughts behind, we will lead better, happier lives.

Here are five philosophies that I believe in and want to achieve.


1.) Be the change that you wish to see in the world - Ghandi

Be kind, always be kind, even if someone isn't kind to you. You'd be amazed at how far kindness can go! If you want the world to be a kinder place, the first step is to be kind yourself, and soon enough the people you are kind to will be kinder (they may already be kind, but you catch my drift).

2.) Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time - Thomas A. Edison

Always try your best. If you know that you have put your best effort into what you do, you can walk away knowing that there is nothing more you could have done and the path will unfold in front of you as it is meant to. One of the worst feelings, I think, is knowing you could have done more, or you could have tried harder.

3.) If you fell down yesterday, stand up today - H.G. Wells

Far too often we beat ourselves up over things we perceive as bad or we had no control over. Sometimes we replay things we said or did over and over when we cannot change them and truthfully everyone else has probably already forgotten about. If we treat each day as new, which it is, and move on and build bridges over the mistakes of yesterday, we can learn and improve and have a more peaceful mind.

4.) What we think, we become- Buddha

If we think negatively, we will become a negative person. The moment we start thinking more positively it'll show in our outlook on life and it'll show physically. Last April I started getting fresh air, enjoying my surroundings and doing more of what I loved. I instantly felt lighter, happier, and like my dreams and goals were more achievable. I felt good about myself, more confident and successful.

5.) If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door - Milton Berle

Sometimes we wait around for things to happen, as if by magic our dreams will come true. Realistically WE have to make things happen. By building a theoretical door, we can open it to opportunities that come our way. By building a door we put ourselves out there and offer ourselves up to the chance of great things happening.

There are so many inspirational philosophies to follow, but let's start with these. I'm going to give them a try and see where life takes me.

Let me know your philosophies and how you stay feeling awesome!

Speak soon

Hello lovelies,

Today I'm going to be reviewing the above, if you hadn't guessed already.

I purchased this BB Cream a couple of weeks ago, because I really felt like my skin needed a break. I don't tend to wear much foundation but my skin just hasn't been great recently, and no matter how well I clean it and how many face masks, face scrubs etc I use, I still seem to be prone to breakouts. SO my thinking was that if I reverted back to using a BB Cream instead of a full base foundation, then perhas my skin may improve.

I have to say, that no such improvement has occurred yet, I still have bad skin, however I think that'll come and go, and unfortunately all I can do is be patient, keep a good facial regime going and hope for the best.

I do however seem to be getting on well with this product. I love Rimmel and have used their BB Creams before and loved them so I knew that trying this product would be somewhat successful.

It's really creamy and has a pleasant, fresh smell to it. I tend to apply it with a beauty blender and then apply a layer of powder afterward. It leaves a really delicate finish and minimises pores really nicely. I've also found that it's relatively long lasting.

I'm one of those people who touches their face a lot (probably the biggest cause of breakouts), so I'll sit at my desk with my chin in the palm of my hands or I'll sit tapping my cheeks. Basically, make-up doesn't stay on me very well, I either smudge it off with my hands or my combination skins makes it both dry up and melt off. Fun times!

However despite this, I have found that Rimmel BB Creams are better at staying on, and I think because it gives a good coverage I feel more motivated to try and avoid touching my face, so that helps!


Overall I'm pleased with this product and will continue to use it! I'd definiotely reccommend trying Rimmel BB Creams as they haven't really let me down yet. They also do them in different finishes so if you want something more matte, they have that!

Hope you enjoyed this little review, I have plenty more coming so keep your eyes peeled.

Speak soon

Hello readers,

Yes... tis me.

So recently I was lucky enough to get a brand new camera. Those who have been following the blog for a while may know that I love taking photos and I did study photography, although I am by no means an amazing photographer - but I do love snapping away when I can.

So, I thought I'd make a promise to myself. To never lose the ability to take nice photos - I put a lot of work into my course and I'd hate to lose my skill, and, to not just sit around when I could be exploring something, and to use these two things together.

So last weekend, I began. I took my wonderful new Canon camera out with me for a little stroll and I was incredibly lucky. Thinking I'd perhaps be able to sneak a good photo of a duck in, I was over the moon (quite literally) when I was able to take a photo of an enormous buzzard flying overhead and take an incredible (if I do say so) photo of the moon! It may not look amazing from a distance but if you zoom in you can actually see the craters.

This had me thinking. Sometimes we take for granted a lot. We often think we can't do things because of not having the accessibility. I often thought this about photography. I thought 'Oh there isn't anything interesting to take photos of'. But I was wrong, photography is much more about how you take a photo than what you take a photo of.

And so I thought 'challenge accepted'. I am now going to try and make the most of having such a wonderful area to live in, and having a wonderful camera. I also feel I need more fresh air and so this means there are no downsides really to my new plan.

So hopefully this will also mean more lifestyle posts - I know you like them - and better photos! Yippee!

So I pose to you this - try and get out this weekend, even if for a little walk, I know the weather it shite but try and find something beautiful, you never know you may find something you're surprised with.
 
How beautiful are these swans?

Speak soon

Hello beauties

Just a little beauty review for you all seeing as I'm a terrible blogger at the moment.

I cannot express how much I am loving LUSH at the moment. It just smells TOO good.

I bought myself some Snow Fairy shower gel a while back as I'd used it before and loved the smell. I can't quite describe what the scent reminds me of, but I think it reminds me of a sweet that I used to like.

It, therefore, makes you smell like a sweet, which is pretty much what I want out of a shower gel. It's fresh and delicious and makes my Monday morning just that little bit easier.

Because I loved it so much, I was quick to get some more in the Boxing Day sale - although I believe I got it the day after Boxing Day. And I got it in a bigger bottle so to last even longer.

LUSH shower gels are amazing, they last so long because you only need a small amount to get a really good lather.

I also love the fact that LUSH is against animal testing - I mean who wouldn't love that?! But I think it is great to find a range of products that tick all the boxes and are also good for the world around us.

I'm interested to find out what products my readers like, so I've set some questions for you to think about below - so please comment either on here or tweet me your answers!

I love getting to know my readers.

Questions for you

What is your favourite LUSH product?

Have you tried Snow Fairy?

What is your favourite shower gel brand?

Speak soon

Happy New Year my wonderful readers! I hope you've all had a good 2016, but here's to a hopefully even better 2017.

Over the past few months my obsessioknowing I have a juicy smelling gel waiting for me in the shower.
n with LUSH cosmetics has increased. I simply adore getting new bath bombs to try out and think they are a fab little end of the week treat. But recently I've enjoyed buying the shower gels as it makes my morning before work a little easier,

There are so many wonderful smelling shower gels at LUSH, but my current favourite is Lord of Misrule. I believe (though I could be wrong) that this one was brought out around Halloween, but it can still be bought so I am hoping it will stay all year round because it's incredible.

I can't quite describe the smell. It smells  edible but also perfumed. It says that it mixes vanilla and black pepper and this makes it smell sweetly herbal. It's a lovely strong scent that just makes me want to stay in the shower all day (best not to - don't want wrinkly shrivelled skin, do we?).

I also have to say how great it is to find a brand that lasts a long time. I find with many shower gels that when you squeeze some out onto your sponge or shower thingy, loads comes out and you end up wasting a lot. But with Lush I find that just the right amount comes out of the bottle and it lathers super well, meaning that even the little bottles last ages!

Lord of Misrule is just such a lovely product, I feel it was my first true love at LUSH and it's resulted in me being totally in love with many of their other products!

If you fancy a fresh, herbal, delicious shower, then you really should consider trying Lord of Misrule. Lush do bath bombs in this scent too, and, well, they are brilliant too! Green baths woo!

Speak soon

Hello my festive creatures,

How are you all? Good I hope. I myself am rather well and am enjoying my Christmas break.

Today I went ice skating with my brother and his girlfriend which was both terrifying and brilliant. This evening I'm either going to watch a Christmas film or have a Lush bath, but either way there will be festive booze being consumed.

Last time we spoke I did a little Autumn post, nothing special, but in keeping with that I thought I'd share my top five things I love about Christmas. I also am hoping to do a Lush product post soon as I'm coming to the end of some of my bottles and want to give them a little review! Anyway, stay pealed for that.


Top 5 things I love about Christmas

Food - I love food. And Christmas is the BEST time to forget our useless diets and binge and enjoy the flavours and scents.

Shopping - I absolutely love buying people presents. I get really organised and make lists and spreadsheets (which I enjoy doing also, lame I know). I adore seeing the look on people's faces when they open their gifts. I work really hard to get unique and thoughtful gifts so I love watching others open them.

Family - I am blessed to have such an incredible, loving and supportive family who get on really well. We have such a laugh and I really don't know where I'd be without my family- they are my rocks! So at Christmas I love getting to spend as much quality family time as possible, including cuddling my gorgeous golden retriever, Marvel. I also can't wait for me and my boyfriend to get our own place so we can finally spend Christmas together.

Christmas traditions - I think everyone has their own, but we enjoy watching Christmas films each year. The list keeps getting longer though which means more organisation is needed each year to arrange when we are all available to watch them! Our all time favourites are Home Alone 1 & 2 and Muppet Christmas Carol. But other favourites include Love Actually and Nativity! and who could forget Elf.

Kindness - I know we forget about this sometimes and unfortunately we see plenty of UNkindness throughout the year and around Christmas. I think it is easy to forget about those less fortunate and others around us when we are so caught up in our own worlds and buying presents for our own families. But I truly believe that Christmas should be a time for kindness and forgiveness. Some people don't have families, or money, or even a home, and if we all share a bit of kindness, even just a warm hello, or a thank you, you could make someones day. Kindness goes a long way, and I like thinking about it at this time of year because it makes me realise how lucky I am and how grateful I should be for what I have. But it makes me realise how much I want to be able to help others.

So what are you top 5 things about Christmas that you love?

Let me know in the comments!

I hope you all have a marvellous Christmas and a happy New Year!!

Speak soon