New Month, New House, New Start

Me again! Hi. So I seem to have taken rather a long break just there, sorry about that. Anyways, as the title of this post may suggest, I am making a new start with the blog. I vow to be a better, more regular (ha!) blogger from this day forth. We’ll see how long that lasts. 

As the title of this blog also suggests, I have a new house! Yay! Tim and I finally managed to move out of his parents’ place after nearly two years, which is pretty great. We are absolutely loving having our own space again and we’re really enjoying making our wee house a home. No doubt you will be seeing more of that in the future.

The title also suggests that this is a new month, but you should probably have worked that out for yourself by now. Seriously guys, come on. 

That’s all folks!

Toodles

Snotfest 2014

Hello peoples!

I am writing to you today from my bed of pain! I'm afraid I don't have much to say as I am feeling pretty terrible. I have had a horrible cold all week. In fact, I am pretty sure it is the worst cold known to mankind. 

My mother-in-law claims that she's sorry for passing on her germs but I'm starting to think that she is secretly trying to kill me. I'll be keeping a close eye on her and her offers of "Echinacea" from now on...

So far this week I have been surviving mostly on Lucozade, cough medicine and Netflix. Happy days! There was a terrifying moment yesterday when I ran out of lucozade and thought all hope was lost, but then my lovely husband went out and bought more so disaster averted for now! 

Anyways, I'm going to retreat back into my cave for now and I'll write again when (and if) I can think of anything interesting to say! 

Thanks for reading, I love you all! 

Aims xx

Oh, Internet!

Hello peoples! 

This week I have been pondering slightly more serious subjects and I have been thinking a lot about social media. 

In a news week that included the re-accusation of Woody Allen, the untimely death of Phillip Seymour Hoffman and the 48th Super Bowl, the world of social media was alight. But not everything being said was necessarily agreeable. 

And it got me thinking. 

In social media, we have in our hands the ability to craft a world for ourselves. We can pick and choose the news and opinions we are faced with on a daily basis and completely alter our perspective of the world around us. 

This occurred to me as I was in the process of unfollowing someone on Twitter because they had expressed an opinion I disagreed with. And I thought, what kind of world do I want to see? I want a world in which paedophiles are condemned, death is greeted with only sorrow and respect and I get to see Payton Manning make this face. But that is not the world we live in (apart from Payton Manning's face, fortunately that is here to stay!). 

Obviously, I want a world where bad things never happen. But is shutting the bad things, or people's bad reactions to bad things, out unhealthy? How can we ever generate discussion if we "unfollow" all opinions that differ from our own? How can we form well educated opinions or make intelligent arguments of our own? Does that make us closed-minded and stubborn or does living in our own world just make us a little happier? 

While I support that others have the right to express themselves online, I also have the right not to listen. And with the impersonal face of a smartphone screen, expressing ourselves negatively has never been easier. So as we are left to wade through the negativity, the trolls and the plain hateful, how do we know what to shut out and what to respect? To be honest, I simply don't enjoy spending my (virtual) time with people who routinely say things that anger me. So, I often choose the unfollow button. And I just hope that I can tell the difference between protecting myself (and this lovely bubble I live in) and stubbornly closing myself off from other opinions. 

How do you tackle social media? The good news is that the comments are now working so you can let me know!

Sorry for the slightly heavier post! 

Thanks for reading, I love you all! 

Aims xx

Thank you millions to Tim for taking and editing the photo! He's a total genius. 

Five Favourites

Hello peoples! 

I thought it would be fun to start doing a monthly favourites blog and what better month to start with than January! 

As this is the first, it is a slightly more generalised favourites than it will probably be normally. These are things I've been loving for a while, including this month. So, off we jolly well go! 

1. The first thing is my Soap & Glory "Scrub Your Nose In It" face scrub. I know there are many views on whether or not a scrub exfoliant is a good thing to use but I, personally, swear by this stuff. All I know is that, when I use it, it keeps my skin pretty much completely clear and nothing else seems to keep my skin under control. This product was discontinued for a couple of months while it was being rebranded/repackaged and, I am not ashamed to admit, I did actually have a wee cry before I realised it would be back! I use this once a day only, as I don't want to over scrub my skin, and occasionally I will give my skin a break for a couple of days if I haven't been wearing make-up. When I'm not using this, I use a cleanser. Currently I'm just using Aqueous cream and it seems to be doing the trick.

2. Next up is my MAC Penultimate eyeliner. I got this in Glasgow Airport in May, en route to Australia, and it is just about to run out. I'm pretty devastated, I gotta tell you. I've been absolutely loving this, it is so easy to apply and it does not give the, oh-so-attractive, panda-eye effect at the end of the day. I really struggle to find an eyeliner that doesn't migrate down my face and this is definitely a winner. My only complaint is that it does fade a little through the day, but I would rather it do that than smudge all over my face. I'll probably try something different now for a little change but I have a feeling I will end up back with MAC.

As you can see, they're getting pretty done!

3. Next is a joint and very general favourite, two things I absolutely cannot live without - hand cream and lip balm! Especially during the winter, these two are a must for me! My current favourites are the Soap&Glory "Hand Dream Super Cream" hand cream and Soap&Glory (are you sensing a theme here?) "Smooch Operator" lip butter, although I haven't been able to get hold of "Smooch Operator" for a while so I've been using the Nivea lip butters. They're pretty good but a little too oily for my preference. I also love the Hemp hand cream from The Body Shop, I prefer to use that at night though, as it can be a tad on the greasy side. I've also added lip/hand exfoliation into my nightly routine and I am seeing (feeling really) a surprisingly big difference! My hands don't feel horribly dry and tight every time I wash them, and my lips seem to absorb my lip balm much better. Good times! I made my own from this recipe I found on Pinterest. I changed it a bit to my preference, using olive oil and vanilla extract in place of Almond oil and Almond extract, but it seems to be doing the trick!  

4. Something else I have really been enjoying is my Tangle Teezer hairbrush. I had heard good things about these brushes so I finally decided to go for it and I am so glad I did! I love it so. Despite my husband’s complaints that it is “the loudest brush on the planet”, it is quite excellent. Even the lady on the checkout in Boots had a little rave about it as I was purchasing it. It deals with even the tuggiest hair with ease and the flexible bristles mean a lot less hair ends up on the brush with a lot less pain for my poor scalp so win win win. And it’s pink so thats another win. My only complaint (aside from the loudness) is that it is quite bulky so I tend not to carry it around in my handbag. I may end up investing in one of the smaller ones for that purpose. Otherwise it is wonderful. Believe the hype! 

5. A comestible favourite now, tea! Huzzah! I drink a ridiculous amount of tea and English Breakfast is my brew of choice at the moment (be careful where you order an English Breakfast though - I have been known to end up with a full fry-up, no matter how much I emphasise the "TEA!" part), my favourite of the bagged variety being this Clipper tea. Obviously, you can't really beat loose leaf but it can be a bit of a faff! When you drink as much tea as I do, tea bags are definitely the more time-efficient way to go. 

Anyways, there you have my recent (and not so recent) favourites! 

Is there anything you have been particularly enjoying of late? Let me know in the comments! 

Have a wonderful weekend :)

Thanks for reading, I love you all! 

Aims xx

I actually took all the pictures myself this time, hence why they're not as good.

Fashun

Hello peoples!

So I was thinking about the various things I want to talk about on here and one of those is fashion. Now, I am by no means the most fashionable person I know and I am not very good (and by "not very good", I do of course mean shockingly bad) at keeping up with what's on the runway (you need my friend Kristina for that, check out her blog for someone who actually knows what they're talking about!) But I do love clothes and fashion, and so I would love to share my ponderings on the subject with you chaps.

I have always struggled to find my personal style. I entered my twenties with absolutely no idea of what I (realistically) wanted my image to be. I am pretty sure I know who I am in regards to my personality, but translating that into what I put on my person has been a bit of a challenge. 

I am too much of a mimic I think. I really admire people who have a clear idea of their style, people who's personality is reflected in their choice of clothing. But the mistake I have often made is that I try to copy their style in my attempts to find my own. This doesn't really work because, if someone's clothing reflects their specific personality, then their clothing won't reflect my personality. Obviously. I was left looking and feeling awkward and uncomfortable, and sometimes downright ridiculous. 
So, I have learned instead to take aspects of other people's style and incorporate them when trying to find my own. Sometimes looking at someone else's style can help you to open your mind to new ideas, such as new combinations or an item you've never considered but suddenly you start to think that maybe you could get away with it after all.

I have also learned to be brave, confidence is key! You can wear something terrible with conviction and make it look amazing, conversely you can wear something stunning with doubt and make it look all wrong. You gotta commit! It's all about the attitude, daaahling.

With these things in mind, and with the wonder that is Pinterest to hand, I feel I am beginning to get a handle on my style. 
I try not to fall back into the habit of chucking any old thing on before I leave the house, that always leads to me feeling dissatisfied with my appearance. Instead I try to make sure that I am happy with what I'm wearing every time I go out. It takes a bit of forward planning but it's definitely getting easier and I feel so much more confident. I have had many wardrobe clear-outs too, which means I'm getting closer to actually liking all the clothes I own! This in turn makes the whole getting ready fandango a much smoother process, with less crying and being two hours late to everything. Now I'm only one hour late to everything. Progress!

Anyway, I am so looking forward to documenting my attempts (and likely failures) on this blog and would love for you to join me on my fashion(ish) adventures. 

Thank you for reading, I love you all! 

Pip pip!

Aims xx

P.s Thank you so much to Marie at Code It Pretty for helping me get my Pinterest gadget working properly. She is an absolute genius and her tutorials make the scary world of html/java/css/rss/ihavenoideawhatanyofthesethingsare so much easier to navigate. She also very kindly responds to comments and questions if you have any problems, like I did. Thanks Marie! 

P.p.s Do you have any fashion advice/observations/general ponderings to share? Tell me in the comments! 

P.p.p.s If, indeed, the comments feature is now working properly. Please let me know if it's still misbehaving. 


P.p.p.p.s Ok, that's me really finished now! Byeeee! X

All images courtesy of Pinterest You may as well get used to that. 

An Introduction

Hello peoples!  

My name is Aimee and I'm a blogaholic. 

I have been reading other people's blogs obsessively for a while now and I thought it was about time that I gave it a go myself! 

Some of you may know me and may have read my previous attempts at blogging (hi Mum) but, if not, here's a little bit about me:

I am 21 and 11/12ths and I am married to my best friend, Tim. We actually celebrated our third anniversary this month and I want to say how incredibly thankful I am to Tim for all of his support. Even if it does sometimes verge on bullying. 
I am also thankful that he doesn't seem to mind the fact that I am unimaginative enough that I give him the same anniversary gift every year! I might try something new next year...maybe...probably not. 

We currently live in Livingston, a town roughly 30 minutes outside Edinburgh, and we are staying with Tim's parents at the moment. It has its challenges but I like to think it builds character, and if it does then I will have quite the character by the time we leave! 
Hopefully we will be able to move out into our own place (very) soon and I can't wait to finally put all my Pinterest ideas to use in decorating it! And hopefully I will be able to document that process on here too. 

I actually have writing in my genes (as well as a love for terrible puns that, I hope you appreciate, I did not indulge just then) as both my parents are published writers. My dad has had a short story published in The Scotsman magazine and my mother has written several novels, three of which are published and available to buy on amazon. My mum also blogs, if you want to check her out, you can find her here - http://cicampbellblog.wordpress.com
That is actually one thing that pushed me to start blogging - if my mum, at the age of ...mumble mumble.. can do it, then I can't be left behind! 

To finish, I would like to say thanks to Stephanie of Influence blog for all of her help and support in getting started, she's been amazing. Her bravery in starting something new also really inspired me to go for it! Go and have a look at her lovely blog and her new ventures in to YouTube! You can find  her here - http://www.influenceblog.net

So that's it, first blog done! Huzzah! I will aim to post pretty regularly, and hopefully I will be able to work out a proper schedule once I've been up and running for a bit.

Thanks for reading, I love you all! 

Byeeeeee!