Sunday 27 August 2017

Week in Photos - 27th August 2017

It’s been a few weeks since my last ‘Week in Photos’ post, as life has been crazy busy. So I’ve got quite a few photos to share with you this week (although they’re from the last few weeks). We’ve had a family holiday in Ireland, where I was a bridesmaid for one of my closest friends, Katrina, and I’ve also been to another wedding, which I filmed for another close friend, Sam. I think I’m all done for weddings now, at least for this year! So I’ve just been settling back in at home and trying to get some of the more boring things done like tidying my room and doing some work for when I go back to Uni. I have started some work experience as well though. I’ve only done one day so far, but really enjoyed it.



I had a reflexology session a couple of weeks ago, and when I’d finished I was just curled up on the chair when Freddie decided to come and join me. He obviously picked up on my relaxed vibes because he snuggled into my slippers and fell asleep!



I found this new Twinings tea that, of course, I had to try in my 101 Dalmatians Cath Kidston mug. Who else is ridiculously excited for the Peter Pan range to come out?!



I recently discovered Bloom Boutique after hearing Mrs Meldrum talk about it in one of her videos and I’m loving the things they do! I ordered this beautiful little bracelet for my friend, Katrina, and was so pleased with it when it arrived. I will definitely be buying more from them (and possibly treating myself to something too!)



How pretty is this bottle that my friend Katy got from Cornwall. It has fairy lights in it, but the glass makes it look like stars. I really want one, but am not planning a trip to Cornwall any time soon sadly!



When I went to see Katy, she did these pink sparkly nails for me, ready for being a bridesmaid over in Ireland. It reminded me how much I love having my nails done, so once they come off I want to make more of an effort to paint my nails.



I don’t have many photos of Jaffa and I, so when I was giving him a cuddle I asked my sister to snap one. He’s such a big cuddly baby. You’d never know he was the runt of the litter when we adopted him and that he was really poorly as a kitten!



We decided to fly over to Ireland, as it was going to be quicker and easier than taking the ferry. The last time I went on a plane was when I went to New York about six or seven years ago, so I was feeling pretty nervous about it. But looking out of the window at the clouds beneath us reminded me how amazing being able to fly is.



This was the amazing view from the Glasson Hotel and Golf Club in Athlone, Ireland, where my friend, Katrina, got married. I don’t think I’ve ever been to such a beautiful hotel before – both inside and out, it was just dreamy.



I had my hair and make-up all done ready to be a bridesmaid for Katrina’s wedding. It was so nice to be pampered! And my first time wearing false eyelashes – it’s only taken me 28 years!



The bride’s bouquet was a beautiful mixture of gypsophila and blush pink roses.



I really had such a lovely day being a bridesmaid with these lovely ladies for Katrina. Getting to wear a beautiful dress, carry gorgeous flowers and spend the day in the most amazing location was truly special. And of course seeing one of my best friends getting married was fantastic!



The wedding photographers brought all sorts of props with them, including this awesome floral swing. I think it was meant for the bride and groom, but I thought I’d have a cheeky photo on it while they were doing something else.



This was the happy couple after a beautiful wedding. Katrina’s dress was so unusual – I have never seen one like it before, but she looked absolutely stunning in it.



The day after the wedding we went on a relaxing boat trop from the hotel, down part of the River Shannon and over to Athlone town centre. We went to the oldest pub in Ireland and then had a little mooch around the town, which was lovely.



 This was the hotel disappearing into the distance as our boat made its way across the lake. We were so lucky to have good weather for it, and a man played and sang some Irish songs as we travelled.



After the wedding, we went to Dublin for a couple of nights. On our first proper day there we decided to wander around some of the streets. I really wanted to go down Grafton Street (thanks Ed Sheerhan!) and wasn’t disappointed – there were lots of buskers to listen to and some great shops (including a Disney Store!!) We also came across this statue of Molly Malone, so had to take a photo.




The group had to split in two different apartments, as we couldn’t all fit in one. The apartment I stayed in had the most amazing views over Dublin and the river. I don’t think I could ever get tired of these views.




Whilst we were in Dublin, we of course had to pay the Guinness Storehouse a visit. I’ll be honest and say I thought it would be a bit boring, as I’m not really into Guinness at all. But it proved me wrong and I actually really enjoyed it!



On our trip round the storehouse, we went into a special tasting room. You could smell the different elements of a pint of Guinness first. We were then given a teeny tiny glass of Guinness to try, which just looked so cute! I wasn’t a massive fan of the taste (although my Dad tells me I drank it wrong!) but was more excited about the little glass!




The tour ends on the top floor, the Gravity Bar, which gives you 360-degree views over Dublin. Thankfully the weather was perfect and we could see for miles. It was seriously amazing and made me wish we had longer in Ireland, as there’s so much more I would love to see.



After our tour of the Guinness Storehouse, we went for dinner at a place called Flanagan’s. They had this bubblegum soda on the menu, so I thought I would give it a try. I didn’t expect to get quite this much, but it was pink and tasted awesome, so I was happy!



This artwork was in our Dublin apartment and I thought it was a good quote so had to take a photo.



As I mentioned earlier, I was really nervous about flying, as I hadn’t done it in so long and when I last flew I didn’t need my wheelchair. But thankfully the flights were really good and I think I got the travel bug because now all I was to do is go away again! We flew with British Airways and they were fantastic with me being in a wheelchair. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. Ireland was lovely, but the whole six days were crazy busy and I came home more exhausted than when I went. So I could really do with a proper relaxing holiday to just chill out now! Plus there are so many places in the world that I’m desperate to see. I wish travelling with complex health problems wasn’t so exhausting (and expensive!)



I thought this photo of Bekkah and her goddaughter, Trinity, was really sweet.



Last weekend I had such a great (but exhausting!) day filming my lovely friend, Sam’s, wedding. I’m now looking forward to editing it all together and hopefully creating some lovely memories for them all.





For both Katrina and Sam’s weddings, I was struggling to think of what to give them other than money. So I had a browse on Not on the Highstreet and came across these adorable wellie drawings by This is Nessie, which I thought were just perfect.


I went to a local café with my Dad earlier this week, which was nice. I went to pick up a magazine from the table and it just so happened to be Happiful, which is where I’m doing my work experience! An awesome magazine, which centres around mental health and wellness – I would definitely recommend getting your hands on a copy.



On Tuesday I had a lovely day seeing my friend, Charlie, and her two little ones, Izzi and Joe. We did some drawing – Charlie and Izzi did Poppy the Troll for me and I drew Minnie Mouse for Izzi.



I was kindly sent these Neal’s Yard Remedies samples to try out and I’m really excited to see what they’re like. We have a store near my Uni, which I’ve been meaning to pop into for ages, so once I’ve tried these I think I’ll have to check out more of their products.



This month’s Birchbox is so darn pretty with it’s mermaid pattern. And the fact it includes this beautiful brush from Spectrum Collections makes me very happy. What to people do with their old boxes? I was keeping them all and use some for storage, but my pile was getting ridiculous!

You can check out my YouTube channel here, where I have recently uploaded a few new videos (and hope to continue doing!)

I’m also trying to post on Snapchat a bit more, so if you fancy following me, my username is Jennycole44.

If you don’t already, please give me a follow on Bloglovin here - I can’t believe I’ve managed to hit 800 followers now! Thank you all so much. I’m planning a giveaway very soon!

I also want to apologise for the slightly shabby state of my blog at the moment. I’ve had problems after Photobucket changed their terms, but am gradually sorting things out and hope to also have a new layout fairly soon.

What have you been up to this week? I always enjoy hearing about your news and adventures!


Wednesday 23 August 2017

Happy Snippets during July



“The most simple things can bring the most happiness” – Izabella Scorupco

Recently, I’ve seen quite a few bloggers (such as the lovely FrannyMac) do posts where they give thanks for little things that have made them happy. I really love reading these posts and thought it was a great concept to work alongside my ‘Happiness Project.’ So I decided to keep a note on my phone of anything that has made me happy during the month of July, so I can share my little happy moments with you here. I think it’s so important to try and find positives, especially when you struggle with depression like I do. It can be very easy to feel like things have been rubbish and nothing good has happened, so by consciously looking for the rainbows amongst the storm clouds, it can help us to realise that there are glimmers of light even in the darkest of days. Here are my happy snippets from July.

·      Having a raspberry lemonade and a catch up with my friend Lilli
·      Receiving a bunch of beautiful sunflowers in the post
·      Louise Pentland’s new book arriving
·      Beautiful sunsets
·      A shopping trip with my Mum and Dad
·      Meeting up with my friend, Lydia, who I met at Stanmore
·      Bubble-gum and marshmallow ice cream by the river in Windsor
·      Celebrating my friend, Sam’s, Hen Do
·      Having all of the family over for a BBQ
·      Cool showers on a hot day
·      Writing letters to some of my penpals
·      Driving my new yellow car
·      Cuddles with Mickey, Rosiie’s horse
·      Surprise cards in the post
·      Yummy Black Forest trifle (shouldn’t have eaten it, so the pain and nausea afterwards we’re great!)
·      Afternoon tea at The Ritz with my Mum
·      Seeing Baby Cole again in Lisa’s 20-week scan
·      Looking around The Vyne National Trust gardens with my Dad and Richard
·      A Champneys spa day with my friend, Katrina
·      Finally getting David and Emma’s wedding video edited
·      Having a really productive morning
·      Spending time with my best friend, Sarah, and her little boy, Charlie
·      Going to the hair salon for a treatment, cut and blow dry
·      Going out for hot chocolate with my Mum
·      Looking around Borough Market for the first time
·      Pink lemonade and cake at Peggy Porschen
·      A really constructive morning of tidying
·      Lunch with my friend, Lilli, before she moves to Germany
·      Checking out my friend, Sam’s, wedding venue with her
·      Disney DVDs with Emma
·      Finally getting round to seeing Despicable Me 3

What did you get up to in July? Do you have any happy snippets to share?