I really hope you’re
enjoying this series of posts and that perhaps you’ve discovered a new blog or
two to follow. It’s so hard to just pick one blogger a month because there are
so many great bloggers out there – I’ve got a list longer than my arm of
candidates for my blogger of the month award! If you have a particular blogger
you’ve been loving recently, I’d love to hear about them.
So, let me introduce you to
my September Blogger of the Month; Fleur over at Fleur de Force.
This month’s blogger is
actually a big in the vlogging community as well, which is actually where I
first discovered her awesome blogging skills.
Fleur
I can’t put my finger on
exactly what it is that drew me to Fleur’s blog and videos, but something I can
be sure of is that her warm personality definitely helped! She comes across as
a genuinely lovely lady; very down to earth and friendly – the kind of person I
would get on really well with if we were to meet in person. She is also
incredibly beautiful and has the most amazingly gorgeous blonde locks.
Beauty Reviews
The main topic of Fleur’s
blog posts and videos is beauty. If I’m completely honest, I will admit that
I’m not the hugest fan of ‘pure’ beauty blogs because I can find them a bit
repetitive and boring, but somehow Fleur manages to make her posts so
interesting and I really feel I can connect with what she’s saying. Yes, she
does post about other things as well, but even if she were to do a string of
beauty posts I would still be excited to read them! Her photography is clear
and colourful and she writes in such a chatty style it really makes you feel
like you’re having a girly gossip with your best friend.
Lifestyle posts
As well as posting about
beauty and fashion, Fleur also does the odd lifestyle post, which I really
love. It’s always nice to find out a bit more about the person behind the blog,
and I think lifestyle posts are a great way to do this. This is one reason why
I particularly love her two YouTube channels, because you get a lot more
lifestyle content and really get to see what a lovely person Fleur is. She does
all kind of fun things and it means I can live my life vicariously through her
vlogs!
Homeware
One of my favourite posts
and videos that Fleur does is when she shows us around various rooms in her
beautiful home. Her and Mike have made a lovely little home for themselves and
Fleur’s taste in interior design is so similar to what I love. I also love the
way she is able to customise standard pieces of furniture to give them a unique
look, such as this set of IKEA Alex draws – how awesome do they look?!
Holidays
I don’t really get to go on
holiday much because money is tight and my health isn’t brilliant. But Fleur
seems to travel quite a bit, either for work or pleasure, and I really enjoy
being taken along on her adventures, either in her blog posts or through her videos.
Like I said above, I can live vicariously through her and go to all sorts of
beautiful places. In these posts she incorporates a whole range of photos from
food and landscapes to fashion and beauty.
Videos
I’ve kind of already
covered this in my previous points, but my favourite thing about Fleur de Force
is her amazing videos. She has two channels – one for more structured ‘sit down’
videos and the other for more laid back adventures. I love to watch both of
them – whether I’m learning how to do a smoky eye, being taken through her shoe
collection or going on a road trip to see her family. Every single video keeps
you interested and entertained, and Fleur always manages to look beautiful
whatever she is doing.
So, that just about sums up
my Blogger of the Month for September. If you’ve not checked out Fleur de Force
before I really hope I’ve helped convince you to and that you’ve found a great
new blogger to follow.
I love to find new blogs to follow, so
if you have any recommendations I’d love to hear them.
A collection things that happened in the month of
June
So, we are now officially
half way through the year (how did that happen?!) and I’m sure pretty soon the
countdown to Christmas will be starting (I’ve actually already seen it on
Facebook but am trying to pretend I haven’t!) Unfortunately I’ve spent another
month still having a lot of problems with my health and not getting many
answers, which is incredibly frustrating. There have been numerous medical
appointments, which still take up a great deal of my time and energy, but there
have been a few fun things in between that I thought I’d share with you.
Firstly, if you’re a regular reader, you’ll know I’ve had a couple of really
big events this month. The first being a trip to the Houses of Parliament for
an awards ceremony I was nominated in, which was incredibly exciting and was
also my first trip to London using a wheelchair, so definitely a new
experience! Then, more recently, I appeared on BBC Radio Berkshire with Anne
Diamond, discussing eating disorders and Beat (the leading eating disorder
charity). This was pretty scary as I’ve never done live radio before, but it
went really well and I’ve had lots of positive comments from it.
On my way to the Awards ceremony
At BBC Monitoring in Caversham
I expect you’ve guessed by
now that I love to do a bit of baking when I’ve got the time, and I’ve shared
quite a few recipes with you over the last few months (and there are lots more
to come!) I didn’t do a recipe post for this cake (mainly because I completely
forgot to take photos as I was in a bit of a rush!) so I thought I’d share what
I made with you in this round up post instead. The story behind the cake is
that we made it for my sister’s 20th Birthday, as she is allergic to
nuts, so finding a suitable cake can be a bit of a nightmare. She gave us some
ideas of what she’d like, but the finished product was actually a surprise. I
tried a new chocolate cake recipe, as I was finding my original one to be a bit
dry, and I was so impressed with the new one – it tasted delicious! After
baking the cake and sandwiching it together with butter cream, we covered the
whole cake in frosting before placing Kit-Kats all around the outside, then
covering the top with multicoloured Skittles. It was great fun to cut (imagine
the advert where everything turns into Skittles!) and even more fun to eat.
As you may already know,
I’ve really got into entering competitions since I’ve been unwell and have
actually done pretty well, which is surprising as I’m not usually the luckiest
of people! June has been a particularly lucky month, with me winning eight
different prizes (yes, one was a bottle of washing up liquid, but still, it was
a win!) A few of them were Father’s Day related, so these were passed onto my
Dad and brothers’ but a couple were really up my street! At the beginning of
June this gorgeous Joules picnic basket arrived on my doorstep and I am so
excited to have my first picnic with it at some point over the summer, even if
I can only do it in our back garden. Then a couple of days ago I got a message
from New Look, telling me I had won a £100 voucher! To say I was gobsmacked
would be an understatement and I had to double check that it was real! I’ve
decided to save the voucher to stock up my winter wardrobe in a few months
time, so I’m quite looking forward to the new season stock coming into store
soon.
The final exciting thing
that has happened this month is that I finally decided to buy myself a walking
stick. Now, to a lot of you this probably sounds like a really odd thing to get
excited about, but just wait until you see how funky my new stick is! I have
always been a firm believer in making disability fun – after all, there isn’t
much fun when it comes to being ill, so I believe you should find joy where you
can, and if that means using a funky walking stick then so be it. I’ve been
trying to get out a bit more, which has been made easier by my acceptance to
use a wheelchair and stick, and, although I’m still finding it hard work, it is
nice being able to feel a little more independent.
My funky Switch Stick
Things I’ve learnt this month…
+The thrill of winning never gets old
+I love growing things in the garden
+I know my body better than anyone and sometimes
people should understand that
+Just because someone has a medical degree doesn’t
make them always right
+I’m stronger than I think
+A few simple words can completely change your life
+I’m very lucky to have some really special friends
+I don’t cope well with mess
+Being over-tired makes me horrible
+I hate coming to the end of a really good book
+It’s heartbreaking when someone you have always been
there for can’t do the same for you
+Pain turns me into a complete cow
+I don’t deal with the heat very well
+I don’t like change
+I need to say yes more often
+It’s interesting how a blast from the past can bring
back so many thoughts and feelings
What to look out for in July
I tend to find I don’t
watch as much TV during the summer, as the weather is so glorious that I’d
rather be sitting outside with a cool glass of lemonade and a good book. But,
for those days when it won’t stop raining and you’re looking to curl up on the
sofa with a good film, there’s a couple of DVD releases in July that I’m quite
excited about. On the 7th July The Book Thief is due to be released,
which I’m mega excited about, although I still really need to read the book
before I see the film, so that’s probably going to take me a while! Perhaps
I’ll get it done in time for my next monthly round up! The other film that I’m
really excited to come out on DVD is The Lego Movie! I was desperate to see it
when it first came out in the cinema, but unfortunately I wasn’t well enough so
I’ve been patiently waiting for the DVD to come out. I won’t have to wait too
much longer as it’s due for release on 21st July – just in time for
the summer holidays!
For someone who doesn’t
watch much TV over the summer, I’m actually going to be talking about a lot of
TV watching in this post! I swear I’m not a TV junkie – honest! I remember
watching the first episode of Glee and knowing then that it was going to be
something I got addicted to. I just can’t help by sing along and we now have the
majority of the soundtracks. Well, if you’ve been missing the guys from over
the pond they’re back on Sky One at the beginning of July with another series
of songs, squabbles and Sue Sylvester.
I love to go to the cinema,
but at the moment I’m just not well enough, which is a real shame as there are
a few good films coming out throughout July that I wouldn’t mind going to see.
The first to come out is ‘The Hundred-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window
and Disappeared.’ Phew, long title! I’m assuming that this will be based on the
book by the same name (which is on my pile of books to read) so it will be
interesting to catch this once I’ve read the book and see what it’s like. I’m
one of those people who has to read the book first before I see the film, as
otherwise I think it really spoils the way your imagination creates the scenes
from the book. After this comes The Pudsey Movie on the 18th July.
You may be thinking this is something to do with Pudsey bear from Children in
Need, but you’d be mistaken. It’s actually about a dog called Pudsey who won
Britain’s Got Talent a few years ago. I’m intrigued to see this movie as I’m
not quite sure what to expect and whether they’ll have been able to make a
whole decent movie about a dancing dog. I guess the only way to find out is to
see it, so I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts. Finally, another fairly light-hearted
film will be released on the 25th July called The House of Magic. It’s
an animation, which I love (brings out my inner child!) about a stray cat
called Thunder, who finds himself caught in a terrible storm and stumbles upon
a strange house belonging to an old magician. After making himself at home
there he then has to work with the other animals in the house to stop the
magician from selling up. Not the kind of film that will get the cogs whirring,
but perhaps one to see with your niece of nephew.
After all that talk of TV,
I feel that I should add something more suitable for summer, and what better
than good old English sunshine! I love England in the summer – we have so many
beautiful parks and beaches that are just waiting for us to visit them. If you
look on the National Trust website you’ll find a huge range of beautiful places to visit, from stately homes to
beautiful gardens and everything in between. During the summer a lot of them
put on special activities including nights of music, guided walks and fun for
children of all ages. I’d definitely recommend becoming a member as I certainly
get so much out of my membership, which allows you free entry to all National
Trust places and you are sent magazines to wet your appetite!
The Vyne, a National Trust House and Gardens
Do you have any favourites or things
you’ve learnt in June? What are you looking forward to in July?
This Wednesday I had a
rather exciting day. After being nominated for a Beat Volunteer Award I was
contacted by a press officer, asking if I would be interested in appearing on
BBC Radio Berkshire. At the time I was saving my energy for the Houses of
Parliament Awards Ceremony, so, with a heavy heart I had to decline. But a few
weeks later I was contacted again by the same person, saying the BBC were still
very interested to speak to me and were happy to fit around my health. How
could I refuse?! So, on Wednesday, my Dad drove me over to BBC Monitoring in
Caversham, where a lovely radio assistant greeted me. I was then taken into the
studio and introduced to Anne Diamond, before going live on air for an
interview about my eating disorder experiences. I’m planning to do a separate
blog post going into more detail, so I won’t spoil it by telling you too much.
However, if you want to listen back to my interview, it is available here until Wednesday 2nd July. I start talking at about 10 minutes in.
New bras
Is it just me who loves
buying new underwear?! There’s something about wearing pretty bras that makes
me feel nicer than if I stick on an old discoloured bra. I haven’t bought any
new underwear for ages, so this week I treated myself to a new bra haul from
good old Marks and Spencer. They’re always my go-to shop for bras, as a trained
lady can measure you and find a size that fits you perfectly. Typical me, I
needed different sizes for different styles, so God knows what my size actually
is! But I now have a whole new bra wardrobe and throwing my old manky ones away
was very satisfying.
Buttons
I’m really getting back
into my arts and crafts and have a whole variety of projects on the cards.
Something I’m going into is starting my own little business, Jaffa Cat Designs;
selling cards, scrabble art and button art. I’m so excited to get going with
this and I’m currently making some example pieces that I can display on my
website for people to view when they’re trying to decide what they’d like me to
make. I will be doing custom, personalised pieces depending on what the
customer is after. So I’ve been stocking up on materials, which included loads
of pretty buttons. I never knew there were so many to choose from and I’ve been
addicted to browsing eBay to find hidden gems.
Just as an aside – I’ve
uploaded another video to my YouTube channel and I’d love you to check it out!
What has grabbed your attention this
week? I love hearing about people’s new discoveries and you may end up sharing
something that makes it onto my list next week!
As I mentioned a couple of
weeks ago, I had a very exciting trip up to London for the Beat Volunteer Awards at
The Houses of Parliament. The charity has been fighting back against eating
disorders for 25 years now, and throughout the year they are celebrating this
with various special events, which include these awards. I thought you might
like to hear about it, as it’s not every day you get to go somewhere so grand!
Rewind back a few months –
I was browsing through my e-mails when I saw one from the lovely people at
Beat. I’m on their database for volunteering and media, so I assumed it was
another e-mail about something like that, but on reading it I found I had been
nominated by two people, my youngest sister and a member of Beat staff, for a
volunteer award! It was obviously lovely to be nominated, but I assumed that
was all I would hear about it, as they said they’d be in contact if I happened
to be shortlisted.
I didn’t really think any
more about it for a couple of weeks, but then one day as I was browsing my
e-mails, another from Beat popped up, this time telling me I had been
shortlisted for the ‘Public Award’ in Campaigning and inviting me to a ceremony
in the House of Commons in a couple of weeks time. I must admit it felt pretty
surreal, as looking through the other nominees I felt like I hadn’t done half
as much as they had. Still, it was an exciting opportunity so I started
planning how I could make it while still unwell. I just want to say that Beat
were fantastic with organising disabled access and making sure everything I
needed was sorted out.
Wednesday 4th
June came around, and after spending the morning resting, I dolled myself up and
travelled to our nearest station with my Mum, Dad and youngest sister.
I decided to use my
wheelchair, as I’m struggling with walking at the moment and wanted to make
sure I was as comfortable as possible so nothing could spoil the evening. As I
can walk a bit, we didn’t need to worry about booking assistance and thankfully
I had plenty of people to help me on and off the train, while my Dad looked
after the wheelchair.
I couldn’t resist taking a
selfie on our train journey up to Waterloo. It took us about 40 minutes to get
there and thankfully it wasn’t too crowded so I could make myself comfortable
as we travelled. After hopping back into my chair at Waterloo, we headed
outside the station towards the taxi rank.
We found a lovely taxi
driver who helped us get the wheelchair into his cab. If anyone is ever in
London using a wheelchair, I can’t praise the black cabs enough. They all have
a ramp, so if you can’t get out of your chair it is easy to get into the back,
and the driver we had was so accommodating.
We were dropped off just
outside the Houses of Parliament, where all the roads were closed off as the
Queen had been there in the morning. While policemen were turning everyone else
away, we presented out invitation and were ushered through the roadblock
towards the entrance. I felt like a celebrity!
As we had the wheelchair,
we had to go a different way to everyone else, so were directed towards a ramp
past the Houses of Parliament and into the back entrance.
We went through copious
amounts of security screening, with my Dad managing to set off the alarms like
he always does! A guide then took us through a maze of hallways, where we
bumped into John Prescott and a few other recognisable MP’s.
Arriving at the Terrace
Pavilion in the House of Commons, we were greeted by a fairly empty room (we
were very early as we thought security would take a long time, which apparently
it did for everyone else!) A few Beat staff were hanging around though and came
to greet us. It was lovely being able to finally put faces to names, and after
getting an orange juice from the bar, we had a lovely chat with Louise, who I’d
been e-mailing about various things for a few months before.
The location was beautiful.
The view over the Thames and the London Eye were just perfect, and the sunshine
even made an appearance for us (before pelting it down with rain just as the
awards started!)
My Dad was very excited to
see a Cormorant on the river, and spent quite a while trying to get a decent
photo of it!
Once everyone had arrived, Caroline
Noakes MP, who we had chatted to before hand, opened the awards. Caroline
chairs the All-Party Group on Body Image, which has included getting eating
disorders talked about in the Houses of Parliament, and is actually the MP for
Southampton and Romsey, so not that far from me. After hearing from Caroline,
Nick Hurd MP spoke and presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Diana
Davies, a helpline volunteer.
Various other figures went
on to present other awards for achievements ranging from innovation to service
to community and from fundraising to education. Then came the category I was
nominated in, campaigning, which recognised
“A volunteer who is a passionate and powerful
champion; demonstrating enthusiasm and passion, they provide a voice in helping
to achieve Beat’s mission.”
I was nominated alongside a
fellow media volunteer, Sarah Robertson, Beat Cymru Ambassador Helen Missen and
Rosie Driffill, the Self Help and Support Groups Facilitator and Publicity
Officer. The winner was announced as Sarah Robertson, who I’d actually already
predicted would win thanks to the amazing work she has done so far! Obviously
winning would have been marvellous, but to just be nominated was an honour and
being able to visit the Houses of Parliament was such a privilege. Compared to
a lot of others, I’ve done very little work in campaigning so far, but I intend
to continue to stand up and be honest about how eating disorders affect lives.
I want to quash the stigma attached to mental illness, and the only way for
this to happen is if we continue to speak out and be honest about what it’s
really like to experience mental illnesses. This is something Sarah does
amazingly, and you can find her over at her blog, Daydreams and Reality.
After collecting my Beat
goody bag, we hailed another black cab and headed back to Waterloo.
While my Dad and sister
headed to get some food and drink for the journey home, my Mum and I popped
into WHSmith to pick up a couple of magazines. The train arrived and we bundled
on and I curled up with a book, nodding off at every opportunity, until we
reached our local station.
I want to thank Beat for
inviting me to such an amazing experience and for giving me the opportunities
to talk to the media about eating disorders. I hope that I can continue to
campaign for awareness and research into these illnesses that destroy lives. If
you’d like to see the other fantastic nominees and what they have done, you can
find them all here.
Do you have any questions about eating
disorders, or mental illness in general? Have you ever campaigned for awareness
and understanding into mental health problems?
With the help of my
parents, sister and the wheelchair, this Wednesday I managed to make it up to
London for the Beat Volunteer Awards. After getting a black cab to The Houses of Parliament, we
went through strict security screening, before making our way to the terrace in
the House of Commons. It was a lovely evening spent putting faces to names and
celebrating achievements, and although I didn’t win in my category, it was an
honour to be nominated and invited. I’ll be doing a post about the evening
soon, so keep your eyes peeled.
Old letters
As you may remember, I’ve
been gradually clearing my room so that we can redecorate. This week I have
been going through a box, in which I keep old cards and letters from friends
and family. I absolutely love reading back through them all; hearing words of
friendship and encouragement and remembering where I was when I received them.
Unfortunately I can’t keep every letter and card I’m sent, but I try to keep
any special ones that really mean something to me. I’m always happy to receive
letters from anyone – after all, what could be better than receiving a
handwritten letter, showing someone has taken time and effort to think of you.
If anyone ever wants to write to me, please do contact me via e-mail for my
address. I can’t promise to reply to you quickly, but I always do my best to
send replies when I can.
Picnic basket
I think I’ve mentioned
before that I enjoy entering competitions, and while I’ve been unwell I’ve had
more time on my hands to do so. Sometimes I’ll go through phases where I don’t
win anything, and then other times I seem to win a few things in a row! This
week saw me win one of the biggest competitions I’ve won so far – a Joules
picnic basket, sent through John Lewis. When this huge parcel arrived, I had
actually forgotten being told I’d won, so wondered what on earth it could be! I
was so excited when I opened it to see this beautifully quaint wicker basket,
lined with navy blue floral material. Inside was just as I had hoped it would
be – spaces for cutlery, plates and glasses, all of which were provided. I’m
looking forward to some sunny weather so I can take a few friends and family on
a little picnic, even if it is just in the back garden!
What has grabbed your attention this
week? I love hearing about people’s new discoveries and you may end up sharing
something that makes it onto my list next week!
I’ve been blogging for
about 8 months now, but it’s only been recently that I’ve started looking into
vlogging (video blogging). I’ve always told myself I couldn’t do it because I’m
too shy and would feel embarrassed being on camera, but this week I had a
change of heart and decided I’d give it a go. I’m currently editing my first
video (I’ve never used the software before so I’m trying to get to grips with
it!) but keep your eyes peeled for new videos coming up on my YouTube channel.
I thought I’d share one of my favourite vloggers, In the Frow, with you today, so
check out her video below.
Cosmopolitan Blog Awards
To be honest I’m a bit
behind with these blog awards, as I know there has been information floating
around about them for quite a while now. I wasn’t going to put myself forward,
but then I thought why not?! I’m unlikely to win, but if you don’t try you don’t
know! If you enjoy reading my blog and would like to nominate me under the Best
Newcomer category, I would be immensely grateful. Just click on this link and you’ll be taken to the page where you can nominate my blog. Thank you!
BPD Awareness Month
I’m not doing very well at
keeping up with things this week, as this awareness month was actually in May,
not June! But it doesn’t really matter, as awareness can be raised at any point
in time. BPD stands for a mental illness called Borderline Personality
Disorder, which is something I suffer with, along with hundreds of other
people. I was diagnosed last year, and to be honest am still trying to get my
head around exactly what it means. The biggest thing I’ve figured out so far is
that Personality Disorders are surrounded by a huge amount of stigma, which is
very unhelpful for both the sufferers and other people trying to understand
them. I’m thinking of doing a bigger post about BPD at some point, but for now,
if you’d like to know more, check out the Mind website for an easy to understand explanation.
What has grabbed your attention this
week? I love hearing about people’s new discoveries and you may end up sharing
something that makes it onto my list next week!
You might remember that, a
month or so ago, I did a post reviewing lots of different hot chocolates. It
went down so well that I’ve decided to look into reviewing other products, the
first of which will be teas! I’m a massive fan of teas – herbal, fruit
infusions and even your bog standard cuppa. I’ve been stocking up with various
brands so I can start my taste testing, which has meant lots of tea in the post
over the last couple of weeks. A particularly exciting parcel came this week,
and I opened it to find these adorable (can tea be adorable?!) Teapigs sample packs. I’m
so excited to get tasting them, so keep your eyes peeled for a review post
soon!
Gardening
I’m using the term
gardening fairly loosely – I don’t want you thinking I’m some sort of
green-fingered miracle worker! I’d love to be better at gardening and rather
fancy the idea of growing my own vegetables. I’d like nothing more than to have
a beautiful cottage garden blooming with colours and fragrances throughout the
year. But, sadly, I’m nowhere near that at the moment. But, this week I made a
start on my dream by planting some sunflower and sweet pea seeds. The last time
I grew sunflowers I was in Infant School, so probably about 5 or 6. My
sunflower was amazing though and grew so tall, so I’m keeping my fingers
crossed that I’ll be just as successful this time round. I’m also really hoping
my sweet peas will grow, as it’s not the ideal time to plant them – I should
have done it a few months ago but never got round to it, so here’s hoping I
might just be lucky.
Snail Mail
As I mentioned last week, I’m
trying to take a step back from social media at the moment, as I need to focus
on my life and getting through one day at a time. In some ways it has been
great – I’m not constantly reading about other people doing the things I’d like
to be doing and have had more time to focus on my family and doing little
things for myself. But, I’m also finding I feel more lonely and wonder what I’m
missing out on. There’s no pleasing me obviously! Saying that, a few friends
have continued to send me post, which has been much appreciated. I know a lot
of people don’t like to send post when they may not get a quick reply, and I
can understand that, but I am so grateful that I have some friends who don’t
mind not receiving a reply and continue to send post to cheer me up.
Some of the snail mail I've received this week
What has grabbed your attention this
week? I love hearing about people’s new discoveries and you may end up sharing
something that makes it onto my list next week!
