Goodbye 2018, Hello 2019

Despite my extremely long, probably a bit too long, break from here, it seems only right to do my annual New Years post. 2018 has been... an interesting year to say the least. I finished my first year of uni and if I do say so myself, smashed it. I took the plunge to leave a job I hated and start a brand new one, which was probably the best thing I did all year. I've met some amazing people already and i've only been there for three months! I moved into a new house with my best friends. I got into, and quickly out of, a relationship. I travelled, got my first tattoo the list goes on. Despite a few low moments, 2018 was an amazing year. I took a lot of time out from social media, particularly my blog. It was, unfortunately, neglected for a lot of 2018. However, it allowed me to step back and see the bigger picture. I do love blogging, and its ultimately what i'd love to do in the future. I've ran this blog for almost four years now, and I know I can take it so much further.

Bedroom Decor Ideas (Before)

First of all, before I get into anything, I want to just say a HUGE thank you to you all. After being gone for so long, it is so heartwarming to come back and still have all you gorgeous people here, reading and commenting! It means the world to me!

Where Have I Been?

Wow. It feels so strange to be back sitting here typing away. It's been almost a year since I properly sat down and wrote.

Welcome Back

I can not tell you how strange it feels to be back behind the computer screen, typing away... Oh, how I have missed this! Blogging is a huge part of my life and has given me so many opportunities that I will forever be thankful for.

January Favourites*

Here we go- my first ever favourites post. I have never posted one before, purely because I never feel like I buy and try enough products each month to justify dedicating a post to them. However, with Christmas and my birthday over, I have been introduced to so many new items, which I feel is finally enough to make a favourites post!

Goodbye 2016, Hello 2017

Well, 2016 is almost complete and what a year it has been! It only feels like yesterday that I was sitting down at the end of 2015, writing my goals and resolutions for this year. 2016 has gone unbelievably fast, and despite having so many lows, I am so proud to say that I have achieved almost all of the goals I set myself. Like I said last year, setting goals is so important. I find that this motivates me and gives me a chance to reflect on the year gone by.

Merry Christmas & Christmas Home Touches

Hi everyone! I want to start this post by wishing all my gorgeous readers a very merry Christmas!! I hope you all have a wonderful day and spend it with the ones you love the most!

I haven't been able to post half as much as I have wanted to this month, due to work commitments, which is so annoying! I have taken so many photos and typed up so many posts, but have not been 100% happy with them. I am such a perfectionist, so when I hit publish I want to be sure everything is perfect! But nevertheless I really hope you have all enjoyed the posts I have managed to get up!!

Today I thought I would share with you a few little snaps of some of the Christmas decorations in my home this year. Nothing gets you in the festive mood more than a few little christmas decorations, so as you can imagine, our house is filled with them!

Once again, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a happy new year, although I will be back before then!

Darriyan xx

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Christmas Playlist

Christmas isn't Christmas without music. I don't know about any of you but I start blasting the Christmas tunes early October. Now that the Christmas ads are being shown, and Mariah Carey is slowly creeping onto the radio, I think its more than acceptable to start with the Christmas songs.  I thought I would put together a cute little Christmas playlist for you all to listen to over the holidays, filled with the best songs! You can't pretend it isn't almost Christmas anymore! So give in, press play, turn up the volume and dance around your house like a crazy person to this playlist!

Sparkler Fun!

Okay, so I should probably start off this post with a hugeeee explanation! I know, I've been away for so long. Almost a whole month, and I can't tell you how much I have missed blogging. To tell you the truth I have been ridiculously busy, working 3 days a week and being at college the other 4, leaves me with hardly any time to dedicate to blogging. I had so many Autumn/Halloween themed posts lined up but everything seemed to be going wrong. I tried to bake Halloween treats... they didn't turn out right and I wasn't happy with the pictures. I tried to do an outfit post... when I got to the woods my camera battery died. Everything has been going so wrong for me and to be honest, I kinda hit a slump. I have had complete writer's block and found no motivation to write. But honestly, having some time away has really made me realise how much I love what I do! So I'm back... just in time for my favourite season... Christmas! And I know it's only November but come on! It's so close! I'm sitting writing this post with a hot chocolate listening to my Christmas playlist! What could be more perfect?

Weekly Summary #1

Hi everyone! I don't normally do these kind of posts because I feel that my weeks are always the same. I have the same routine, week in,week out so I feel that everyone would get bored or reading about college, then work, then college, then work. You get the drift.

My Blog Turns One!

As of yesterday, my blog has been live for a year. A whole year! It completely blows my mind that I have been sitting here for 365 days, sharing my thoughts and feelings with you all. Where does the time go?!

Why I Can't Wait For Autumn

Its almost October! Which can only mean one thing... Autumn! Without a doubt, Autumn and Winter are my favourite time of the year. It is definitely when I'm my happiest. Even though Autumn doesn't officially start until the 22nd September, according to google, who cares?? I've been feeling autumnal since the beginning of September! I thought today I would share with you some of the reasons I can't wait for autumn to officially start!

How To Stay Motivated

I know I know. It's that time of the year when we all go back to school, college or work and you find yourself loosing motivation. It happens to the best of us, and if it doesn't well, how do you do it?! I always find this happens to me. I have been back to college one day and I can already feel the motivation draining out of me. So today I thought I would help some of you out by sharing my top tips for staying motivated during this time of year!

Saying Goodbye To Summer

As summer comes to an end, I thought it would be a good idea to share with you some of my favorite memories this summer and the people them have spent it with. I can honestly say that Summer this year has been amazing and I have spent it surrounded by the best people! So be prepared for some pretty cheesy lines...

Blog Photography Tips

Each time I whip out my camera and take a photo, I strive to make it better than the last one. It is my way of expressing my creativity. I love anything visual and to me, photography is one of the most important parts of a blog. By no means am I, or claiming to be a professional photographer, or saying these are the only ways you should take photos. Everyone has different photography styles, and finding out what works for you, and the equipment you own is so important. I take photos because I enjoy doing it. Its my hobby. Its my passion (alongside writing of course). There is nothing more satisfying than capturing a memory in a photo, something you can look back on years down the line. I know that there are many of you reading this,who don't feel as confident in photography as others,which is why I hope this post will help you out and allow you to learn something new!

Primark Homeware Haul

After reading Alice's blog post about how to survive in Primark, which by the way, was extremely accurate, I realised that I hadn't had a Primark splurge in what seems like forever. I was praying that they had started bringing out their autumn range, but to my great disappointment they hadn't.

Holiday To Prestatyn

I've never ever done any kind of travel post before so I literally have no idea what I'm doing here, I just know i am dying to post some of these pictures. Last week me and my family travelled to Prestatyn in North Wales.  As you may have noticed, due to my lack of social media use, the internet there was absolutely terrible which is why I never got round to posting my monthly favourites. Despite having no wifi for a whole week, in a way it was good because it gave me a chance to step away from my phone and laptop and just enjoy myself and spent time with my family. Me and my family got really lucky with the weather and only had one rainy day. Every other day was full of sunshine and was boiling! I loved every second I spent there and was so sad to come back! 

Day Out In Birmingham

I know i don't normally post on a Tuesday, but i thought, why not? Yesterday I had a lovely day, exploring Birmingham with my very good friend Jamie and I took some lovely photos I just needed to share! He needed to get some shots for his blog, which I will leave below, so we decided to go together! Me, being the blogger I am, took this opportunity to also take my own pictures too! 

Sometimes Life Takes Over...

So, as  you may know I have not posted for a while now. And the only reason I have for that, is that there has been a LOT going on in my personal life.

How I Stay Organised

Staying organised is one of the most important things to me. With all my college work I sometimes forget to blog and then I end up rushing the post and it's not the best it could be... (I was terrible at blogging last year... but I think i'm doing better this one!) If you're anything like I was and you struggle at managing all your work, hopefully this post will help you. I've found little ways of staying organised which has helped me so much!