h is for happy: week 25

Hello lovely people. I hope you all had a very good weekend. Another week, eh?! Hopefully, this post will give you something to smile about and will banish those Monday blues. I'm currently on my way back from Plymouth so I'll no doubt need an extra boost of happiness today. Have a good week sweets! I think I'm being trained up in my new job this week so wish me luck :)

121; sipping on refreshing drinks in the sun

122; completing all my chores

123; wholesome homemade food

 124; trying new things and breaking out of my comfort zone

125; making daisychains 

There you have it. I hope you enjoyed this weeks picks! Have a very good week sweethearts. I'll be back tomorrow with another month summary. Hello March, please be kind. What's keeping you happy at the moment? Let me know!

Busy Bee 007

This week I've been;

delving into my imagination •  viewing a horrendous amount of Coach Trip • feeling very proud of myself • snapping away •   anticipating this weekend • wishing I could have the patience to start another book •  doing an unhealthy amount of day dreaming.

Goal achievements;

This week I attended a second job interview at a holiday park, eep! I'd never been to a group interview before so it was a bit of a surreal experience. We had a few team building exercises thrust upon us that were slightly odd but I guess they all made sense in some way. Hello throwing balls at one another?! We were also told to turn to the person left of us and find out 2 facts about them that we didn't know before...This was slightly awkward because I was sat next to my step-sister unbeknownst to them! Although, it meant that we could give each other a kickass introduction to the rest of the group ;) I'm very proud to say that I was offered a job in the shop! I am so proud of myself. After 2 months of unemployment I've finally got something. Sure, it's not ideal hours/pay but I really like the people I'm working with and I'm looking forward to giving Rory the Tiger some cuddles!  I haven't really crossed any other goals off this week but I have worked towards my goal of paying off my in laws by saving £100 ;) I've also worked towards my driving goal thanks to another *belated* driving lesson. I managed to master the art of the three point turn. For some reason we also practiced that skill in a road that is reknowned for dogging activity...perhaps rendering it slightly more useful? Haha!

Posts I loved...

Kaelah's weekly wedding posts instantly turn me into the typical girly girl dreaming of dresses, locations and themes for my fairytale wedding. However, this weeks post really pulled on my heartstrings. It featured a gorgeous couple who had decided to base their engagement photos on scenes from The Notebook! Oh dear god, they broke my heart and made me want to weep! Go check it out HERE.

I also loved Celeste's little catch up post on her blog wanderlust. Honestly, I am such a sucker for food blogs/posts about food. This little post had lots of yummy treats in! Am I the only one that loves a blog 100x more if there's food on it?! Hahaa. I also loved Elsie's little '3 Ways to Wear' post. She's so beautiful and inspirational. I love how she styled this particular way up in such different ways. Definitely a must-see!

My week in posts;

Not one to break from tradition, Monday saw me dish out a weekly dose of happiness to all my lovely readers. I'm glad some of you agreed with the whole 'NO SEAGULLS' thing. I live in a seaside town and they're the bane of my life. On Wednesday, I documented my weight battle and celebrated the fact that I've put on weight and have finally been discharged from my dietician. I loved reading all your supportive comments. I'm glad you all thought it was written in the appropriate way. I was a tad nervous! I think it's just good to be truthful to myself and admit that these things have happened to me but I'm strong enough to move on and beat them. Friday saw me produce another installment of the newly named 'Snap Happy'. I hope you all liked this weeks offerings. I've already got started on next weeks 'What If' post ;) Exciting stuff!

A few ladies to follow: give a very warm welcome back to Kelly, newbie Charlie and the beautiful Ebony.

snap happy 007

19th-25thfeb:

Hello pretty people! Welcome to another installment of the newly titled 'Snap Happy' feature ;) I seem to have taken a plethora of photos of various things this week!   I hope you've all had a lovely week! If you follow me on Twitter you'll know that I got the job! Eeep, I'm so happy and thankful! It's only a retail assistant job but hey, that's all there is! This is actually a scheduled post because right now I would've just arrived in Plymouth to go spend the weekend with the boy and to view our new flat for the first time! Eeeep. It's making me so happy to think that there is not long to go now until he's home! Anyway,  enjoy!

001; Bacon and fried egg sarnie. What a healthy way to start the day, right?! As you can see, I fried the egg to within an inch of its life ;) I like it crispy round the edges. Of course, after I snapped this photo I smothered in it ketchup. So so good!

002; Me, myself and I. I thought I'd take a little snap on my horrendous webcam seeing as I'd made the effort to put my face on. I quite like taking photos for these posts because I never used to take a lot of myspace-esque snaps of myself! Haha.

003; Easter delights. I thought I'd indulge a little after my dietician appointment so I purchased this little babies. Oh, they were so satisfying! There's something about Easter that makes me want to indulge like a mad woman. You won't catch me giving up food for lent ;)

004; My little note from Vicki. I received my giveaway goodies from the lovely Vicki this week. This is the little note that came with her. She'd left the prizes in her car and forgot about them so she apologised in the note. N'aww, I am in love with my prizes! Thanks again :)

005; My little picnic. I was so tired on Tuesday after my busy day so I came home, put my pjs on and trundled off to bed with a little picnic. I think I have an addiction to Kettle Chips!

006; Charles and his ribbon. Charles and I decided not to move from my bed on Sunday so we had to amuse ourselves with whatever was in arms reach. Thankfully, I found my Crown and Glory packaging so I dangled the gorgeous ribbon around and he had the best fun ever trying to catch it. It definitely saved my hands from getting scratched/bitten! He's a playful old man at times.

007; Jamie's 30 Minute Meals. Ha, yet another food reference! I like to finish my evenings off by watching various food shows even though I know it'll make me starving! Jamie was my show of choice on this particular night. I really love this little series! 

008; Crazy webcam fun. The boy and I were messing around on Skype pulling faces but he refused to have his face put on here because his hair is a crazy 'fro at the moment. You will just have to stare at my face instead. Check out how massive my chin is in one of them.  

009; Angry boy. Charles and I are usually the only people (uh, i know he's a cat) to be left in the house in the daytime so we like to chill out and have a chat. He was having an off day the other day so he was lazing about with this angry face on refusing to say hello to me. He's a naughty boy sometimes. 

010; Nails. I decided to just chill out, do a face mask and paint my nails one of the evenings this week. I love just taking time out from the world to pamper myself every now and again. I was wearing my Wonder Woman tee to bed so I decided to paint my nails the usual red with a burst of glittery blue!

011; My face. Corr, there's a lot of my face on here isn't there?! I swear I'm not self-obsessed. I just want to document my face more, haha.

012; Giveaway prizes. A while ago I won the giveaway over at Magpie Girl. Here's what I won :) I am already completely in love with the satchel, haha!

013; Ebay. I relisted this little leopard print tote bag the other week so I thought I'd post it over here to see if it takes any of you ladies & gents fancy ;) The starting bid is 99p so go over HERE now and grab a bargain! 

I hope you've enjoyed this weeks post! I'll be back on Sunday for another 'Busy Bee' post (: Have a good weekend whatever you choose to do with it.

a quick thought: a weight off my mind...

(Two ridiculously damaging statements that I do not condone. Thought I'd best put a disclaimer!)

This week I was discharged from my dietician because I have finally reached a healthy weight after months of struggling to put anything on. With this in mind, and the fact that its Eating Disorders Awareness week, I thought I'd write a post about how far I've come since my weight battle began.

I haven't really mentioned this on my blog before or to many bloggers but I've been struggling with my weight since the beginning of last year. My illness (Crohns Disease) meant weight just fell off of me - goodbye womanly curves and lady lumps! As weight dropped off, I started to get myself into the habit of hopping on the scales to see how much had gone. It was a horrific habit and I found myself losing interest in food altogether. My illness left me so fatigued that I couldn't even muster up the energy to eat even if I'd wanted to. As a result of this, my weight plummeted to just over 7 stone. An eighteen year old girl, 5ft10 and 7 stone. It's safe to say I looked gaunt, ghostly and malnourished. Everyone was worried for me - friends, family, school friends I hadn't seen for years....I'd always been the tall girl with classic pale 'English rose' skin and 50's curves.What had happened?!

 (The first two photos depict my years at Sixth Form. I was a healthy size 14. I had boobies (hello second photo) and hips and looked so good in dresses. The last two photos depict July of last year - one month before my diagnosis. I never realised just how ill I looked but looking back now..It's quite clear P.S Yes, in the 3rd photo I am wearing a top with my face on).

I knew my weight had become quite a prominent issue when I bumped into an old school aquaintance who had suffered from anorexia nervosa for years. She pulled me aside saying if I ever needed her or wanted to talk about my 'illness' then she was there for me because she understood. This perhaps shocked me into realising that I needed to get help. Did I look that small?! Had it actually become a problem? Did I really look like I was suffering from an eating disorder? It's perhaps highly ironic that at one of my lowest weights I was scouted by one of the world's top modelling agencies. They said they liked my look and that I was perfect for them. I was stunned to say the least. For years, people had always looked at my legs and said to me 'you should be a model'. It was only now that I'd lost an unhealthy amount of weight that they'd picked me up! After much deliberation, I decided it wasn't for me. I don't particularly agree with the image they give off and I certainly didn't want to become a 'thinspiration' for teens around the world. Lets not forget I was also highly ill at this point and needed great medical care and support!

I returned to the dietician yesterday to find that I'd put on a stone since October and that I'm now within a healthy weight bracket. I'm now feeling a lot more confident within myself and within my own body. I'm also extremely proud of myself for turning things around before it was too late. Obviously, I am in no way suggesting that I suffered from an eating disorder. I didn't see it that way at least. I guess I just wanted to get this post out there so that I could finally bury that part of my life and look forward to a curvier future! I also wanted to just get a message across to all you girlies about body image. I don't want to sound like Gok Wan but honestly ladies, you are beautiful! Don't live your life by the size of your waist. You are a human being with feelings, experiences and great potential. Live your life regardless of whether or not your thighs are larger than you'd want or whether your boobs need an industrial sized hammock to stay up north. You are so much more than a number on  a scale - so prove it, flaunt it and for gods sake stay away from the cabbage soup diet!


If you would like some advice regarding weight problems/eating disorders/self esteem I've provided a few useful helplines below. Just remember girls, keep smiling and keep healthy!

Beat Personal Best: 
A website for young people struggling with issues. It promotes recovery and sees young people inspiring/supporting one another to get the best from life.  It's definitely a go-to site for support!

B-eat (Beat Eating Disorders):
Helpline: 0845 634 1414 
Youthline 0845 634 7650   
Website: www.b-eat.co.uk

Overeaters Anonymous:

Website: http://www.oagb.org.uk/
Helpline: 07000 784 985

National Centre for Eating Disorders:
Helpline: 0845 838 2040
Web: www.eating-disorders.org.uk

P.S Here's my ultimate advice for those worrying about their body this summer.....

h is for happy: week 24

Corr, another week has passed! It feels extraordinarily weird to think that March is soon upon us! Oh well, I'm not complaining! I'm tired of these melancholic past few months and need a little bit of the joy and prosperity that spring brings! Welcome to another installment of 'H is for Happy' - my weekly countdown of the things that put a smile on my face. I've got a relatively busy week this week. I've been called up about the job and have been asked to go for a second interview tomorrow! Wish me luck :) I hope you all have a lovely week whatever you choose to do with it. By the way, last night I was told that I'm #5 on the up and coming lifestyle blogs. How bloody lovely!

116; a good old fashioned love story

117; listening to the birds sing (NOT SEAGULLS!) 

  

118; educating myself on various things

119; online browsing whilst pretending i have a millionaire's budget

120; getting kitted out in fancy dress

I'm posting my EBAY items today as well as snapping photos for a new lot of items that I'll hopefully put up this week! Marvellous. Expect owl jewellery, vintage style scarves, gold glittery leggings (wow!) and leopard print. What are you lot up to this week? I'm a nosey bitch so I'd love to know! Keep smiling sweets.

Busy Bee 006

 (I thought I'd give you a combo of photos depicting how i wind down for the night. Basically, I forgot to snap some of myself earlier.)
 

Goal achievements;

It's been discussed in the media in great depth so I'm sure you're all aware of the UK's current youth unemployment rate. Little old me racks up one of those little statistics because I've been struggling to find work for near enough two months now! I've really been working towards my goal of eventually finding a job this week though. Firstly, I applied for a receptionist position on Monday and then I attended a job fair yesterday which saw me give my best interview yet!! I even mentioned my article in the paper and my little blog. She seemed very impressed by little Viva. N'aww. Wish me luck people - I find out soon whether I was successful!! 

I was also able to cross off my 'sell things on EBAY' goal because I did exactly that! I'm very thankful for the little bit of cash it got me. It definitely helps! I'll be dispatching the items on Monday when the post office re-opens. I hope they don't mind me sending off so many things :/ I'm gunna be putting more things on soon so keep an eye out! I also managed to  cross off my 'have a duvet day with the sister' goal. I think it's so important to keep a good relationship with your siblings and being the oldest I always feel like I have to take great care of the little cubs. The little cub was off school 'cause she was ill so I made her soup, changed her hot water bottle and watch Pocahontas with her (: Lovely! This also worked towards my 'watch 500 films' goal. On Friday, I got a call from my Mama saying my article I sent last week had been published in the local newspaper! I was so amazed to see my face/my story in the paper, haha. You can read it here. It meant I could cross off my goal to get something published! It's been quite a good week goal wise! Next week I want to have thought about writing more things and to have started to read a novel. I also of course want to be able to cross off my 'find a job' goal!! 

Posts I've loved....

I really enjoyed the return of Gem's Tuesday Tip this week! It definitely was a corker. If, like me, you've always been reluctant to paint your nails with a glittery polish fear not because Gem has the answer! That beautiful lady should honestly write a book. I've told her that before ;) 

Another feature I'm loving at the moment is the lovely Michelle's 'Way to Wear'. Every Wednesday she offers up her styling knowledge and in turn gives us a multitude of ways to wear wardrobe basics. It definitely helps people like me who can't style things interestingly for toffee! This week saw the turn of the traditional denim shorts. Go take a peek if you want some inspiration for some fun summer outfits ;)

My week in posts;

As usual, I started the week off with a dose of happiness! Monday's can be so gloomy so it's essential for me to write those little bursts of happiness. My next post saw me ponder my ideal dinner party and I loooved reading all the responses. There was definitely some interesting choices and I think it helped me to get to know my readers a lot better! I'm enjoying having a feature that everyone can really get involved in. It's definitely a keeper! My week in photos post saw me bare a make-up free face and shared photos from my cousin's wedding. Everyone said they loved my hair, haha! My dad dragged me out the house before I could do anything to it so it's au naturalé and I haven't had it dyed/cut for 2 months. Haha. Glad you like my imperfections though ;) Thanks for your kind words about my make-up free face too. It's quite liberating to not really wear anything. I think more girlies should realise how empowering it is and bare all. I've also decided to rename my Friday post 'Snap Happy'. Makes it a little more fresh ;)

Plans;

This coming week will see me  send off EBAY items, hear about the job, go driving, view my new flat and go and see Luke. Lovely Jubbly! It's not jam packed but it'll have to do. I hope you all have had a lovely weekend and have a good week. I'm not very well today so tweet/comment me and keep my mind occupied!


A few to follow? the uber talented Ella, the sweeter than sweet Ayden and the super stylish Jessica.

snap happy 006

11th-18th feb:

It's been an interesting week. There's been ups and downs and I think it's a week I'll look back on and feel a bit indifferent towards it. I hope you like this weeks selection of photos. The first bundle are from the family wedding I went to last weekend.The last photo is me baring all. Well, not naked. My face is naked, haha. Sorry to all you little pervs out there ;) Lemme know what you've been up to this week in a comment. i'll see you Sunday for another 'Busy Bee' post. Eeep, one week today til I see the boy. Roll on. P.S There's not long left on my Ebay items so why not take a peek at them HERE.

001; Grandma's chairlift. We were staying at my Aunty's/Grandma's house whilst they were all at the hotel so of course the first thing we wanted to do was find the key for Grandma's stairlift. I used my intuition and found it pdq! All four of us siblings had a go at it - my god it was a thrill! I'm on the left. My brother (pulling the world's oddest face) and my sister are on the right. 

002; Sisterly Love. My mamabear wanted some photos of my sister and I to go on her desk at work so we obliged. We couldn't resist taking a stupid thumbs up one too! My legs look insane :/

003; Wedding Fun! The photo on the far left depicts my sisters and I having a boogie to the live band. The lead singer looked like Ryan Gosling - HELLO SAILOR ;) The middle photo is of all us siblings together. My brother refused to stand any closer to us, hahaha! The third photo got interrupted by my cousin, her boyfriend and my uncle. I love how my Grandma's just casually sat in the back of this photo, haha.

004; Love. Luke and I tried to get some decent photographs of us on our anniversary! It didn't exactly go to plan. You can see in the photo on the right that the free bar took its toll and my eyes shrivelled up. Does anyone elses eyes do that? The middle photo is of me, my sisters and my cousin towards the end of the night hence my ghetto fab pose!

005; Oreos & Milk. Ooof, just what you need to cheer up your day! There's nothing better than a few cheeky oreos and some whole milk! I have to drink whole milk at the orders of my dietician. I'm going back next week to find out if I've put on weight and if I'm now at a healthy BMI (: Eeep, wish me luck!

006; Good bowl of soup! I kept looking and my blog and seeing the lovely selection of soups on my 'What If...' post so I had to have soup for lunch on two consecutive days! I love a good bit of fresh bread and butter with it too. Om nom! I did make myself a BLT earlier in the week that was immense but I ate it before I could snap it :/

007; Scrubs. I adore Scrubs. I have all the box sets and can pretty much narrate some episodes word for word. It's just one of my go-to shows. I tend to watch about 4 episodes a day at the moment. Oh god, I need a job! Ha. By the way, the giraffe to the left of the TV is called Gerald. My mam likes to talk to him. 

008; Work of art! God, this post is a little bit food orientated. I felt like I needed some goodies to cheer me up so I went straight for the blueberry muffins. As you can see, I kinda couldn't wait to eat it and had to photograph it halfway through ;) 

009; Charles and I. I'm rocking the barefaced look here! I don't really wear make-up much so feel free to be hatin' on my plain jane skin. Haha. I looooove my kitty so much. He's my cute little muffin and I talk to him about everything from current affairs to doggies walking past the window. Yes,  I'm a crazy cat lady.

Have a lovely weekend ladies and gents. I hope it's a good'un. I don't really have any plans apart from going to an employment fair. YAY! Hello sarcasm. Keep smiling bebs.

what if [#2]: i could hold my ideal dinner party featuring 3 guests, 1 menu & 1 band.

I loved reading all your responses to last week's 'What If...' post that saw me ponder an extravagant tour of the world. Each week I'll be mentioning my favourite comment that contained my reader's very own thoughts on the title. I think one of my favourites last week was Lizzie's little imaginary journey. She said that she'd 'choose the pyramids in Egypt, a trip to Venice, New York as (she's) never been.....'. She also said she'd love to do a 'mini UK tour' embracing 'Northern Ireland, some of the islands off the coast of Scotland and the pretty British countryside'. I certainly LOVE travelling in the UK. There's so many stunning places!

This week's 'what if' stems from a favoured dinner table conversation in the Vivatramp household. Our dinnertime is spent discussing various possibilities such as this one so I thought I'd discuss it here. This was an incredibly difficult scenario to digest. There's just so many people you forget and then query why you didn't include them! Therefore, I decided to keep it relatively simple! I'm allowed 3 guests,  1 menu of my choice and 1 band at my imaginary dinner party. The guests are allowed to be either dead or alive. Lets get started!

3 dinner party guests;

Oh my, this was quite complex! I was going to offer up more than just three but I realised less is more ;) I wanted to ensure that each individual guest brought something new to the table - excuse the pun. This would ensure that the conversation would be fresh, interesting and flowing throughout the evening. Okay, lets introduce the guests! My first guest is the intellectually sound Stephen Fry. His thirst for knowledge and impeccable ability to out-wit many really inspires me and I'm also rather envious of all the things he's managaed to accompolish throughout his life. He'd be able to engage in conversation about a range of different things from travel to language to history so I think he's the perfect candidate! My second guest? One of my favourite writers, Sylvia Plath. I'm not sure if any of you know but I absolutely adore literature, writing and anything that involves language so it'd be strange for me to not have a writer at my dinner party. She's such an inspiration to me. She really told it like it was and wasn't afraid to challenge perceptions. I think that's unbelievably admirable. If only she wasn't unhappy enough to take her own life. A great shame. One of my favourite Plath quotes is:

'I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in life. And I am horribly limited' 

 
My third guest? I've been interested in eating food for 18 years now so it'd be silly of me to not invite one of my favourite cooks along. I've noted my love for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall on many occasions so you're probably aware of how much I adore his passion for all things edible. I really love just how much he advocates traditional homecooked food and the campaigns he fights for in order to change the public's way of thinking.It'd be really interesting to get to discuss things with the man himself and perhaps debate a little.

the menu;

My ideal menu would be a plentiful, eclectic and bloody gorgeous feast of different cuisines. I wouldn't want to follow too much of a theme because I think it'd be fun to have my guests enjoy various textures and tastes. I'm a big foodie and appreciate lots of different things so I think the menu reflects me and my personality perfectly!

Starter: A plethora of different soups with slices of warm homemade bread. 

Last year, I really struggled with my weight and eating but I dragged myself through it by ensuring that I ate a whole lot of soup! I think it's so under rated. I think people see it as a poor man's staple but you can honestly make some gorgeous soups that out-shine most other typical starters. Having said that, some of my favourite soups are bog standard favourites like Butternut Squash, Leek and Tomato. Soups are also the perfect cure for unhappy thoughts and can certainly put a smile on faces even in the toughest of times!  

Main: A feast of different dishes, cuisines and tastes from around the world.

I'd have a massive banquet featuring all of my favourite dishes. I adore 'tea time' food so I think the best way to illustrate that is to offer up an eclectic mix for my guests to enjoy. I'd lay on some traditional English food with plenty of roast meats, bowls of roast parsnips/potatoes, yorkie puds and fresh vegetables. I'm also the sort of person that likes lashings of gravy over my roast so  there would have to be bucket loads on offer! I'm absolutely mad for Chinese food. I honestly think I crave it on a daily basis so it'd definitely have to play a part in my ideal dinner party. I'd lay on chow meins, sweet and sour dishes, prawn toast, spare ribs, egg fried rice, oriental curries,  crispy duck pancakes, spring rolls, crispy chilli beef, chicken satays amongst other favourites I've forgotten. Corr blimey! What I wouldn't give for a Chinese feast right now ;) From China onto Italy, no dinner party of mine would be complete without some carb full Italian dishes. I'd offer pasta in a tomatoey sauce, a creamy salmon tagiatelle, chicken leek and bacon pasta, hoisin duck pasta and a traditional bolognese. Obviously, there'd be plenty of garlic bread on offer to accompany these delights! Oh god, I think I'm going to stop there before this gets even more like food porn ;) Haha! (Big apologies to all the people that just got diverted here because I used the P word...it's probably not quite what you were looking for, huh?!). 

Dessert: A trio of desserts: A rich indulgent chocolate dream, warm Apple Pie with cream and a Strawberry Shortbread flavoured cheesecake. Nice and fattening.

Traditionally, when I'm taken out for dinner (rarely happens!) I opt for the most rich indulgent chocolate dessert there is so it'd be a crime for Hot Chocolate Fudge Cake to not appear on my menu! I don't understand people that say it's 'too sickly'. Isn't that the indulgent beauty of it? It makes you feel like you're in heaven, haha. My second option would be a traditional apple pie. It reminds me of home, family and warmth. You can't really go wrong with it to be honest! Although, I guess it can be quite heavy which would probably be a nightmare after the gigantic main course! This is why I added my third option of Strawberry Shortbread Cheesecake! It's a lot lighter than the other two desserts which is a bonus I guess. I think there's something so pleasing about cheesecake too. It doesn't really feel naughty! 

1 band: The Cure

As a big music fan, it was extremely difficult to pick just one band! I thought I'd opt for one of my favourite all time bands 'The Cure'. If you were just going on the photos you'd think that they were horrifically gothic and heavy. However, this is not the case. They actually produce some of the most beautiful melodic music I've ever heard.  What I find most inspirational about their songs is that there is just so many different levels and sounds that come together to make such a powerful sound. Shitty 'hip' acts today should bloody take note! My music taste is unbelievably eclectic but I think that's the beauty of it all. Music responds to your feelings, takes note of them, attempts to therapise and in turn makes you feel a whole lot better. It's definitely one of my favourite releases.

It's now over to you....Who would you invite? What do you think of my choices? I loved reading all your comments on last weeks post. It gave me a lot more inspiration for future travels! I'll mention my favourite response at the start of next weeks 'What If' post so get thinking ;) P.S There's only a couple of days left on my ebay items so why not go check them out HERE!

h is for happy: week 23

Hello lovelies, welcome to another installment of 'H is for Happy' - the post that offers up all the small things in life that put a huge smile on my face. I had an amazing weekend. The wedding was lovely and there was a free bar that I took full advantage of. I received some lovely anniversary gifts from my boyfriend and wept incessantly when I had to say goodbye. It's so difficult at the moment. Oh well, let the two week countdown commence. I'm looking forward to eating and tweeting away my blues on Twtter tonight with my Team LDR girlies ;) I hope you all had an amazing weekend and have a really good week.

111; giving and receiving suprise gifts

 

112; people with good manners

113; immersing myself in current affairs

114; chilling out on the beach in summer (HURRY UP!)

115; my valentine

I hope you liked this weeks picks (: What's making you happy at the moment? Whether you celebrate Valentines Day or not I hope you have a lovely day today and remember - someone somewhere thinks a whole lot about you and you never know when you might stumble upon them. Keep smiling sweets.

Busy Bee 005

(I apologise for the quality. I have really shakey hands so I can't take photos without something to lean out/a tripod!)

Achieving my goals!
 It's been quite a productive week for me! I started the week by sending off my article on Crohn's Disease to a journalist with the local paper. I'm not really expecting it to get published. It was more about the experience for me and getting back into the swing of writing things away from the blog. It also helped me to cross off another goal! I also managed to get my EBAY things sorted so let's hope I'm able to cross of my 'sell things on EBAY' goal soon! I was an EBAY virgin so this helped me to work towards my 'try new things' goal. I also managed to get one early night this week. Although, it really didn't make me feel any better and actually gave me a worse nights sleep than usual :/ Go figure! I pulled at the purse strings and finally bought a 16-25 railcard! That's another goal met and crossed off. I also organised a South West bloggers meet up so come June I'll be able to cross of my 'meet another blogger' goal! I'm proud of this weeks productivity.

Go buy my clothes, jewellery, bags and books!
I'm struggling for money at the moment and with no jobs starting until mid March I felt it was time to have a rummage and see what I could sell on Ebay! You can have a look at what I've got on offer HERE. I've got owl jewellery, Hello Kitty clothing, Topshop, tartan, floral and studs as well as many other things. Every little penny certainly counts! It'll all go to the savings fund for my future and the flat. It's very much appreciated so why not go grab yourself a bargain?! Everything starts at 99p. Thanks. I'll also be willing to add worldwide prices ;)

Posts I've loved and loathed...

I stumbled across this absolutely disgusting article the other day entitled 'A Beginners Guide To Drugs for Girls'. I was absolutely sickened by it. Don't get me wrong, it usually takes a lot to offend me but this piece with its advice 'not to go over three pills' was just wrong and insensitive. Read it for yourself HERE. It wasn't funny. I don't care if that was its intentions.

On a completely different note, the gorgeous Gem posted about her turbulent relationship with her father HERE. It was something that really hit home for me and I got a lot of 'comfort' out of it knowing that I wasn't alone. She articulated herself perfectly and once again didn't fail to illustrate how amazing and brave she really is. She's an inspiration to me. 

Another post that really got me thinking was the lovely Lauren's.  It really spoke volumes. It also covered a lot of the things I'd been thinking about recently. Furthermore, go check out her new layout and gorgeous blog illustrations. It looks beautiful. I can't wait to see what she's going to post about next (: It's inspirational to see a blogger trying to break out and stay true to themselves.

My week in posts;

It's been a very busy week over here! Scroll over the sentences to get a link over to each post! In true 'vivatramp' style, I started the week off by exploring more things that put a smile on my face. Tuesday saw a brief introduction of my new Wednesday feature 'What If'. Week one saw me exploring where I'd go if I were to take an extravagant tour around the world. Thursday saw me break some exciting news about the South West blogger meet up! Lyzi and I have had lots of interest - it's gunna be fun to organise! Haha. If you have any ideas on what the itinerary should include or wish to help with the organisation please feel free to email us (: As always, Friday saw another week in photos. This weeks offering depicting money counting, Ebaying and eggs! I also professed my love for the boy on our 1st anniversary yesterday. Phew, what a busy week of posts!

This weekend;

 Admittedly, this is a scheduled post because as you read this I'll be enduring a car journey with my father, stepmum, boyfriend, 2 younger sisters and younger brother. Doesn't that just sound like a complete nightmare?! This Saturday was spent at my cousin's wedding at a very posh hotel. However, Saturday was also mine and Luke's first anniversary! Obviously, I'll fill you all in about my weekend next week. I hope you've all had an awesome weekend. See you tomorrow for 'H is for Happy'. P.S I hope you like the new sort of titled layout for this post...Is it something worth keeping?

Quick mention...

A very big get well soon to my younger (step)brother who was in a little car accident the other day. He has to wear an eye patch for a while but thankfully he's relatively okay. I'm so thankful for that fact.

and they call it puppy love...aka pass the sick bucket!

(awkward pose from our 'first date' in Stratford feb '10 / an embarassing photo of us on the last day of 6th form may '10 / year 13 prom highlighting our slightly height different with 4inch heels june '10 / on our travels in Camden jan '11)

Saturday 12th February is mine and Luke's first anniversary. We've known each other for many years prior to our relationship but (thankfully) a year ago we decided to make it more than 'just friends'. I know what you're thinking, 'Oh god Bee is on her lovey dovey soapbox again...someone pass the sick bucket'. Haha, rightly so! I just wanted to take our anniversary as a time to just reflect on how much this relationship has given me. 


Sometimes, I cannot believe that I've been lucky enough to fall in love. Hell, I'm 18. Yes, it's probably my first proper relationship. Who cares?! I hate all that 'you're too young to know how you feel' bullshit. This relationship gave me the chance to feel happy, to not be scared, to trust, to love one myself as well as another and most importantly...it has given me hope.


We've managed to accompolish so much together within this year. We've seen Berlin, Stratford, Cornwall and London together. We've got through my diagnosis together and he held me through the 'cold turkey' times. We've shared stories and laughed at each others idiocy. We've been proud of each other's achievements. We've drank far too much. We've lived.

The story of how we got together is quite amusing to others. We'd vaguely known of each others existence because we'd been in the same subjects for five years. However, if you'd pointed him out in my year 11 English class and told me I'd live with him in a matter of years I would've thought you were mental!  We started to get closer thanks to Sixth Form and eventually, after a very drunken night, we got together. The night we 'got together' we were both hideously drunk at an eighteenth. He basically got them to play 'Chasing Cars' by Snow Patrol then lay on the dancefloor serenading me trying to get me to 'lay with him and just forget the world' hahaa! This swayed the drunken tart that I am so he decided to illustrate his elation by clearing the hedge out the front of the pub. I say 'clearing'...he cleared it alright but landed on his head. Cue emergency trip to a & e. To cut a long story short he ended up swallowing his tongue and passing out so I had to scoop it out with my hand and get him conscious again. Who said romance is dead?! He's a keeper, right?!


This year holds so much in store for us. We'll be living together, going to university together, exploring Corfu and attending weddings. I can't tell you enough how excited I am /lucky I feel to be able to explore new opportunities with someone I love by my side. Of course, I'm still going to be the fierce feminist independent woman that I once was...but I'll no longer come across as a raging lesbian contrary to my mother's old thoughts.


That's all I shall say on this matter as I don't want to sicken you all. All I know is, he's made me so happy this past year and I hope I'll have another billion reasons to feel happy in the future. Hope you're all having a lovely weekend and I'll see you tomorrow for 'Busy Bee'.

snap happy 005

5th-11th feb:

Hello lovelies. I hope you've all had a lovely week. I've definitely had a strangely productive one. I've got a lot of things done that I'd been putting off for a long time. Very satisfying! I get to spend the weekend with the boy to celebrate our anniversary (: Although, we have to go to my cousin's wedding so we'll be away in Reading. Oh well, I spose it'll be nice :/ It's getting to me that we'll be apart on Valentines but I guess that's just the way it is :/ Roll on May. Have a lovely weekend! I hope you enjoy the photos.

 

001; My ebay haven. I took over the living room at the start of the week to sort out my ebay listings. I spent the day weighing, pricing and photographing items. There was 28 in total so I didn't get through them all! It was heartbreaking taking photographs of some of the items because I love them so much and don't want them to go. Hello tartan coat, owl jewellery and bags. Oh well, I really need the spare cash so if needs must! Obviously, I had a cup of tea on hand to help me out. 

002/003/004; Gimme the money. The lovely Gem inspired me to empty my overflowing cupcake money jar and count up the pennies I'd collected over time. It took me forever but I eventually came to the sum of £4.78! I kinda wish it was way more than that...try about £390 more! Hopefully Ebay will award me some much needed money :/ Boo.

005; Poached Eggs. I apologise for the crap photo but I was starving so I couldn't be bothered to spend ages snapping away! Note how crap I am at slicing bread, haha....that crust looks way too big! I don't think there is anything better than a poached egg to cheer you up for the day. I really don't.  

006; Ebay things. I've got lots of different things over at my ebay! There's owl jewellery, tartan, Hello Kitty, floral and leopard print to name but a few things. Go take a looksie HERE. 

007; My, Myself and I. I took some time out today to enjoy a chicken and stuffing sarnie before packing all my things. I was feeling a bit camera shy so I hid behind the sandwich, haha! 

008;  To Pack List. Okay, I'm mega crazy for organisation. I like everything to be planned down to the last second so here's a list I write myself every time I have to go away! Don't get me wrong, I adore spontaneity but I'm so unbelievably forgetful that if I don't organise myself I'd forget everything :/ Anyone else write lists like there's no tomorrow?


009; The perfect car journey snack. Haribo is the obligatory 'long car journey' sweet for me so I thought I'd 'treat' myself to a couple packs. Let's face it, a three hour journey with your rents, siblings and boyfriend isn't the best thing ever!


010; What's in my bag. Whilst I was packing I thought I'd do the blogger favourite and show you what's in my bag. This is what I basically carry around with me on a daily basis. 

1) Leopard Print Satchel. I bought this beauty off Ebay (:
2) Leopard Print Purse. I'm just a little bit obsessed with leopard print, okay :/
3) Brick Telephone. My phone broke so I'm stuck with this purple brick!
4) My Diary. I've written in this every day so far.
5) My glasses. I'm short sighted so these are a necessity.
6) Camera. I'm trying to become more snap happy.
7) Pink Ipod Shuffle & Orange Headphones. I love how colourful these are. Even though my Ipod breaks on a weekly basis and I need more storage :/ Boo.