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Friday, 29 December 2017

2017 Goals Review


Back at the start of the year I shared my 2017 goals with you all, and then done a little check in during the summer. As we saw from the check in, I hadn;t done super well, but had made some progress with it. So, as it's now the last post I'm doing of this year, I thought it was due time to do the final review!

Personal Goals
  1. Read 4 books ✖
    • I started to read a book, and then I gave up with it. I've just not been in a reading mood this year, sadly - will try again next year! 
  2. Drive somewhere new ✔
    • Though not completely new to me, I drove to a few nearby villages for outings this year, and even done the motorway once - yes once in a whole year! I can improve on this sooo much next year, so I class this as done!
  3. Go to the cinema 15 times ✖
    • I managed 7 trips this year, which although not 15, was difficult enough to do. With my new hours and odd shift patterns at work, it's been a bit tricky to go as often as I would have liked.
  4. Start & uphold, the 52 Week Saving Challenge
    • I really thought I would fail this. The aim was to save £1378 by the end of the year, I managed to save this, plus an extra £150 on top of this! I'm so happy with this, as it means I finally have a good savings pot in case of emergencies or if anything bad happens to my car!
  5. Get into a better sleeping routine ✖
    • Nope. Not with finishing work at 10pm and then being back in at 6am the next morning. Hopeless task!
  6. Lose some weight/tone up ✖ 
    • I have lost about 4lbs in the year since January 1st. I had lost about a stone during Florida, but that's all come back with all the damn Christmas chocolates!
  7. Carry on with the job search/get a new job ✖
    • Nope
  8. Organise my room better ✔
    • Although not super organised, I've managed to sort a lot of it out. I'm going to do an overhaul of it all in the new year and see what happens.
  9. Get into a better skin care routine ✔ 
    • So happy to have finished this!
  10. Eat less junk food and more fruit ✔ 
    • Don't get me wrong, I'm still eating copious amounts of junk, but I've been having fruit pretty much everyday this year, which is a lot better than my once a month back in 2016.
  11. Be smarter with my money ✔
    • As I finished that saving challenge, I class this and done!
  12. Start and finish writing a book ✖ 
    • Wrote two chapters and then forgot.... 
  13. Drink more water ✔ 
  14. Purge possessions! ✔
    • Managed to give 6 black sacks of clothes, bags, and shoes, to charities this year. I've also sold a few boxes worth of items as well.
  15. Go out more often ✖✔
    • Yes and no. I had a month of socializing, and then it dipped again. I could have done better, but I think that one month made up for the lack of it afterwards!

Blog Goals
  1. 1200 Bloglovin followers  ✖
    • Ended the year on 1080+!
  2. 5500 Twitter followers ✔
    1. Done! Managed this a few days before Christmas!
  3. 1250 Instagram followers ✖
    • Let's all collectively laugh at this one. That stupid new algorithm has made it sooo hard to get followers and to keep them this year. I've also purged the followers and blocked a load of bots, so I finished on 1060+
  4. 400 YouTube subscribers ✔
    • Finished on 460+!
  5. 350 Facebook page likes ✖
    1. Again, so close! I have 341 at the time of writing, so I'm not far off!
  6. 200,000 total blog page views ✔
    • I hit this at the end of July! Going to set a higher target for next year! 
  7. Post 3 times each week ✔
    • I managed this all year!
  8. Allow myself 2 weeks off from blogging - twice this year ✖
    • I only had a two week break while I was in Florida!
  9. Start advertising on my blog again ✖
    • I done this once this year. To be honest, I had little time to do this in 2017, so fail!
  10. Take bulk photos for posts more often ✖
    • I did this maybe 5 times during the year, but I ended up using stock pictures for a lot of posts... Oops!

How did you do with your personal and blog goals for this year? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :) And happy new year for Monday!

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Wednesday, 27 December 2017

Fave Films Of 2017


2017 has been a year for some pretty amazing movies. Though I didn't see all of these in the cinema, I got the rest on DVD and I loved them! These are the films I've loved the most this year, and here's why!

WARNING: This post contains movie spoilers! 


Guardians Of The Galaxy: Vol 2
This is probably one of my top films from this year. I saw the midnight screening of this, and it was amazing! I laughed, cried, cheered, and sat with my jaw open for most of the film. Plus, I think we can all agree, that Baby Groot is one of the cutest CGI beings we've ever seen!

Spider-Man: Homecoming
I was a bit dubious about this movie. I've not been a huge fan of the past two versions, but I felt Tom Holland had promise after his Civil War debut. I found this to be a really good version of Spider-Man, and he's quite like the comics! I really liked the opening where it was like Peter Parker was vlogging the whole Civil War fight.

Wonder Woman
I wanted nothing more than to get dressed up like a warrior and go kick ass after seeing this. Gal Gadot was perfect for this role. I loved her innocence, bravery, kind hearted soul, and her fight scenes. I cried like a baby at the end of this (I was't expecting Steve to die at all!!) I am also in love with Etta Candy, and really hope we might see more of her in flash backs in any future Wonder Woman movies.

Gifted
I had been wanting to see this Chris Evans movie since I heard it was in production. I'm a huge fan of Chris Evans, so I had to see this! It was such a feel-good movie, and had many sad moments too. I watched this on the plane, coming back from Florida - I was sat in my seat trying not to cry too loudly as it's a real tear jerker in places. If you want to see Evans in a non-action hero role, then this is great movie to see him in.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle
I went to see this not long after it came out for a date with M. I hadn't seen the first film at all - other than that awesome Church scene - so this was all new to me. I went home and watched the first one immediately after, and it was just as awesome. This second movie was so amazing. I loved Poppy as the villain, the whole thing with Elton John had me in hysterics, and I got so sad when Merlin sacrificed himself. Such a great movie, and can't wait to get this on Blue Ray so I can watch it again!

Thor: Ragnarok
This is the funniest film I've seen all year. I was actually hurting from laughing by the end of this. I bloody loved Cate Blanchett as Hela - it was soooo good to see her a baddie! The entire fight with Thor and Hulk was awesome, I loved the big battle at the end, and I want to know what Thor will be like, without his trusty hammer.

Star Wars, The Last Jedi
I really liked this movie. Yes, even with the partial nudity! I got to see this a few days before Christmas, so it's the last film I got to see of 2017! I don't see why so many fans don't like it - I thought the story was pretty decent, and I loved that final showdown between Kylo and ole Skywalker. How they're going to write out Leia from the next movie, I don't know, but I hope they do the General justice.


What were your fave movies of this year? Let me know - and tell me if we have any similar ones! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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Monday, 25 December 2017

Merry Christmas!


I hope you all have a fantastic day, and that Santa has bought you some really awesome goodies! If anyone is planning on doing a 'Christmas Haul' over the next few weeks - please let me know as I love seeing what everyone gets - yes I'm nosey!

I'm spending the day with my Dad's family as usual, and seeing my Mum this morning, so it's all a-go here at the Pryer household!

Just because it's Christmas, I thought I'd share a few pictures of my previous Christmases with you - and even if no-one reads this post as it's a busy day, I'll have this to look back on next year. Enjoy!











Hope you all have a great Christmas day, doing things with family and/or friends! See you all in a few days, and keep safe :)

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Friday, 22 December 2017

Christmas Outfit Ideas


With Christmas day only on Monday, it's the weekend to get that last minute shopping done! You might have already sorted everything, but you might be wondering about what to wear for the big day. My family don't really do any fancy clothes for the day - in fact we're usually wearing slouchy clothes! But that doesn't mean you can't be comfy and festive.

Here are some ideas for outfit pieces for the main day!



Like any of the above clothes? Let me know! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and a fabulous Christmas day on Monday! Hope you all get spoiled rotten, and keep safe :)

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Wednesday, 20 December 2017

Orlando Holiday Diary: Day 5 - Epcot!


Our first Friday of the holiday rolled in, and we chose to go to Epcot for the day! We found out that Hurricane Irma was going to be a 2/3 when it hit the state, so we tried to forget about that and focus on the fun day ahead!

Arriving at Epcot, we watched the JAMMitors (or the Trashmen, as I called them!) do a mini performance before the park opened. We then headed straight for Test Track to make our own car, and spent waaaay to long in the Chevrolet center, looking at the cars and having photo opportunities. We continued to go on all the other rides in the main area, before we chose to head to the World Showcase.

It was the food and wine festival when we went, but for the life of me, I had no idea what was going on, or how we took part in that - so we ignored the food aspect, and had a look at all the pavilions. We ate at the Rose & Crown chippy in England, and then saw the Three Caballeros in Mexico, before having a look about in China and Japan!

We finished the day with a boat ride back to the front of the World Showcase, and then headed back to the villa for another swim.

You can check out the pictures of the day below, or scroll to the end to watch the vlog!
















Hope you enjoyed this little look at the fifth  day of my awesome holiday! Can't wait to share with you the rest of the trip. Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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Monday, 18 December 2017

Urban Decay Naked Basics


Oh look, another beauty post! I think we can all agree that these are going to be few and far between from now on. Anyway...

Last month, I mentioned in my Sephora Haul, that I'd picked up this Urban Decay Naked Basics palette for $29 on my last day of the Florida holiday. I've already got their first Naked palette, along with the second one - both of which I love. I knew I'd love this one too before I even saw what shades it contained. I popped this in my little basket, and headed to the checkout.






While in the airport, I opened it up to have a peek at what it looked like, and was happy with the colours on offer. Yes, even the black Crave shade, which I haven't yet figured out a look to do with just yet.

So far, I've only used this a couple of times, and it's been to do a simple daytime look with Naked 2, Faint, and Venus. I can do a simple copper eye look with these, and it's not too dark or dramatic - but I can always add that black shade in the crease to get a more dramatic look, if it takes my fancy.

I'm going to try and use this a lot more between now, and the end of the year, as I really love it - it's perfect bag size! Have you tried out this or any of the other Urban Decay palettes? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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Friday, 15 December 2017

A Christmas Tag!


It's only another 10 days until Christmas! I'm feeling a bit more festive now, as I've started to hand out cards and presents to people, so I'm feeling the spirit! So in a sort of festive mood, here's a little Christmas Tag!
  1. Fave Christmas film?
    • Love Actually! It's such a feel good movie, and it makes me both cry and laugh.
  2. What holiday traditions are you looking forward?
    • Playing an unreal amount of board games and eating so much junk food. Then we sit around and watch some family videos from the last few years, and just have a good time with the family.
  3. Ever had a white Christmas?
    • I think I did when I was a child, but I don't really remember it - and we've had a little bit of slushy snow here and there over the years - but not enough!
  4. Where do you usually spend your holidays?
    • At my Aunt Jackie's house with my Uncle, cousins, Grandad, Dad and Sister! It's been this way for the 25 years of life I've been on this Earth, and I don't want to change it.
  5. Fave Christmas song?
    • Christmas Wrapping - The Waitresses! It's so underrated.
  6. Pro-wrapper or serious fail?
    • I don't do to bad, but there are times it looks horrible. I've got better this year though, and got a little fancy with some ribbons. 
  7. Fave Christmas treat?
    • Celebrations chocolates! They have the Malteser one which is my fave sweet of all time. Or we have the Quality Street's Strawberry creme.
  8. Do you make New Year's resolutions?
    • I did this year, I've managed to stick to some of them, but not as well as before. Think I'll skip it this time. 
  9. What makes the holidays special to you?
    • Getting to see my family as I don't see them so often in the year. I see them 3-4 times a year, including Christmas and Boxing day, so it's nice to see them all. 
  10. Real or fake tree?
    • Fake - no pine to fall down and embed in my foot
  11. Do you open presents on Christmas Eve?
    • Not usually, but I have done in the past. I won't be doing it this year though.
  12. Can you name all of Santa's Reindeer?
    • Hell yes I can!! Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph with his red nose!
  13. Giving or receiving gifts?
    • I like receiving them to see what people have got me, but I like to see people's reactions to their gifts too - especially if it's one I've put a lot of thought into
  14. Best gift you've ever got?
    • My Mum got me a sewing kit in 2015 and it has been so practical and helpful.
  15. Dream place to spend the holidays?
    • Wouldn't mind going somewhere like Canada for a Winter get away! Somewhere with lots of snow and a cabin.
  16. Memorable Christmas moment?
    • My Aunty Jackie falling through her chair just as she sat down for dinner and she knocked it all down her! We laughed SO HARD. 
  17. What made you realise the truth about Santa?
    • I'd had a hunch for a while, but my Mum decided the prime opportunity to tell me, was when I was 11 and in Argos buying my sister's presents. Cheers Mum. 
I'm tagging
Sarah
Lucy & Kelly
Cassie
Kitten

I hope you all are having a fabulous festive season so far, and that no matter where in the world you are, that you have fun and don't forget to keep safe :)

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Wednesday, 13 December 2017

Elsa | Disney Inspired Lookbook


Back at the start of 2017, I decided to do create a set of Disney Inspired Look books - all inspired by the Princesses we all know and love - in the run up to my Florida holiday. Well now that the holiday is all over, I still have a few of the Princesses left to style, so I'm carrying on until they all have a fancy new style! Last look book focused on Anna'new look, and now it's time for this week's new Princess!



All you'll then need to do is a fancy braid in your hair, and you're good to go as Elsa! What part of the look is your fave? Let me know! Hope you have a great day and keep safe :)

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