we went out for an easter meal...

Have I really not blogged for a bloomin' week?! What is going on?! I can certainly tell a difference in myself from when I started blogging...without a doubt, a change for the better! :) I mean the title in itself is an achievement for me.
 
I really do enjoy blogging but I certainly don't want to feel pressurised into blogging neither. But a whole week has gone by & I just felt the urge to sit & blog. To be precise, I'm going to sit & blog something I've never done before...
 
Brace yourself folks, you're in for an OOTD (outfit of the day) post! Or as I did just call it on twitter OTTD post...I smoothly deleted the tweet & carried on. Got to laugh at your mistakes right? :) Anyway I don't class myself as a fashion blogger, no sirey! But I just thought I'd give this kind of post a go & see how it turns out...
 
So last weekend was Easter weekend, is anybody still trying to escape the huge supply of chocolate? We had relatives come down for the weekend so on the Sunday we all went out for Sunday dinner, if you'd mentioned that last year I would of said no...infact I remember the last time they were down, I did say no. Time really can change things! I even found myself going with them to our local social club/pub kind of place in the evening too. :)


 
Right enough of the chit chat, actually nooooo...you've come here for chit chat, am I right? If your not after chit chat you have come to the wrong place my friend!

I thought I'd share my outfit choice of the day with you & see how it goes down...
 


 
 

 
 
- Blue Jumper -
New Look. Maybe 2-3 years ago...Used to be my mums, now my oversized jumper..happy days? I kinda like hand me downs, a new item without having to spend a penny.
 
- Black Leggings -
Marks & Spencers, would I recommend? No, this was my second time of wearing them. Ended in the bin at the end of the day with a few holes in. :/
 
- Sekonda Watch -
 Hate wearing watches with straps that dig in to you? Yeah me too...until I got this one, it is so soft & the strap is rubbery. I'd recommend.
 
- Flower earrings -
New Look, about two years ago. So cute, I absolutely love them!
 
- Kenneth Cole bag -
A gift for my 18th birthday (if I remember rightly) from my godmum.
 
- Khaki parka/mac -
Matalan, 2 years ago in the sale...love it!
 
- Black Chelsea boots -
Tesco, a few years ago...wish I'd got more than one pair.
 
I wore a grey vest top underneath my jumper for extra warmth & a pair of plain black socks with my leggings to blend in.
 
 
I have actually mentioned to my friend Nicola (who happens to enjoy photography & is very good at it!) how she would feel about maybe helping me with a few OOTD how I wear certain items...usually it is a case of throwing stuff on but people do seem to compliment me, so I must be doing something right! :) One post I definitely want to try is, how I wear/style my dungarees. So watch this little space! Oh & I certainly want to do a post to share my love for my new pac a parka!
 
If you'd like to leave me some feedback in the comments as to what you think about this kind of post, that would be great! :)
 
I hope you are all well on this fairly sunny Sunday (well it is sunny where I am)! As always, thank you very much for reading!
 
- Anna ♥
 
p.s. I thought it would be rude not to include a snap of my delicious dinner in the post...

 
Anybody else really hungry now? Just me? :/ :)
 
♥

nobbly bobbly inspired nails...take one!

Happy Easter folks! :)
 
I took all my photos for this post about 2 weeks ago now, it's just finding the time to sit down & blog... I'm not going to force myself to blog neither. I blog when I want cos others the fun is just taken away from it I think...I hope you are all well! :) On with the post then...
 
I have had the idea to do this post for a good couple of months now but it was finding the time to actually be sat down for long enough. So the other week when I was home alone at night I thought then was the perfect time. I was in absolutely no rush when doing them at all, so I didn't majorly smudge any of my nails...Can I get a high five?!... *high five*
 
Without a doubt this is best done when you have nowhere to be & you are full on chilling or maybe if you have a nail dryer that would be a handy thing to have actually & it obviously would be done a lot quicker. So as you can tell from the title I'm going to show you how I created these nails inspired by the ice cream lolly nobbly bobbly.
 
 
Yes, I got into full chill mode..dressing gown & blanket all involved! Of course once I'd done I had to take snaps with the inspiration & enjoy the yumminess too! :)
 
My choice in blog name is very fitting isn't it, cos I've done nothing but chatter away & I haven't even got onto the step by step part...sorry! :/ slowly moving forward now....
 
 
step one...
First things first, get all year gear including your form of entertainment. I decided to catch up on programmes on our sky planner, I watched about 6 episodes of Mom.
 
 
To create this look I used....
- a dotting tool
- some tin foil
- nail varnish remover
- cotton wool pads
- clear strengthening basecoat
- clear topcoat
- Barry M nail polishes (Matt - Mocha, Nail Paint - pale yellow, matt white, mint green, strawberry ice cream & a limited edition hot pink)
 
 
 
step two...
 Prepare your nails...however you choose to do them. I added a little tip on preparing your nails before on my post 'trying my hand at something new...' . Once your nails are prepped you need to add your clear basecoat to protect your nails.
 
 
 My nails have a slight bluey tint to them because I had removed my blue nail varnish from before & I didn't use a bascoat then...maybe that could be why. I shall certainly learn from my mistakes.
 
step three...
Once your clear basecoat is dry it's time to add your coloured basecoat. For this look it will be the Barry M matt in mocha. I absolutely love this colour & finish, it looks lovely...very chocolatey actually & you can tell it isn't far off the colour in the bottle too (slightly darker because I added two coats).
 

 
step four...
Now it's time for the tin foil to play it's part. I never used this until my friend Ally got me a nail art book for Christmas (the same book that taught me how to prep my nails properly) so massive thanks to Ally, the book has taught me a good few tips & tricks.
 
 
Basically all you do is create a blob of nail polish on the tin foil & get your dotting tool ready to create dots on your nails before the blob dries. I started off with the limited edition pink nail polish & just created random dots on my nails.
 
 
Admittedly the pink didn't come out as bright as I had hoped but obviously it wasn't going to because I was putting it onto a dark colour...ooh, freshers mistake?! :) Excuse the random bits of nail polish on my fingers, I'm not a trained nail artist just a girl who enjoys doing her nails & sharing them with others.
 
 step five...
Next thing to do is take it in turn with each different colour & create your dots/blobs. Do them all the same way by using the tin foil & dotting tool. After every colour I used the nail varnish remover & cotton wool pad to remove the previous nail polish on the dotting tool, just a little heads up for you there. :)
 
 
step six...
The look is almost complete, next thing to do is to make sure that all the nail polishes are dry of course. If you aren't too sure I'd just leave them a good 10/15 minutes so you can be 100% sure, then slap on that topcoat
& TAH-DAH!!!
 

 



A lovely nice little selection of photos for you there, I couldn't decide on just one! :)
 
I really enjoyed creating this look & I couldn't help but smile every time I looked down at them afterwards, it really is the little things. I was so pleased with them & proud that I managed to do them all on my own. They actually managed to last for about a week until I picked it all off...ooooppsssieee! Admittedly the colours didn't turn out as well as I'd of liked because I had put them on a dark colour but I will learn from that...or maybe I wont. I'll more than likely go & do it again & then realise again. :)
 
I'm thinking of trying another take on these nails, without the brown background, if I do I will more than likely share them on here too.
 
Just like to randomly add in here aswell that obviously my right hand didn't turn out as well but it did still turn out a okay so all is good there too! :)
 
Anyways after all that waffle I hope you are still with me & as always thanks for reading & I really hope you enjoyed this little tutorial, if you happen to try it out please let me know.
 
- Anna ♥

Hello, I'm Connor Vampette...

How many have opened this post & had absolutely zero idea what I was on about? Come on, admit it if you actually knew what it was about too though! :)
 
I'm starting to become slightly addicted to The Vamps...there could be worse things to be addicted to though right? I'm absolutely in love with their album...I knew I'd have to get my hands on it as soon as it came out! Thanks to my grandma who bought me it instead of an Easter egg...better option if you ask me! :P
 
So I'm currently taking part (after waking up slightly late) in the Meet The Vamily action on twitter, are you taking part too?! If you aren't head on over to The Vamps Twitter page & check out the action that your missing out on.
 
Right, lets explain the title shall I? During the day you get to create your vamily name...what is yours?
 
Image from The Vamps Twitter feed

I feel like I'm too old to be spamming the boys :/ so I'm just gonna casually tweet, not spam & join in on the action...apologies to any of my twitter followers who may be finding me annoying! So I thought I'd spend my time & create a blog post about them, to introduce them to you & share my love for them around :)
 
The whole point of this post was to actually introduce you to The Vamps, I'm assuming most of you will already know about them or atleast heard about them. But this post is for the likes of Nichole (hey Nichole :) ) who isn't from the UK...she's from the Detroit area so Nichole...if you haven't already, check these guys out! :D we love to be upbeat & their music is certainly that!

I don't fully know much about The Vamps as people, if that makes sense but I do know they all came together by themselves. I do also know all their names (James, Connor, Brad & Tris)...one step closer to knowing more about them right?
 
The Vamps are giving away prizes during the day so as I've already said I'm gonna join in on the action & try & win some prizes but if not, my mum is gonna treat me to one of their tshirts! :D Yessss, I'm going to be a 22 year old rocking a Vamps tshirt..anyone got a problem with that?! :)
 
I've got to the point in my life now where I'm not bothered what people think of my actions, life is too short to please anyone but yourself. So I will be wearing a Vamps tshirt with pride...oooohh & I'm hoping to get tickets for their concert at the end of the year! (so anxiety if you'd like to behave yourself for then, that would be great! please & thank you!)
 
I feel like I'm just getting waffly now (as usual), sorry about that! :) But the whole idea of the post was to just spread the word about the Vamps to those of you (Nichole & anyone else who doesn't know about them).
 
The Vamps can be found on...
 
 


I don't often do posts about bands but I really do think people will enjoy their music & hopefully be able to connect to them as a group! When I'm on abit of a downer I just listen to their music & it picks me straight back up, thank you for creating the album boys...makes listening to you all so much easier! & I now don't travel in my car without the album on.

You know when youre travelling & you pull up next to someone in traffic who is full on singing a song? Yeah, that is me with their album on.. :)

Can't imagine the madness their lives must be right now but I'm sure they will cope with it well & create lots of crazy memories! :D If I manage to get to see them live at the end of the year I will be blogging about that too! Watch this space! :)

As always, thanks for reading.
- Anna ♥ 

attempting to overcome my fear of dentists...

Gosh, I'm seriously slacking with this blogging shizz... But I'm here with a life & health related post. I'm going to waffle & babble on about dental health...woohoo, aren't you in for a treat?! Unfortunately not the sweetie kind, that isn't allowed in this dental post...back away from the sweetie jar! ;)
 
I'm not the biggest fans of dentists really, especially after my experience with one about five years ago. When I had just started experiencing anxiety. I hadn't been to a dentist for about five years before that since our dentist had shut & we hadn't got into another one. The dentist was a little bit of an absolute arse. He was really nasty. This was my first time at this dentists & I actually ended up walking out in tears. Nobody should speak down to anyone if you ask me & especially not a health professional to a patient. Safe to say I didn't get my teeth fully checked & I didn't go back there again....ever!
 
Fast forward to the future, okay...more like the present! I have a brand new dentist, they are all super lovely & I've been completely honest with them about how I am. They are all very understanding & calm about the situation which makes things so much better. The first time I went, maybe two years ago now I had a check up & was slightly panicky but I managed it & then I actually had a filling & was absolutely fine...well minus the extremely numb feeling but I did it! :D
 
Then I kind of kept putting off booking again, don't know why really...maybe it could be because I haven't really always looked after my teeth, that's kind of the truth but I mean how many of us are bothered when were younger? I certainly wasn't. So it wasn't routinely for me but I want that to change now & I'm starting to look after my teeth a lot more...my blog really seems to motivate me so I thought I'd share my attempt to get over my fear of dentists.

I went last week thinking everything was hunky of the dory...it bloomin was until Friday I started getting toothache :/ It was manageable but then Saturday night came around...I remember seeing in Sunday morning I was awake that long, I watched Hollyoaks omnibus. So I didn't get much sleep & I couldn't go to the dentists so I waited til Monday. Off we tootled to the dentists, my dentist was on holiday...I mean fancy that, dentists aren't allowed holidays surely? :P hehe! I'm kidding...of course they are. But I obviously couldn't see the dentist I'm used to so I saw an available dentist & got into a real state before hand. I ended up going outside in to the car park & waiting there & mum came & got me when it was my time to go through. The dentist was lovely, he examined my teeth...obviously, he didn't go checking my eye sight! :) The problem is my flippin wisdom tooth! I've never experienced trouble with em before but boy am I now... I mean like my mums friend said 'you get wise then they take your wisdom away from you'. I'm struggling to open my mouth wide enough to eat properly nevermind to be examined. He explained that my tooth is trying to come out but my gum is half covering it & food is getting stuck in there, yuck! So he tried to scale it, I think that's what he said & then tried to flush it... I mean I don't have a potty mouth :) hehe! Easily amused, yes? That cleared some of the food out that was getting stuck between my tooth over. Now I've been given a course of antibiotics, woohoo! To ease the pain & reduce the swelling I think... Then I'm to go back & discuss my three options of what to do with this delightful absolute bugger of a wisdom tooth! By the sounds of it, it is gonna be coming out...I may be awake, I may not. But I will certainly try my hardest to get over this fear of mine.

I've been warned by mum to stay at home & take it easy for a few days whilst the tablets start to work. I think I'm going to listen to her & have a onesie day tomorrow because I didn't listen today or yesterday. Yesterday I got told I looked really pale & today when I went out I felt sicky & slightly dizzy....oh the joys! So mum really does know best right?! So I will be catching up on blogging related things, watching tv & rocking out to the vamps cd (soooo glad they've finally released one!)...woohoo!!!! :D

I couldn't do a post without a picture so I decided to include my little tablet time table that my week is based on. I'm slightly forgetful so it was a good idea to create my table & keep track! So my week is based around tablet taking, salt water mouth rinsing & mouthwash rinsing....ohhh fun times! :)


Do you have a fear of dentists? Have any of you had your wisdom teeth taken out? Or experienced the lovely pain that is toothache? Let me know in the comments, lets talk about teeth?! :)

As always, thanks for reading my waffle...that's if you did of course (go on, admit it if you did! I reread the dribble) :P
- Anna ♥

my top tips for learning to drive, whilst dealing with anxiety

I've been wanting to do this post for the past month or so now but I've been too busy exploring in my little car so that's why it has taken so long. I would apologise but that would be wrong cos I'm not sorry for being out, living my life...it has been too long since I've actually been able to be out & enjoy myself! :)

I was originally calling this post 'my top tips for learning to drive, whilst dealing with a mental health problem' since I created this post last year (before I'd obviously passed). But now I've managed to pass whilst dealing with anxiety I thought it was right just to state it as anxiety & share my top tips with you. Does that make sense? :/ I'm in no way saying that these tips will work for everyone cos no two people are the same but I thought I'd throw this post together anyway & hopefully help some of you too!
 
Since tweeting that I'm currently blogging about my top tips, I've had good feedback...from Alana & Jess, yoo hoo girls! I really hope this helps you both in some way or another :)
 
Image found on weheartit (as always)
 
the photo speaks for itself really! When you can help others, do it... there doesn't need to be a reason behind it. I'm hoping this post will help a few people out there. :)


Ok, let's do this...brace yourself for a short lengthyyyy more than likely simple waffley post. I'll try my very best to make sure the post makes some kind of sense! deal? :)
 
image found on weheartit
- tip number one -
when you're ready, go for it!
you have to absolutely want to learn to drive, chances are if you aren't really bothered you aren't going to stick to it. Most people learn to drive when they are 17 but that didn't interest me at that time at all so I didn't waste my time or money on attempting to learn. Over the past year or so I had debated learning to drive & then when I felt almost completely ready I dived straight in to my first lesson...I don't think you'll ever be completely ready for anything in life so you've just got to go for it when you feel you are as close to ready as you can be.
 
image found on weheartit
- tip number two -
honesty is the best policy?
I find no matter what situation I'm in if I'm honest about my anxiety it makes everything so much more manageable. Admittedly some people aren't going to be accepting about it, some will be judgemental but you know what...that's fine. Some people just aren't educated enough on the subject & there is also the stigma that still surrounds mental health. I genuinely don't even try to hide my anxiety at all, I literally go in head first & drop the anxiety bombshell. The last time I dropped the anxiety bombshell so to speak was at my last job interview...I'm actually working for them so it obviously didn't scare them away! :) I decided to email a few instructors explaining my situation & I got mixed responses (which we are gonna get in life, no?). There is understanding people out there, they aren't scary & they are willing to help you.
 
- tip number three -
book your lessons for a time that suits you best...
this might sound fairly obvious but I don't mean as in a time that fits around your schedule better, I mean book a time that you feel at your best. I know my own body & mind & I know I cope best if I get out the house straight away & get on with things. So most of my lessons were before 10. But then you do still need to have lessons at later times to experience different road traffic & situations. So my advice there would be if like me you are better once you've been out first go for a walk to the shop first or something little, so your mind knows you've taken that first step, you've made an effort & you've gone for it.
 
image found on weheartit
- tip number four -
make sure you connect with your instructor & they must be supportive...
I without a doubt connected with my instructor, she just felt like a friend. So I'd say this would have to be one of my top tips for learning to drive. From the moment I got in to the car to the moment I got out the car we'd be chatting away. I think you need to have the connection with your instructor. I know how lucky I was to be able to gain such a connection with Sharon, it really did make learning to drive so much easier. She has such a relaxed & calming vibe to her. I'd recommend her to anyone without a second thought. Sharon without a doubt was supportive from my very first lesson, all the way through to the end. That is exactly what you need, supportive people.
 
image found on weheartit
- tip number five -
don't feel forced to just settle...
I never actually had to deal with this because I was absolutely fine with my instructor from start to finish but I thought I'd just throw this one in (to kind of link in with the above one). I think it is important that we are comfortable with whoever we are learning to drive with, if you don't feel comfortable & can't seem to connect with the instructor don't feel forced to stay with them. Just change instructors, the instructor won't take it personally I'm sure.
 
image found on weheartit
- tip number six -
don't be harsh on yourself...
easier said than done right? But honestly, don't be harsh on yourself or beat yourself up over anything. If you happen to miss a lesson, don't be harsh on yourself or think you're failing...you really aren't. If a lesson didn't go to plan (we will all have lessons from hell, when nothing goes right...trust me!) don't put yourself down about it, we all make mistakes. It's part of learning & growing.
 
image found on weheartit
- tip number seven -
keep positive & keep on going...
whenever it feels like the end goal is soooo far out of reach just keep going, when there is no light at the end of the tunnel just keep on moving forward. You will get there & you will pass that test. I'm a big believer of thinking positive, yes I do get negative thoughts in my head (we all do, we are all human) but I decide to change them into positives & you can do just that too. When you are doubting yourself remember to turn your 'urghhh, I cant do this' into 'oooh, I can do this..I've got this sorted & undercontrol!' :)
 

image found on weheartit
- tip number eight -
try your best to keep on going...
this is definitely one I agree on, once you've passed your test don't stop there. You need to keep on driving because otherwise all that money you've spent on lessons would be an absolute waste wouldn't it? I'm so lucky that my parents have bought me my car, I'm beyond grateful & it really has changed my life. I understand not everyone is as fortunate to get a car bought for them but if you can try to even car share with a parent or partner (obviously if they'll let you of course). It really does feel like nothing is holding me back, freedom is only a key twist away... Yes, it might be scary at first but you can do it, you can drive on your own! Just think at one point you thought you couldn't pass your test :)


I'm going to leave it at eight now...gosh that seems like a lot but they just kept coming in to my head. If you want to chat you know where you can find me...on my usual space on the internet, my twitter or drop me an email if you like :) Or even leave a comment, but make sure you come back to check the response. I try my best to always reply to all my comments left on here. :)
 
I genuinely can't explain just how much learning to drive & passing my test has helped me grow as a person. I've actually had people say to me, 'you're a changed person', 'I can see an improvement in you' & 'it has done you the world of good'.. No lie, it really has. When I was learning to drive people would say 'passing your test will be the best thing you ever do'...take it from me guys, it really is no lie, there is no greater feeling cos you will have gained a life skill & have so much more freedom! :)
 
I hope I've helped atleast one of you during all that waffle & if you got to the end...*high five*! :D & as always thanks for reading. :)
- Anna ♥