Let's Stop Putting so Much Pressure on Ourselves

It's been a while since I posted on my blog and I am fully aware of it.

Truth is I have been incredibly busy and I just sadly haven't found the time to blog. Between spending two weeks in Thailand (which I will get round to telling you about at some point), my full time job and spending time with my friends and family, there hasn't been much time left to blog.

This industry is so competitive and you can often feel like you get a little lost in it. I look at other bloggers who post three times a week to their sites, alongside YouTube videos and posting daily coffee images to Instagram and it sometimes gets me down that I am not that active. However, for a lot of them blogging is their full time job so they have a lot more hours in the day to focus on producing new content and keeping their readers engaged. The amount of followers I lose if I don't post on Instagram for a week is ridiculous, but I just need to remind myself that I'm only human and there is only so much I can do!

Part of the reason why I haven't posted for a while is because I was struggling with content. I wasn't sure what I wanted to write about and I didn't even want to worry about what photographs I would use once I did have a light bulb subject moment.

These days we all put too much pressure on ourselves to show people that we're living the best, most exciting life, dressing in new clothes and catching monthly flights to somewhere more exotic that what actually has been, (so no sarcasm at the moment intended) sunny England.

In all honesty what I would love most at the moment is to be able to read through my backed up stack of Vogue subscriptions and ensure that I am home to watch the World Cup, although I'm up for a pint of cider in the pub if anyone fancies it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is make sure what you're doing day to day is exactly what you want to, even if that does mean staying in your pajamas watching Netflix instead of sitting out in the sun, while it lasts!

Now all I have to do in order to publish this post is to find some super fancy photos to go with it.

To kind of go against everything I have just said, I promise I have had a creative spurt and there will be new, regular content soon. But if I do fall off the bandwagon again please forgive me, I'm only human and I probably am watching Corrie or Graham Norton.

Altea - Top 3 Things To Do

A couple of weeks back my Mum and I took a well deserved break and spent a week in Altea, Spain. We only booked this holiday around a month before we set off mainly because I had annual leave at work that I needed to use up! I am however starting to learn that I find it very hard to say no to a holiday!

This trip meant that I got to tick off one of my new years resolutions a month earlier than I originally planned as I have never actually been to mainland Spain before!

We stayed in Altea at a hotel called Cap Negret. Due to our visit being at the end of March there were a few days where the weather was a little chilly. However, we took this as an opportunity to go exploring the local city!

Altea is in the Coasta Blanca, and is a fairly small town but has plenty of shops, restaurants and local sites to keep you busy!

Here are my top 3 things to do in Altea, Spain.

1. Visit Planet Vintage

This store is situated on the main road in and out of the town and somewhere that I could have literally spent hours exploring. They have an amazing selection of clothing, accessories and furniture, and everything that you can see is pretty much up for sale!. While we were exploring I had to keep reminding myself that we didn't have the world's largest suitcase and I couldn't in fact buy everything that I absolutely loved!

The best part about this store was that they did have a selection of sizes in most pieces, but there wasn't mass production of the stock so thankfully the majority of things were very unique.

As if I couldn't have loved this store anymore, while you're wondering round the multiple rooms which are filled with hidden gems you could quite possibly also be followed around by the store dog who just likes to keep you company.

2. Climb the steps to Parroquia Nuestra Senora del Consuelo

After speaking to a few other guests at our hotel they all recommended climbing up to the Dome.

It is possible to get a taxi up to the top, however I would highly suggest that you do take the on foot scenic route. This way you're able to look over Altea at different heights and also get the Insta-worthy shots of the incredibly cute Spanish streets.

As you make your way to the top there is a variety of boutiques to visit alongside plenty of choice of restaurants where you can order your body weight in tapas, feeling a little less guilty because you can walk it off on your way back down again.

3. Have lunch on the beach front

After taking our final stroll into the town we walked back along the beach front and stopped for a spot of lunch at Amar Beach Club. It was one of those moments where we wish we'd know about it sooner in the holiday as we could have quite happily spent so much more time there!

It was a Saturday afternoon, we sat in the sun, eating stir fry and listening to the amazing DJ that they had on that afternoon.

So there you have it! I'm so happy I've now ticked Spain off my travel bucket list but it doesn't mean that I never want to return, I have just got a few more places to visit on my list first!

Blogger Pressures to Always Wear Something New

I may have been blogging a year now however, when it comes to putting outfits together for posts just like this one I often find myself getting rather worked up.

Many thoughts start running through my head, including 'I thought this would look better on', 'why have I again left it til the morning of shooting to decide what to wear' and 'I just want my readers to like it!'

All of which are thoughts I kinda need to stop having. No it doesn't look as great on as I imagined, get over it and pull something else out the wardrobe. Do not leave it til the morning of, again!! And finally, yes I do hope you all like the outfits I put together, however I dress for myself and myself alone. As long as I feel happy, comfortable and confident then nothing else should matter. However if you do love my outfit I'd love to hear from you because I buzz off the compliments!

Coat - Hobbs (similar here), Necklace - Chanel, Top - H&M (similar here), Trousers - Topshop (similar here), Trainers - Adidas, Bag - Zara

Before last week, I can't quite remember when the last time was that I bought new clothes. However, with Zara being a Spring/Summer haven I recently, and very happily I might add, parted with some of my hard earned cash!

My point is, like many others I look in my wardrobe and think I have nothing to wear! Which does sometimes make me think, I can't shoot an outfit, I have nothing new enough. But I'm ready to shake this mentality.

Realistically, everything that features on my blog isn't going to be new, and that's okay. As long as I can offer similar alternatives I am happy with that.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't ever feel the pressure from people to always buy new clothes and only post new pieces. As long as you're happy with what you're wearing that is all the matters.

One year on, these are still my favourite trousers, even more so as I lost so much weight I had to get the next size down in order for them to fit me and even they are a little baggy!

The next step of being able to post the same outfit more than once on Instagram without the fear of people realising my salary doesn't stretch far enough for me to be able to buy a new outfit for every single day.

Here's to the sustainability of the environment and my bank account!

Photography by Lauren Siddall.