Blue Sunday 2015

I really am quite late writing this as Blue Sunday was nearly two months ago now but I wanted to share some photos from the day with you. 

For anyone who doesn't know, Blue Sunday is a tea party which was started by Anna and is held every May as part of ME Awareness Week to raise money for The ME Association. The tea party is held on and offline where people can either take part virtually by treating themselves to a cup of tea and a cake and posting a picture online. Or like me, holding their own Blue Sunday Tea Party for family and friends. 

Firstly, I was super happy and overwhelmed by all the donations I received the same day as setting up my JustGiving page (you can check that out here), I raised over £100 before I even held the tea party. 

I started baking on the Thursday right through until Saturday evening. 

Here are some photographs from the day: 

My dad was working on Blue Sunday so he took some cakes and a donation box into work to raise some money there too. Overall we raised £329!!!

Thank you so much to everyone who donated!

 

Winter to Spring Nail Polish Transition Ideas

Going from dark wintery nail colours to pastels in the springtime can be a hard transition to make. I have put together a few polish ideas (some of my favourites) that will hopefully help you know what to wear during the transition from winter to spring. 

Essie Bangle Jangle 

A grey/lilac polish is super pretty and ideal for this time of year. You have the spring-ness of the lilac but it is paired down and made slightly more wintery and subtle by the grey tones. Beautiful. 

Barry M Cardamom 

This is what I would describe as an "old fashioned green". The perfect middle ground between dark midnight greens and spring-y, fresh, bright greens. 

Barry M Elderberry 

A beautiful blue-grey polish - do you see a pattern with the grey tones to everything? As you can probably tell, I like to go for pale or brighter colours that are still subtle, grey-tones and muted. 

What polishes will you be wearing for the transition from winter to spring? 

February Favourites

Nail Polish Favourites 

There are two polishes I have discovered during February that really stand out to me. The first is Butter London Lovely Jubbly.

It is a gorgeous blue, purple and pink glitter *heart eyes emoji x1000* I think this is a great all-year-round glitter as it doesn't look too Christmassy, I might even wear it for my birthday this year. 

The next polish is Four Leaf Clover from China Glaze. Towards the middle of the month, I cracked out some brighter, more spring-like colours. This green is quite unusual as it has a slight blue tone to it without looking turquoise at all. It's shot up to be one of my all time favourites and I can see myself wearing it again really soon. 

Beauty Favourites 

As we are nearing the end of winter and heading into spring, I have been trying to make the most of wearing a berry lip this month. I have heard people rave about Mac Plumful Lipstick for a long time so decided to try it.

I prefer to use one light layer of this and use it almost as a stain rather than build it up to be bold and glossy. 

Macadamia Deep Repair Mask - I LOVE this mask, I have been using it for over a year now but recently rediscovered it. My hair is really thick, coarse, long and dry and this mask really seems to make a difference too my hair. It is so nourishing and moisturising and my hair feels really soft afterwards. I have also noticed that it adds a lot of shine to my hair. The smell of the mask is incredible too, it smells fruity, like peaches and the scent lingers on my hair until I next wash it - amazing! 

TV Favourites

I rewatched Series 1&2 of My Mad Fat Diary this month. I loved it the first time I watched it and I am still absolutely obsessed - I can't wait for Series 3! Its quite different to the sort of shows i usually watch but the fact that it is based around teenagers in the 90's is what drew me in. I especially love all the Oasis references and songs! 

Achievements: 

I went shopping a couple of times with my mum. 

I went to a garden centre for lunch with my mum and nan. 

I went to the beach which was the first time in over 6 months I've attempted to travel so far in the car and spend so long out but I had a really amazing time and didn't feel too bad - yay! 

And then 3 days later I managed to go to the dentist!! 

I had a fab time talking to my friend Katie on FaceTime a couple of times.

I watched two films in one day - before Christmas I could only watch the first 20 minutes of a film before feeling too ill to carry on but on Valentine's Day, I watched two whole films in one day! 

I don't really have any goals for March, I'm just going to see where the month takes me! 

How was your February? What was the highlight of your month? 

Versatile Blogger Award

I was nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award by the lovely Nicole and the amazing Katy.  

The rules of the Versatile Blogger Award are as follows:

1) Thank the person who so kindly nominated you for the award, and also post a link to their blog

2) Tell 7 facts about yourself 

3) Select 15 bloggers that you've recently discovered, or that you follow regularly

4) Nominate them for the award and let them know via a blog comment (or social media)

7 Facts About Me:

1.) I have lived in the same house my whole life.

2.) I have a cat, 5 rabbits, 9 guinea pigs and some fish.

3.) I have never read any of the Harry Potter or Hunger Games books. 

4.) I own over 120 bottles of nail varnish(!!)

5.) I have never been on a plane. 

6.) When I was younger, I danced for 7/8 years. 

7.) I'm a bit OCD about skincare/body care and can't go to bed without taking my make up off properly and I can't not put body moisturiser in after I've had a shower. 

I nominate: 

Alice from Floral Smile

Katie from Ramblings of a Katie kind

Hayley from Hayley Eszti

Beth from Mermaid in Disguise

Meg from MegSays

Emma from Emma Drusilla

Sian from Me, Myself and M.E

Anna from M.E, myself and I

Poppy from Poppyfield

Katie from Katie Brook
Lauren from Laurens Looks 

5 Things I'm Grateful For Now I'm a Spoonie

Getting ill and becoming a spoonie has changed quite a lot of things in my life. In fact it's changed pretty much everything. It changes your perspective on life, your goals, hopes, dreams. Everything. Since becoming a spoonie, I have become grateful for things that I never really thought about before. These things have always been there but only since getting ill have I learnt to appreciate them. 

So I wanted to share with you 5 things I have become grateful for since becoming a spoonie. 

1.) Benches in Public - When I'm not using my wheelchair, I depend on there being a bench near by so that if I come over really poorly and need to rest for a bit, I have somewhere to sit down. I never really thought about this before I got ill but now I am aware when there aren't any. If there aren't any benches and I do feel really dizzy or ill, I have to make do with sitting on the floor (and getting off looks from strangers). 

2.) Having really thick hair - my hair is really thick (and long) and this comes in handy because it means I can go longer without washing it. If I had really fine hair, I would have to wash it more often and washing my hair/showering is tiring for me so I'm grateful my hair still looks fairly decent even if I haven't washed it for a week or more. Anything that saves spoons is a plus. (Along the same lines - I am so grateful for dry shampoo too!) 

3.) Having a back garden - being able to sit outside in my back garden is really great for me and I know that some spoonies don't have one so I feel lucky that I do. I love the fact that I can go into my garden and it feels like I'm going out but I don't have to get dressed or worry what I look like - I quite often go in the garden in a dressing gown-coat-boats-pyjama combo which is always a flattering look but hey, it doesn't matter because no one can see me! A change of scenery is always good and fresh air always makes me feel better. 

Also I am grateful for where I live. Living somewhere fairly quite really helps when it comes to resting. Outside sounds really make a difference when you are trying to rest and I am also grateful that I live fairly near to some shops, my doctors surgery and my family so I don't have to travel too far. Not only does this save spoons but it means I can go out and do things more often than if these things were far away.

4.) Having a car - I'm not well enough to learn how to drive but I'm really glad both my parents have a car. Public transport would be extremely difficult for me and would mean that I wouldn't be able to go out nearly as much as I do. I feel like using public transport would also add a lot more stress and anxiety to my trips out. This also means that I can come home if I feel ill and don't have to wait for the next bus or train. I can go on drives and do what I want to make myself more comfortable, whether that's having it quiet, no music and no radio or wearing what I want aka an odd combination of things/pyjamas or taking a hot water bottle with me. I've always been grateful that we have a car but now even more so. 

5.) The Internet/social media - I've really become dependant on the Internet in general, especailly Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube and blogs. I have found the majority of information on M.E online and reading other sufferers blogs and getting to know them has been really helpful. Going online is a great way to feel like you are interacting with others when you're not actually well enough to go out and about. The spoonie community is honestly amazing and everyone so supportive of each other. I have made so many amazing friends through Twitter and Instagram, people that I have gotten to know really well and talk to them every day. I don't know what I would of done without my spoonie friends. I also like to watch YouTube videos and read blogs too. This is something I can do from bed and I find it useful to be able to distract myself or cheer myself up. YouTube videos are generally shorter than television programmes too so I find that they are good when I'm not feeling so great. I mainly watch beauty videos but I like vlogs too, especially ones where people are going on holiday/travelling so that I get to see a bit of the world without leaving my bed! Pinterest is one of my favourite places too, I like the fact that it's just pictures so you don't need to be feeling that great and don't need to be up to reading - which is good when brain fog strikes! I like thinking about things like what I would have if I ever got married, pinning pictures of wedding dresses, home interiors, positive quotes, places I'd like to travel to, things I want to bake or try. Or even just pretty things I like the look of. 

Those are just some of the things I'm grateful for since getting ill - I'd be here all day if I mentioned everything but I might do another one of these soon. 

What things are you grateful for since getting ill?