9 Things You Do On The Daily Commute (By Car)

Once upon a time it used to take me 10 minutes to get to work in the mornings, I could wake up at 7am and have a confident 30 mins scrolling through my Insta stories before I even had to think about making myself look less than half dead. Once upon a time was roughly 6 months ago for me. 

LOL. Imagine the above. Until some guy came along and thought it would be a good idea to do a bunch of roadworks for 18 months on the busiest road in Plymouth, yippeee. What could go wrong they say? 

In total I have spent maybe 7 hours per week sat in my car, not moving. Sometimes 1 hour at a time. For a 20 minute journey. PITY ME. That is 7 episodes of Narcos, almost a full sleep, A PLANE TRIP TO New York. I know what I'd rather be doing...

But HEY, if you catch my drift, you can probably totally relate to these things when you're just not moving..

1. You've already been stationary for 15 minutes and the traffic report says 'traffic is moving fine through *insert town/area/location*'. Like LOL I'm not moving mate. You practically scream at the man who says otherwise. Your'e not even here though. You even consider ringing the number to put the story straight, until you realise you can't text and drive, even when not moving.

2. Heart. Radio. Heart. Radio. You're switching the channels more than Jess from Love Island pops up a paid ad on Insta. You know the drill, as soon as there's talking and adverts you're switching faster than Usain Bolt. 

3. You're sure you left in the pitch black at 6am, except you're certain that the sunrise has already happened whilst you've been sat there in your car. Have I really not moved for 2 hours? No you haven't.

4. When cars try to cut in by skipping the traffic - NOT ON MY WATCH BITCHES. You clutch control so close to the car in front as humanely possible to stop anyone cutting in and stealing you edging forwards by 5m. But HEY, if you want to cut in, you almost burst an artery with rage when no one does and start shaking your head in the hope they look back in their rear mirror. How rude?

5. You drive past the same builders or whatever they're called doing the road works every day. Never doing any work. You drive slowly past them each day, properly giving them the death stare. Do they ever do any work tho? You even consider shouting at them, fancy holding 548368 people up every day.

6. As you're edging closer to work, you think of all the stories and traffic tales you're going to bore your colleagues with. Like do you even go to work if the first 20 mins aren't spent talking about traffic tho? Probs not.

7. You start to think if quitting your job because the traffic sucks is a valid reason to quit. The mini breakdowns you have in the car every day are taking their toll, you always say you'll drive a different way, but you never learn your lesson, course you aint coming in a different way.

8. The worst bit about being stuck in traffic? You can't check your phone. You're chomping at the bit to check how many Insta likes your latest post has got, probably none, but STILL. 

9. You long for the school holidays, and traffic is the only way you actually know when those school holidays are happening'. Empty roads, 7am wake up calls, stress free journeys - please stay. But if there is roadworks LOL, sorry not for you. You realise that the most exciting event coming up in your schedule is the date the roadworks finish, and you're really not sorry about that. Roadwork free trips to work over a getaway to the Malia Strip any day.

Can you relate to any of these?

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5 Lush Halloween Products You Need In Your Bath This Autumn

Oh, what would you know, just like that it's almost bloody NOVEMBER. I'm not ready to admit that I still haven't met this years 4637 New Years resolutions, or set next years for that fact. But I love this time of the year, it's fresher, it's about buying PSL's that you don't even drink OR like - and sweet merry lord, the Lush Halloween collection is out too. It's better than ever.

I got a little preview of the Lush Halloween and Christmas collection a couple of weeks ago at their blogger event. Aint nobody do better blog events than these guys. I'd already spotted a few returning huns from last year and some new additions that have somehow topped what they did last year. 

So whilst the evenings are starting to draw in, those days of leaving and coming home in the dark are on the horizon, the bathing season has started. For me, you won't want to be without these 5 Lush Halloween products this Autumn!

1. Bewitched Bubble Bar

How cute tho? It reminds me of a) lucky black cats b) the children's TV programme from the 90s (Cat's Eyes) and C) Salem from Sabrina, I'm smitten. Imagine having a black bath, like how Halloween and spooky is that? It's obviously going to be my bath product of choice when the 31st rolls around.

Yep, it's the first time this one has ever graced the shelves of Lush and I hope it makes a return.

2. Naked Twilight* (shower gel)

Mama have mercy. It's Twilight galore this year in Lush and I could not be more excited. I almost wet myself a bit when I realised Twilight shower gel was actually being sold in my Plymouth store, say what? I've always been a Twilight fan as opposed to a Snow Fairy gal and if their new twilight/sleepy additions weren't enough, they've now released a Naked shower gel of Twilight.

A lot of their products are now available in a naked form, removing plastic from the equation, it's of course much better for the environment, and lasts longer too. It smells INCRED - I almost want to use it as a room scent as it's just sooooo good. 

I'm not entirely sure on the 'naked' concept yet, I think it's great what they're doing and hasn't been done before, but I'm not sure of how you would really store it or travel with it. But it is Twilight, so of course I had to have it. (Already setting my alarm for the Boxing Day sale to grab THE LOT).

3. Pink Pumpkin

Why buy the orange version when there is PINK. Always pink. I'm super happy at this new addition this year that is undeniably going to go down a storm with bloggers and girls everywhere. 

It's pink, sparkly and lasts a few bath times, what's not to love about that?

4. Pumpkin

Pumpkin is back this year and it's a Halloween tradition of mine. You can't not buy Pumpkin, like it's the law. This cute bath bomb fizzes and creates that autumnal bath colour of dreams.

A comforting and sweet smell which is almost just that bit more satisfying than having a whiff of a PSL. I like it a lot.

5. Lord of Misrule

Lord of Misrule is a babe! I think this is the third or fourth year it has returned, and the smells, colours are just divine. It's that one bath bomb that will always nail that lushie bath art for your Insta too.

It reminds me of the theatre show Wicked with its wicked green colour, it's only £3.95 too, so it definitely comes in at one of the more cheaper bath bombs!

What are your favourite bathing products from the Halloween collection?

*Products marked with an asterix (*) have been sent to me for review. However, all opinions in this post are 100% my own

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Life On Being A Teetotal 25 Year Old

It's been 4 years since I last drank alcohol. Knowingly at least. 4 years since I turned my life around and I snatched back that part of me that was once the life and soul of the party. The type that didn't need a bottle of your Asda voddy to get you cutting shapes on the dance floor. 

I was complete without it before, and once again I was. 

So let's just jump back to Thursday night last week. It was a launch night at a hot new restaurant in town, OK so people were mostly there for the free bar all night, and a few bits of finger food tossed in for good measure. It was a nice evening, I'd already been spoken down to about not drinking by two separate bar staff. I'd already lied twice about why I wasn't drinking too.

'I'm driving!'.... 'Early start tomorrow, you know how it is'....

One more mocktail for the road I thought. I'd already had about 2 cartons of passionfruit juice, my sugar allowance had been reached for the week, but go on then. 

As I was handed the only one mocktail option of the night, within the first sip I'd realised I'd just had my first swig of rum in a very long time, and I was scared. 

OK, it was a sip. Only a sip, practically like having a chocolate champagne truffle. Whatcha gonna do? I honestly imagine the feeling is like a vegan being handed a quorn sausage, later realising it was actually a pork sausage. That sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I'd worked so hard to avoid alcohol before, I felt like my abstinence from it had been ruined in a second. It had.

It seems that being teetotal actually seems to get harder and worse to explain when you get older. I'm never going to be that girl who can neck a bottle of prosecco with the girls before a night out, I'll never drink a dirty pint again (ain't that a shame), buying pretty cocktails for Insta will never happen for me. That's fine. 

It's the acceptance of other people, strangers even, that's hard. Will I always find this hard? Why do I find myself lying? Why am I made to feel so embarrassed about it?

The hardest part is that I don't have a choice. I was forced to give up alcohol and never look back if I wanted to get my health back on track, to stay out of hospital and be able to live my life. That's a small cost to pay for my health, fitness and being able to enjoy doing things that I once did. To find happiness once again. 

I never thought I would recover from pancreatitis, the pain, losing weight, the months of tests, the sadness - no one sees that. No one can understand unless they put themselves in your shoes. It's something that I always try to do with other people. Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.

To the barman that once laughed in my face when I asked in a bar if they did mocktails. The barman last week who said I was boring and should be making the most of a free bar. The people who laugh and question how you could ever go on a night out sober. 

To all of those people who single me out and make me feel like a freak, you make it hard, but you make me more grateful than ever that I can say no to you. I'm just lucky it's easier than saying no to eating a whole packets of biscuit in one sitting. That aint easy.

I wonder in time if I will become more accepting of it too. The problem is knowing how life once was, knowing what it was like to get off your trolley. It needs to start from me, I need to be able to accept it before anyone else can.

I long to feel that gentle buzz from the alcohol reaching my bloodstream again, those best friends you meet in the club toilets, LUV your hair BBZ. Those first waking moments when you can't remember a thing that happened, slowly piecing it together by pictures, snapchat stories and text messages. I do miss it. For a social aspect at least, I won't ever let my guard down or let my hair down like I once did.

I still have fleeting moments where I think I should try it again. See what happens. 

But it's too big a risk to take. I can't afford to put myself back in a hospital bed for a few hours of fun. And that's just it, learning to accept that this is it from now on and for an eternity. There's no going back. No second chances.

I will never be able to drink alcohol again, when I'm 26, 30 or 50. This is my life and the sooner I can accept it for what it is, the sooner I can say up yours to those people that make me feel inferior.

Being teetotal is not an issue, and it never should be. 

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When To Say No To Blogger Collaborations

I wish I'd had a post like this when I first started out blogging, because I'm not afraid to admit that I pretty much accepted anything and everything 4 years ago. I had nail decals, clothing I had to send back because LOL I didn't think that one through and a liquorice all sorts dress that I accepted because I didn't want to say thanks, but no thanks. I guess you could say it was a learning curve.

The early days of blogger collabs were more about obtaining that holy grail backlink rather than a little mention on Insta. So 4 years back in time I used to get sent a lot of stuff to review. I was in correspondence with my fair share of PRs, I played the field a little. I learnt when not to sell myself too short and when to run at the opportunity with open arms. Most importantly, I've learnt when to say no, and why I should be saying no.

My Blogger Collab Criteria

Is it on brand tho? Now I know where I am and who I want to be, I know whether something is on brand or not. So maybe I did before, but I was desperate back in the day to get sent something for free, because if that didn't make you a proper, profesh blogger what did? 

I'm not even talking about plugging e-cigarettes if you're a fashion blogger, those are the obvious ones that you hopefully won't touch with a barge pole. You need to be asking yourself the following 3 questions before even thinking of going any further;

Do I like the products & their brand?

Will I wear/use the products after the review? (WILL THEY BE ON DEPOP 1 WEEK LATER THO)

Is it something that I would buy?

This is the make or break for me, because if it's not something I would normally buy then why the hell am I doing it. You need to be enthusiastic and excited about it, as this is what is going to show through in your content and photos. So here I am laughing to myself about that bright yellow tracksuit that your nan would have bought you in the 90s and turning up to what I thought was an evening of theatre, which involved 10 other people over the age of 70 and a meal that you'd expect at the school canteen. Then there's nothing worse than that follow up email, 'hey hun, when is your post going live?' - it's this email that still haunts me now. How am I gonna write about an event/product I don't even like. You know the content won't be good, but you feel too bad to say 'sorry, I just don't like it enough to blog about it', so you push bad content out, move on and *hopefully* won't make the same mistake twice.

We have all been there and it's the worst. My love for writing has grown to an existential level over the last few years where I blog because I like it and not for those freebies we all become accustomed too. I will probably only say yes or even reply to 1 out of 5 things I get approached on now. Even if I was being offered dollar dollar bill for something I didn't feel happy about, I'd still probably say no and that's probably the most important thing. 

Payment Terms

I get asked by a lot of non bloggers how collabs work. When products are involved there is always your two classic ways, 1) You're sent the item for free in return for a review (no payment is exchanged) 2) You receive an item for free and are expected to review/post on Insta in return for an agreed payment. You *may* even have to chase said invoice for 4 months, or more, so that's nice.

I do not do any blogger collabs for free, in the sense that I will receive something for any work I do, my time is money. I will not plug products in return for nothing. I used to be bashing blog posts out left right and centre for that potential chance of 'exposure' and being shared across their social channels that only have 70 followers. Nah, you're alright.

It's hard when you're a new blogger, everyone does it, and that's okay. It's about learning and finding what your worth within the blogging world is, and that always is worth something.

I do more 'here's something in return for a review' than 'here's something free and £343647'. It has to be a mutually beneficial partnership in my eyes too, the terms have to be right for both of you. Don't sell yourself short, and always ask for more if you see fit. I work very closely with a few brands that I absolutely LOVE, and It's not like I'll ever say no to a free packet of Chocolate Digestive Biscuits or a jar of Marmite for a blog post, because priorities. Gurl gotta eat something during those Netflix binges.

As soon as you're being asked to write a blog post to be entered into a competition, have the potential to get social exposure and basically receive nothing, that is when you say no. Tbf most of these emails go straight to my junk now, but just a heads up that however small or big your blog is, know that your blog is always worth more than giving some PR a lil freebie.

How To Say No

If you're a bad blogger like me and sometimes go days before you remember to reply to an email, you'll probably not even end up replying. It is courtesy to reply, because these PRs may have potential opportunities for you in the future that could be more suited to you. Plus, it's just rude.

Always email back if you can, or in my case also apologise that it's taken you a month to reply. You'll know what is right to reply, but you can never go wrong with 'I'm really sorry, but I don't have the time to take on any blogger collabs at the moment, thanks for the opportunity though hon'. Or something like, 'Thanks so much for your email, the opportunity sounds great but it's not something that currently fits into my blog content'. Keep it short, simple and to the point. It's better to be honest than accepting and getting your knickers into a twist 2 weeks later about how you're gonna plug waxing strips on your fashion blog. It's not pretty.

So there we go, a tiny insight into blogger collabs, hopefully this also answers when to say yes. If it's Kate Spade, Marmite and any kinda chocolate then yes. It's always a yes from me. Stay true to yourself when you start dipping the toes into paid content, as it will always shine through in your content.

Jumper - Primark

Jeans - Hollister

Bag - Zara

Brogues - Dune London

Flowers - Lidl

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