Happy birthday Makinglifeacamera + Q&A

Oh my gosh, I can't believe that I have been blogging for a year! Where has the time gone? In my mind, I'm still just starting out and learning the ropes of blogging. This year has a massive learning curve for me and although I have gained a lot of knowledge, I still have so much more to learn. I can't thank you enough for reading my blog, it means the world to me that people enjoy reading what I post. If you asked me a year ago where I thought my blog would be, I could never expect this - thank you.  

What I have achieved:

• Being brave enough to upload some controversial posts
• Doing my first collab with Shylifeliving
• Uploading fashion posts which I never thought that I would do 
• Being contacted by some brands 
• Meeting some lovely fellow bloggers who I can rely on for advice or a just a friendly chat 

What I plan for the future:

• To continue to have the confidence in posting controversial posts
• Include many more fashion posts as I enjoy doing them so much
• Work with other bloggers and brands
• Start to upload cooking posts because I rarely ever do them
• Ask Twitter chats if I could host some; I enjoyed my first so much

Q&A

@EJLChronicles asks: What inspired you to start blogging?

I was really into watching Youtube and reading other blogs before starting my own; I loved the idea of having your own platform to share ideas and express your thoughts. Also, as I'm not creative in the sense of DIY or art, I thought that I could use my blog as a creative outlet in a different form. 

@ShyLifeLiving asks: What's your favourite blog post that you have written and your favourite blog post that you have ever read?

I think that my favourite post that I have ever written was my CTGT:My Germany trip + haul because that holiday meant so much to me. It was such a special trip as I learnt about the place that my Mum was born in and where my Grandparents lived for a chunk of their lives. 

My favourite blog post that I have ever read was by Onemoregirlonline and it was her No more wondering 'What if' post. After reading this, I felt very inspired and it really made me think about worrying about the future. I love this girl's blog, it has many amazing posts that have always left me thinking about the message behind them! Definitely check them out! 

@Coloursofarose asks: What keeps you motivated to blog?

For me, blogging is a hobby so it is mainly the enjoyment that keeps me motivated. Also, I like being organised and sticking to schedules, which may seem strange but I do, therefore I already feel quite motivated to upload twice a week.

This year, blogging has become my passion! I'm really excited to continue posting and improving my blog. Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout my first year - it really means a lot! 

xox

Brooklyn Street Style

I received the 'Brooklyn Street Style' book for my birthday and I have really enjoyed reading it and taking inspiration from the outfit photos. From the knowledge that I had gained through reading this book, I put together an outfit which I believe incorporates the key aspects of Brooklyn fashion. One of the main ideas is that you mix fashion prints. In my outfit, my scarf (from Urban Outfitters) and my trousers (from Topshop) clash patterns. Also, the flowery design on my trousers is something that I believe people would wear in Brooklyn because the book explains that quite a lot of the fashion is based around the hippy trend. 

Another aspect of the fashion which I learnt about was that the end of your trousers and the start of your shoe don't have to be in the same place, there is quite often a gap where some of your leg is showing. My boots (from Topshop) just cover my ankles and my trousers are 7/8 in length so there is about 1 or 2 inches of my lower leg on show. Usually, I would never think that I could pull this off but I actually like the way that it looks! I might play around with some other garments and see if I can put together more outfits. 

I wore a black jumper (from Jack Wills) under a leather jacket (from Topshop) - the leather jacket gives this outfit more of an edge. As the two items are neutral colours, I could draw attention to the trousers. From what I gathered from the book, a lot of the pictures feature the bottom half of the outfit as the bolder half in comparison to the top so I kept it quite subtle with the jumper and jacket - print/colour wise. 

If you enjoyed this post, I have a Paris and a Berlin Street Style book that I could take some inspiration from to create another outfit. Let me know if you would like that. 

xox

CTGT: Christmas day 2015

This year, I had such a wonderful day spent with friends and family. If you read my Christmas day routine, you would know that my best friend and I were going to do a reading in church - I'm really happy to say that it went well. My dog also enjoyed her stocking very much, although she hated the bubbles which Santa got her!!! In several of the photos, there are some flower arrangements which my grandma did and they looked lovely on the table! You may notice as well that there are some christingles; we made these at church and I had to make sure mine was colour/sweet co-ordinated.

Christmas day is always so special as I have all of my immediate family with me and I get to see my best friend at church. My favourite part of the day, this year, was sitting around the table after lunch just having a conversation and although that sounds quite boring/ordinary in some respects, it is moments like that one which stay in my memory. Moments when we are all together, laughing and joking around whilst the dog is still on the hunt for left-overs! 

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas and if you don't celebrate it, I hope that you had a lovely day!!

xox

My Christmas day routine

I'm always interested in what people get up to on Christmas day. If you are one of my friends, you will know that I ask loads of questions in relation to your daily routine. I know that many families have certain traditions on Christmas and always stick to the same activities - my family being in this category! So I decided to share what I will be getting up to this year (and probably next year too)... 

8am - This is now, generally, the time that I wake up on Christmas. When I was younger, it used to be much earlier - if I even went to sleep! At this time, we will go downstairs and open our stockings. This year, my dog has a stocking so I'm very excited to see her reaction to all of her new toys! I think Christmas is her favourite day of the year - bless her!! 

9am - At this time, we will have finished opening our stockings and had breakfast so at 9am we all get showered/dressed ready to leave the house at 9:30am.

10am - We will arrive at church for 10am where I will meet my best friend and her family. This year, my friend and I are leading a prayer in church which I hope goes well as I always struggle reading out loud. 

11am - The service will have finished so mum and I will drive back home to be greeted by my dog and dad - who will have started the Christmas dinner. 

12pm - My grandparents and uncle will arrive and we will usually sit and chat, whilst listening to Christmas music, as dinner is continuing to be cooked.

1pm - Dinner is served!! We will all gather around the kitchen table, pull crackers and eat a lovely Christmas dinner - still with the Christmas tunes playing!! 

2pm - We will tidy up all the Christmas dinner and, naughtily, feed the dog some of the leftovers - I mean, she does sit very nicely for it!! 

3pm - The Queen's speech is broadcasted from 3pm-3:10pm so we will listen to that before opening the presents under the tree. I usually sit by the tree and hand out a present for everyone and we take it in turns to open them. I'm quite excited to see the faces of my family when they open their presents from me.

4pm - We will still be in the lounge by this point and my dog will be very excited by all of the wrapping paper. After we have opened all of the presents, we will tidy up the wrapping mess and have a slice of Christmas cake. At this point, I have a bowl of ice cream as I don't like Christmas cake very much. 

5pm - My grandparents and uncle usually leave at 5pm so then my household chills in the lounge whilst watching some Christmas TV for the evening.

10pm - This is the sad part of the day because Christmas is nearly over for another year and it won't be acceptable anymore to blast Christmas music throughout the house! 

What do you get up to on Christmas day? Do you have any similar traditions to mine or are yours completely different? Let me know!!

xox

Christmas OOTD ideas | Collab

Outfit 1: Casual 

Top: Primark

Leggings: H&M

Slippers: Primark

For this first outfit I went for a super comfy and effortless look. I wanted to look like I'd made an effort because at Christmas I usually see a lot of family and have photos taken. I think the shirt adds formality to the look without being really uncomfortable, I mean you still need to harbour that food baby. It's a floaty shirt so it's really loose and comfy; I think this is great for christmas because you dont want to be restrained and uncomfortable. It also has this lovely scalloped detail on the collar and cuffs, I just think it makes the outfit have a bit more detail and look like you put more effort in.

Then I just wore some basic leggings. They make the outfit sleek but still feel like you're in your PJ's, which I love. Obviously slippers because who doesn't love slippers? I think they are great for christmas time as you can wear them in peoples houses and you dont have to get your feet out, and they are warm and comfy. 

Outfit 2: Formal 

Romper: Topshop

Cardigan: New Look

Necklace: H&M

For this more formal look I wanted to keep it comfy but still look formal/put together. I think rompers are great for this because they come in some lovely patterns, like sparkles or jewelled, but they are still floaty and comfy. This one has an elasticated waist, which is great for christmas dinner time!! I don't think you can go wrong with something like this because they are so flattering but hide all the bloating from eating too many puddings!

I also added a really simple cardigan, just in case it gets a bit chilly. I think the addition of the simple necklace works really well because it adds a bit of detail to the chest so that it doesn't look bare. 

I hope you all enjoy christmas and make the right choices for your food baby! haha!

XXX

Outfit 3: Festive 

Dress - Topshop

Christmas jumper - New Look 

For the third and final outfit idea, I decided to go for a festive option. This is for the people who really like to feel festive, not just in the daily activities but in their clothing choice too. Although it may not be that clear, I have a dress on underneath the jumper and it is a plain, black skater dress. I've had this dress for a while and have actually worn it on the past two Christmas's because it is very cosy. If you are wearing a Christmas jumper - that is quite bold -  having a plain dress/skirt can attract all of the attention to the jumper. I appreciate that my jumper isn't particularly Christmassy, in a sense, it is more of a winter jumper but I'm one of those people who doesn't go to town with it. I definitely believe that there are different types of Christmas jumpers; this one being in the subtle group. Comfort is important at Christmas so I feel like this is a good option if you want to feel festive, a little dressed up and snuggly! 

I would like to thank Sophie from Shy Life Living for suggesting that we should collab! I have throughly enjoyed coming up with ideas for outfits and putting the posts together. At the beginning of December, on Sophie's blog, we did a Christmas shopping outfit ideas post so you should definitely check that out if you have some last minute shopping to do. In fact, whilst you're there have a look at all of her posts because her blog is amazing! The photography is incredible and her fashion posts are my favourite!! 

Sophie's blog: Shylifeliving

What will you be wearing this Christmas? Did this post give you any inspiration? 

xox

The Christmas Tag

I was tagged by the lovely Yana from TimewithYana to do the Christmas Tag. Christmas is my favourite time of year so I hope you enjoy reading/learning about what I like to do in the festive period. 

Q1: Favourite thing about Christmas?

I absolutely love spending time with my family and friends. Christmas is always a day filled with happiness and excitement. I feel like I can really relax and enjoy myself surrounded by the people I love. 

Q2: Favourite Christmas movie/s? 

I love so many!! One that I can remember watching most years is 'Miracle on 34th Street'; my mum and I always used to put it on whilst having hot chocolates or getting snuggly under a warm blanket. I also like 'The Snowman' even though I find it really emotional for some reason. 

Q3: Real tree or fake tree?

We always vary this but this year we have a real tree. For a couple of years beforehand, we had to have a fake tree because we had a new puppy and were frightened that she would try to eat all of the pine needles that fell off it!

Q4: Giving presents or receiving them?

I would have to say giving presents because I get so excited to see the reaction of the person when they open it. This year, I'm looking forward to being there when my family open theirs as I have put a lot of effort into finding something that they will love!! 

Q5: Do you open your presents Christmas morning or evening?

We usually open Father Christmas's presents in the morning, before we go to church. Then, we return home, have dinner, watch the Queen's speech and open the presents under the tree in the afternoon. 

Q6: What tops your tree?

An angel which I insist on placing at the top every year, I always used to do the final touches. 

Q7: As a kid what was the one (crazy, extravagant) gift you asked for but never received? 

I honestly can't think of many! I remember always wanting a trampoline but that isn't very extravagant! That goes to show that I wasn't very imaginative! I did, however, want to have a Secret Garden of my own from the film! 

Q8) Handmade Christmas cards or bought?

Unfortunately, all of my are bought. I'd love to make my own but I'm rubbish at arts and crafts! Buying them is a safe bet!

Q9) Do you have any Christmas eve traditions?

When I was younger, my dad and I used to go on a 'Santa Tracker' website and see where he was in the world! This always used to fascinate me and I'd try to work out where Santa was going next.

I tag:

Thrifty Vintage Fashion

She Is Wondering

Shy Life Living

xox

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

This weekend was when Christmas really started to happen at home. We put up the Christmas tree today and decorated the rest of the house for the festive season. I've also started playing Christmas songs and wearing Christmas jumpers to get excited for the big day! On this blog, every post up until the 25th will be Christmas themed! I'm sorry that I couldn't take part in Blogmas this year; I have lots of commitments at the moment so I don't have time! However, I hope that you are enjoying the early days of December and are really getting into the Christmas spirit! 

xox

My love/hate relationship with social media

Social media can be your best friend whilst blogging. Without this friend, my blog certainly wouldn't be where it is now! In a matter of seconds, I can log into my Twitter account, promote my posts, chat to other bloggers and have easy access to their new posts. Joining in on Twitter chats, using a wide range of hastags, allows me to connect to bloggers and have my say in the blogging community. The support which other bloggers give is incredible; something that I never realised when I first started out. Having my social media accounts, can give me confidence that I don't necessarily have in real life but that is the issue that I sometimes worry about - if I'm not always the same on social media than in real life, other people may not be either?!

Many of you might relate to this when I say that the online safety talks, that I used to have at school, freaked me out. Still to this day, I'm sceptical about who I talk to online because I don't want to put myself in a vulnerable situation. Although the vast majority of people that I speak to on Twitter are lovely and are the legitimate person that they claim to be, there are still some doubts in my mind. The internet, sometimes, can be a very scary place. From the experiences that I have had whilst blogging, I have been extremely lucky and I'm very grateful for the fact that everyone is kind and I haven't had any issues. However, in the back of my mind, I still think about my safety.

Another factor about having social media which I hate is comparing yourself to others. No matter how hard I try, I can't help it. If other bloggers seem to be doing better than me and getting a better response on their posts, I think, 'What am I doing wrong?'. However, it's not me that's doing anything wrong, social media figures have lead me to believe that I'm not good enough. Something to remember which is really important is that 'Other people's successes aren't your failures'. Social media is set out to make you forget that point. When you see an account with thousands of followers it's hard not to compare. 

Also, social media is not always a true representation of real life. Yes, you can post a lot of your life on social media but your followers will never know everything - which I think is a good thing. I follow famous celebrities and recognise that what they are posting isn't the whole story. 

@making_camera: I'm loving wearing a red lip!

You see this and learn that I like red lipstick but you don't know anymore - it's a brief, vague statement. Some people choose to post more personal things which is more of an insight into their life but every detail isn't shared. So, when people judge others on their social media, it isn't fair because they don't necessarily know the person outside of the Internet. It is so easy to hate online because you can't see the reactions of the person. This is awful but you can't stop people doing it. By creating an account, there is always that slight chance that you might receive hate - you have to make a judgement call. 

To end on a happy note, social media can have a positive impact on someone's day. Recently, I joined Jemma's #girlgang which I think is an amazing idea. Spreading positivity and supporting others in a place that isn't always easy sailing should be promoted heavily - Jemma has really done a great job of this. Since the gang was created, my timeline has been so lovely to read!

I think that I will always have this love/hate relationship with social media but I have learnt that little acts of kindness and spreading positivity instead of negative thoughts has as much impact online as they do in real life! 

xox