The importance of switching off

This Monday I was sitting at home wondering why I didn't feel the least bit festive. It just felt like a regular day, nothing special, even though I knew that Christmas was four days away. While I was scrolling through facebook I saw a post saying: "Christmas is in four days and I've never felt less Christmassy in my life. It related to me so much, it was exactly how I was feeling. I felt more festive in November than I did then! No matter how many times I listened to the Micheal Buble Christmas album or watched a Christmas movie,  I wasn't in the festive spirit at all.

I read the comments to this post, hoping for some scope on the situation and what others had to say.

"Maybe if there was more snow on the ground and fewer bills it would feel like Xmas lmao"

"Bills ruin my fun every holiday lol"

"It's nothing to do with age. Christmas should be kept in December. It's so commercialized, they were selling advent calendars in September! The spirit is ruined by materialism."

But there was one comment that really hit me and struck a chord:
"It's because you're all on f**king Facebook scrolling through endless pointless sh*t procrastinating from getting up and doing something festive like carol singing or Christmas shopping or wrapping or watching Christmas films with the family because you'd rather like or share a video of someone doing it on Facebook to show that you're "festive""

He's right though isn't he? We're all distracted by social media as if we've got nothing better to do! And it sucks, it sucks so bad that we've been brainwashed and taken over by the internet during a time that we should be focusing on spending time with family, laughing and living. Like truly living, without a mobile phone in hand, doing something little like playing a game monopoly and arguing because someone is cheating, or going out for a walk to look at all the Christmas lights.

Switch off. Seriously I mean it, it makes all the difference. Yesterday I managed to do so much just by leaving my phone alone! I watched two Christmas movies with my siblings, played monopoly with my sister and laughed at how she bought every street she landed on! We even created a dance routine to "All I want for Christmas" and performed it for a mum like the good old days. I wrapped the rest of Mum's presents as well as write up the time schedules for the Christmas dinner so that all the food would be taken out and served on time. I can't say I had my phone switched off for long, I turned it off for about an hour until I turned it back on. However I only had it there to answer messages and that was about it. And finally, after I thought there was no hope of feeling Christmassy or festive, the feeling of festivity flooded in and I felt so happy and excited.

I seriously suggest you give your phone and the internet a break this Christmas. I will be, and I know that it will make me feel so much happier. I wish you the merriest of Christmases and a fabulous new year.

Much love,

Lauren

Steps on how to survive being ill during the holiday season

So Christmas is finally around the corner and you're starting to get immensely excited until you get struck down with banging headaches, a stuffy nose, and a sore throat that makes your voice sound like you haven't had a drop of water in days. Sound familiar? It's definitely the case for me right now, and I'm well and truly pissed. If you're ill right now, I know how you feel sister! So I've come up with a few ways to survive being ill during the holiday season.

Step one: Brace yourself for this... stop feeling sorry for yourself! I know I know, you feel like crap and want to rip your throat out, but people in the world are going through much worse than you right now. Try and be grateful, as hard as it may sound it's good to realize that it's not often that it's deemed acceptable to lay in bed all day! Take any time you get off to your advantage instead of bathing in self-pity; trust me it will only make it worse.

Step two: Take action! If you feel something coming on, your hunch is probably right. But you can be a step ahead and take action before the illness tries to fully take over your body. If I ever start to feel a bit worse for wear I straight away break out the Lemsip. If that fails or your already at the stage of complete ickiness, then the following steps should help you out.

Step three: Break out the Christmas movies! They're bound to cheer you up, what with all the happy stories of white Christmases and Santa. At least, they can distract you from the realization that your nose is probably as red as Rudolph's right now.

Step four: If you can keep your food down and if it doesn't hurt too much to swallow, then you better break out the snacks. Being ill is going to seriously mess with your energy levels, so forget the calorie intake and eat away! When I'm poorly sick I'm and avid ice cream eater. Who am I kidding? I'm always an avid ice cream eater!

Step five: Hydration, hydration, hydration. I'll admit it, I'm pants at remembering to drink a good amount of water every day. However, it's even more so important to get some water down yourself when you're ill. If not, you might just end up feeling worse, so always have a glass of water near you at all times!

Step six: Reeeelllllaaaaaaxxxx. Don't worry about those Christmas presents you haven't bought yet, that paper you need to finish, or all the work you're supposed to be doing. Being ill is a bit like your body telling you to have a break, spend a day or two with yourself, and to look after yourself. Yeah maybe it's a funny way of telling you but hey. Putting yourself under stress will not make matters any better.

I hope you're all feeling well, but if not I hope these steps help you out! 

Much love,

Lauren xx

The best Christmas presents of my childhood

Recently I was thinking about my childhood Christmases, the memories, the gifts, the places we went and the things we all did. In particular I look back at my favourite gifts as a child. Presents were so important back then, and I never cherished the idea that Christmas was about spending time with family and the atmosphere until I was about 12. But I've got to say, writing those Christmas lists were a heck of a lot of fun! I'd get Nan's Argos catalogue and circle each thing that I wanted (I'll admit it, I circled a lot more than Santa's sleigh could handle). Here are a list of my at the time most admired Christmas presents.

1. A Bratz dolls somehow always found its way under the tree, every year. My collection kept growing and growing but I was definitely not complaining. I looked after them and raised them as my own children; I dressed them in new outfits every day, plaited their hair, set up a movie for them and the gals on what was actually my extra tiny box TV, and one time I even washed one of the dolls hair and put her under the lamp for it to dry! Her head melted and I got a bit upset... but apart from that I loved my Bratz dolls. They were considered my best Christmas gifts for a long time. What's their saying? Passion for fashion? Something like that.

2. My FIRST BUILD A BEAR! Oh how adored her. Going into the shop and picking her out as well as her clothes felt so magical! It was a week before Christmas and I caught the train into Birmingham with my family to explore the Christmas market. I managed to persuade my mum to let me get a bear and when she did, oh the happiness!! I called her Toffee and I carried her home in her Christmas box along with her birth certificate and outfits. Ugh it makes me feel all gooey and nostalgic looking back. :'(

3. Getting my pink DS lite was such a beautiful moment. I remember waiting for it to charge and the finally being able to play on Nintendogs. I'm pretty sure I stayed in mums bed for ages playing with my little Shih tzu. OMG Nintendogs was such a good game. Ugh I miss being able to play that. But thanks to my super cool boyfriend my Nintendo dreams will be brought back to life, since he promised to buy me Animal Crossing New Leaf and he's giving me his 3DS because he doesn't use it anymore. I do love the kid. 

4. My Polly Pocket cruise ship was a bit of an upgrade from my first Polly Pocket that I bought at a car boot sale, you know, the original Polly Pocket. I remember circling it in the Argos catalogue so many times that I almost burnt trough the page. My little dolls went on the best holidays ever, shilling by the pool, climbing up a rock climbing wall, it was all just fabulous and I was so grateful that Santa made my wishes come true.

5. Finally, my pixel chix was a Christmas gift which I obsessed over. It's like a limited, extremely pixellated sims for kids. I collected a load of them and this was the first one I got that started the craze. I loved it so much, and I found it so addictive! My little sister has them all now but she doesn't really understand how it works. One day.

What kind of presents did you get as a child?

Lauren x

Buddy's Breakfast: Tried and Tested by me

I'm guessing you've watched the movie Elf before, I mean most people have. But if not, first of all how? What? Why? And second of all, get to it! But if you have watched the Christmas movie then this blog post might make a bit more sense to you than to those who haven't. There is one scene in particular where Buddy makes a marvelous and extravagant breakfast, mostly made out of a multitude of all things sweet and sticky. Ring any bells? Maybe this picture will jog your memory?

I recently tried to recreate the beautiful meal myself out of ingredients that I found in my house! 

To make my version of Buddy's breakfast you will need:

Nutella

Marshmallow Fluff

Krave Cereal

Candy Canes

A massive marshmallow

Some Spaghetti 

Step One: Boil your spaghetti to perfection. Actually it doesn't mean that much how well it's cooked, as long as your can chew through it..I mean you're not going to notice the texture next to the other ingredients anyway.

Step two: Dollop your marshmallow fluff and nutella onto your pasta. You can either mix it in or let it melt. Whatever jingle your bells!

Step three: Because I only had a jumbo marshmallow, I had to cut it up into chunks, but having mini marshmallows on hand is always a great idea, you know to throw on your porridge, toast, smoothie bowl etc.

Step four: Then you can go crazy with toppings!! For this meal I went for the healthier option of crushed up candy canes and chopped in half pieces of krave. Got to watch my figure this Christmas!

And there you have it, my version of Buddy the elf's Christmas breakfast!!

Before you think "I bet she threw that in the bin straight away" or "I bet she didn't even try it", I did try it and it was absolutely gorgeous! The subtle starchyness of the spaghetti really compliments the hard hitting peppermint and tastes great drenched in the melted nutella. The marshmallow is really sweet yet significantly warm on the palette and the cereal adds that extra crunch that would otherwise be missing. I highly recommend you try it for yourself to feel the true taste!

Will you be trying this recipe this Christmas?

Much love,

Lauren 

p.s I did actually try it and it was rather disgusting! I felt extremely sick afterwards aha! I wouldn't try this, but I hope you got my sense of humor ;)

The Best Christmas Gift Guide Ever: Guarunteed

It's December the most joyous and festive time of the year! If you haven't started buying Christmas presents yet, you really need to up your game! But fear not! I've got the best Christmas gift guide that you will see on any blog ever, so feast your eyes on these bad boys. You're about to purchase the best gifts anyone will ever receive in their life!

1. Crocs! They're so versatile! You can pull so many different outfits with these shoes, from smart work attire, to fancy nights out with the girls! These shoes are fit for all weather, especially the cold winter season! Anyone would be delighted to receive such a gorgeous gift that they will cherish and put to great use.

2. This eyebrow pencil has all the beauty bloggers talking, even Pewdiepie can't have enough! It's great for creating those thick brows that all the celebrities are trying to achieve. This pen can create a variety of lines, thick and thin, therefore you can create a multitude of different eyebrow looks. Even my dad recommends it! Be a great person this year and leave this in someones stocking to make their Christmas the best one yet!

3. Loom bands are so this year! Just look at all the beautiful creations you can make. Give this to your significant other this Christmas and expect them to make you the most gorgeous and eccentric necklaces from pure rubber and possibly toxic fumes! My boyfriend has been begging for this book all year, and I can't wait to see his reaction when he finds this under the tree!

 4. If your family and friends are anything like me, then they will love anything luxurious! Therefore, these tampons will be right up their street! But you better be quick, they're so lavish and ostentatious that they're flying straight off the shelves, and super markets around the UK are struggling to keep them in stock due to such high demand! To add extra festivity, swap out the string for some bright and colourful tinsel; that will really make their bells jingle!

5. Avocados have been the most talked about fruit of 2015! Why not end this year on a high and gift an avocado to someone who really makes you happy! They'll love all the things they can make with it: guacamole, avocado on toast, ketchup, coffee, so many different choices! Any doubts? Have a look at this kid receiving one for himself!
You can just see the tears of joy in his eyes!

6. Last but not least, Santa's sack! This brass keyring is so festive and jubilant, you can even see all the gifts bulging out! Oh my, Santa will be treating us well this year! This gift will be a friendly reminder of what a giving, tender and joyful person you are. Anyone would be lucky to flash this gift off!





That's all folks, I can just tell you will all love this gift ideas as much as I do! I hope you take some inspiration because you'll be making a lot of people happy!!

What was your favourite gift that you've seen in this post?

Lauren xx

*This post was so much fun to write and I had a good old chuckle to myself! I hope you like this unusual but different post and also hope that you noticed my sarcasm from the start and through out aha!