Harome Wedding

This weekend we had a family wedding at Harome, near York. Helmsley is such  a gorgeous little village, it looks like it's out of a movie! All of the buildings are made from stone, there were classic cars everywhere and a beautiful little church. It was surrounded by fields full of horses and has little chickens and ducks wondering around everywhere.

We stayed at a hotel called The Pheasant Inn, I literally felt like I had walked into a different period of time ha! It had a quirky mix of old and new, with rustic furniture, mosaic tiled floors, book cases, pianos, lakes and a swimming pool (which I didn't know about ha).

The breakfast was the BEST breakfast I have ever had. I felt like I could just eat for hours; fresh berries, granola, croissants, salmon and eggs, cooked breakfasts. The view topped it off though, sat in the garden looking at the little lake and the horses in the field. Not to mention the weather was ace too, I'm so glad it was good weather for the wedding.

The rooms were so cute, little stone cottages with an open fire, duck down beds, a really deep bath and good coffee for the mornings. They had black out blinds and curtains so I literally slept so so good, I've never slept so long in my life.

The actual wedding its self was at Saint Gregory's Minister, an ancient Saxon church tucked way, surrounded by fields. It has a graveyard with all of the Saxon grave stones and also commonwealth war graveyard. The church was small but very haunting. The choir were awesome and the priest was pretty cool, he literally cracked open a tinny, while explaining how to maintain a good marriage haha.

The after party was at a place called The Starr Inn, the setting was really gorgeous, it has a big field with random hens and cockerels walking around ha. They had a brilliant singer on, she was so so good at setting the atmosphere. We sat down to have the meal; 10 COURSES! We were eating for about 3 hours ha. I enjoyed every bite, it was absolutely amazing.

The next morning, my friend Airlie who I grew up with in Cyprus came to visit for a coffee. She left Cyprus a few years ago and I have only seen her once since she left. She lives 10 minutes down the road from where we were staying and I didn't even know, such a great coincidence! It was so nice to catch up after not seeing each other for 4 years.

I then had to say goodbye to my family who were flying back to Cyprus, which is always the worst bit. I hate having to leave them, but it also makes me excited for the next time I will see them. Maybe I'll have to book my next trip ha!

My Skin Journey.

For years I have struggled with my skin. Since being 11 I can remember having acne prone skin and it has been a tough battle. I firstly want to say that having acne is definitely a rollercoaster of emotions and can turn out to be very character building. Although it causes insecurities, it helped me over come that and showed me how to be confident and comfortable in my own skin.

When I was younger, I was very very insecure about my skin. I HATED my skin. I couldn't cover it up, I couldn't make it go away and I was told I just had to wait it out. I had been to multiple doctors, dermatologists, chemists, beauticians and makeup artists, begging for a solution to either make my bad skin go away or show me how to make it invisible.

All of these 'solutions' individually were very expensive, and NONE of them worked for me. I spent a fortune on skin creams, scrubs, serums, moisturisers, face masks, foundation, primers, spot treatments, herbs and supplements, the lot. My mom and I did endless research on ways to cure acne and turned to a holistic approach.

This is where the game changed. I realised that all of these harsh chemicals I was putting on my skin were actually harming it more than what it was healing it. I have been told that I should NEVER put anything on my skin that isn't organic, natural or that I wouldn't eat. From here I tried different masks and face washes out of natural products and I did see a slight difference in my skin. This was the first part of healing my skin, not putting harsh products onto my delicate skin.

The next big part of healing my skin was the contraceptive pill. Now I know this is like woah, TMI, but hear me out. I was prescribed the pill I am on because my hormones were totally out of whack. As a result of unbalanced hormone levels, I developed cysts on my ovaries, which at 15, isn't great, so this pill was at the time, soully to get rid of the cysts on my ovaries which were causing me to have really heavy periods, cramps to the point of passing out and cystic acne.

After about a year on this pill, my skin started looking a lot better as it prevented further acne. Now, of course, it is totally natural to have a break out around your period, but its nothing severe. All I am left with now is scarring from beauty treatments in effort to rid my acne but after time , they have began to fade.

When I was younger, I used to cover myself in makeup everyday, just to try to cover up my acne. To me, I thought I looked much better and felt better about myself. At my school, we weren't allowed to wear makeup, full stop. I was told by a few teachers to go and take it off but many of my teachers were aware of my insecurities and turned a blind eye - in all fairness, I only wore foundation and mascara, not a full face of contouring and eyeshadow ect. I can remember one day at break, a girl I knew turned to me and said, 'Why do you wear so much make up to school, you don't need to'. I can remember feeling embarrassed at the time, because it was in front of other people and most of my friends had perfect skin. But this was a huge wake up call for me. The next day I came to school with no make up on and no one treated me any differently, no one even really noticed. This made me feel so good because I was so conscious of what people would think and say about me. This was a big turning point, I stopped wearing make up and my skin could breathe. This also helped contribute to my skin clearing up.

The next big part to clearing up my acne was my diet. I'm 99.9% sure I am allergic to dairy, as most of my family are and I have noticed that I get flare ups when I eat dairy. This is a hard portion to cut out of your diet, especially when you love natural yogurt as much as I do. As a result of this, I have cut out dairy and try my hardest to live a paleo based diet. I try to eat mostly veg, fruit, nuts, seeds and meat to obtain all of the required vitamins and minerals I need. And the one we have been waiting for... water! I try to drink at least 2 litres of water a day to keep my body and skin hydrated. One thing I find is that when I get into a good work out groove, my skin improves because I'm sweating out all of my toxins. And the good old vitamin D, the sun helps fade my scarring SO much.

Lastly, Like I mentioned earlier, I have tried a million different products and skin care regimes. My skin care regime currently consists of, a good cleanser and a natural oil based moisturiser, nothing expensive or fancy, really basic but it keeps my skin clean and nourished. My skin is no where near perfect, but it is good enough for me and I feel it is important to share my experiences and what I do to look after my skin, as it is always changing and developing so I'll be back with an update!

Your vibe attracts your tribe.

I've been thinking about my outlook on life recently. I have always been a really positive person and I have been brought up in a family where we have been taught that your day and your life is what you make it. If you wake up and you have already decided that it is a bad day, you're bound to have a bad  day. My mom always made a good point of trying to put my brother and I into a good mood before school to put us in the right mind set for the day. She always used to say 'seize the day', 'make today your day', 'kick Monday's arse'.

Recently I have been questioning my happiness. Am I happy with my body? Am I happy with my job? Am I happy with my social life? And I have realised that since the death of my uncle and the immediate moving of countries after that event, that I have actually really been suffering with the mental trauma of that period of my life. Because a lot changed, very quickly and I didn't give myself enough time to grieve. I started college and got a job straight away, which is good because I kept myself busy, but I found that it actually made me bottle it up more, which then made me more prone to emotional outbursts and breakdowns. This is the first time I have actually admitted that I am struggling, because I wanted to be strong for myself and everyone else.

I suppose I have tried to keep myself busy by trying to make new friends and throwing myself into my job. And because I have been so busy, I haven't taken time out to heal myself. I have realised I need to concentrate on myself to ensure I am at my upmost happiness and that I am not just going about my daily life because I have to. For months my life has just been, work, family, home. Although I am ecstatic that I get to spend more time with my family, I need time for me, I need time to make friends, I need time to explore, go to gigs, make memories and travel. I need time to grow, and to live a carefree teen life, where I don't have to worry about anything.

And this is where I begin to question myself. Am I doing what really makes me happy? What satisfies my soul? Am I going to bed and making up with a smile on my face? Because at this age I should be.

I have found that I have gotten too comfortable with having no friends and staying in on a weekend. that shouldn't be what my teenage years are about. I used to be a pretty confident girl, but I now feel like I'm boring and unapproachable. Which then leads to  a vicious cycle of self doubt. I do enjoy time to myself, but I really thrive off of the company of good friends and I really bounce off of other people.

So recently I have had a little awakening, like some one has shaken me, slapped me in the face and told me to get my shit together. This is the part of my life like in the movies where I am trying really hard to motivate myself and turn my life around. I have my eyes wide open and I am eager for new opportunity. So to concentrate on myself I have joined the gym and have promised myself I am going to stick to a paleo based diet, to make by body feel good. I am to be spending more time out with friends and family, who make me feel good about myself and push me to be the best I can be and I am taking time out for myself, to progress and accomplish the things I want in life.

Most importantly, I am upping my vibe. I want to attract the right crowd who make me feel good and genuinely satisfy my soul. I want my life to be about having a good time and actually living. I want to wake up with a smile on my face and skip to work without a care in the world. This is the best thing I could do for myself. It is hard, moving county and starting over, especially when everyone else's life is already falling into place, they already have their friends and their network and their routine ect. Whereas, I am completely starting over, and I don't think some people understand how hard it actually is. But I'm determined it'll all work out, it just takes time to settle and meet people and do new things. It will all fall into place and everything happens for a reason, I'll eventually meet the right people and find the right places, I just need to make it happen.

My travel essentials.

I've been doing a lot more traveling recently and have a few things I literally cant travel without. I'm a bit of a freak about organisation and love baggage with lots of different compartments. I once had a Nike rucksack that had so many different compartments, but it got stolen at Reading festival while I was at Chilli Peppers and I was SO upset, but they emptied all of my stuff all over the tent, at least they left me my clothes ha.

I like to travel light and if I can only take hand luggage, I will. Waiting for luggage is one of my major pet hates, it does my head in ha; my suitcase is guaranteed ALWAYS the last bag out haha. Because I usually travel with hand luggage, it means I can only take toiletries that are 100ml or under; which isn't usually a problem as I always buy perfume, deodorant and make up that is 100ml or under. The only issue is that bringing things back can be a problem. If I'm fully kitted out for two weeks in a hand luggage case, it means I can't shop and bring things back; so you need to find a balance that suits you, I guess.

I've always wanted to go travelling/ backpacking. I'm not particularly a materialistic person, so I would never bring any 'expensive 'possessions, but I just worry about where you would put your stuff if you wanted to go exploring. If anyone has any tips, they could come in very handy for the future.

One thing that I have never had, in all of my years of toing and froing between countries is one of those comfy travel pillows. I suppose I never saw the point of them, especially when I was younger because I never slept while travelling; but now that I am older, as soon as I'm on that plane, that's it, I'm asleep; especially if there is a bit of turbulence, it always rocks me to sleep. But finally, I gave in and got one because I was sick of having a bad neck because I'm a freak and can only sleep curled up like a baby, luckily I'm small enough to be able to do that. I have to say, it was totally worth it, it did help and the cool bit is that it clips around your bag so you don't have to carry it or shove it into a bag.

A little thing I like doing, purely for the comfort, is bringing fluffy socks. Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE fluffy socks. So I just take my shoes off, stick them under the seat in front and put comfy socks on. Happy feet, happy soul.

Leading on from the previous point, I have now learnt it is not wise to travel in my 14 hole doccies as they always, without fail, make me take them off. It is much more convenient to wear my converse, it saves all the faff. Another time saving tip I have learnt over the years is to just take all of your jewellery off beforehand and just stick it either in a little bag or a compartment in your bag. But as anyone would, I just leave all of my piercings in, if you're going through the full body scanners and it shows up, the airport security usually understand anyway. So the aim of the game is to be able to just stick your bag and your coat into a tray and just walk through without all of the hassle of taking off your jewellery,  boots, coat and already have all of your toiletries in a zippy bag.

When I was younger I used to be really insecure about my skin and how I looked without make up on. So I used to get up an hour earlier than necessary just to do my make up, even if it was a really early morning flight. Make up and hair always gets ruined while you're travelling, so I stopped bothering completely. at a push I might do my brows, stick on a bit of mascara and braid my hair and that's it. Its all about comfort and the freedom to sleep and rub your face without a care in the world.

Another thing I do is putting all of my travel paperwork, tickets and passport in a sealable plastic wallet; this helps with organisation so much. This way everything you need is in one place and there is less of a risk of losing it. I didn't start doing this until I started travelling alone and had to keep hold of ALL of my own paperwork. I know most people do this but, in case you don't, it's a good idea.

I have a few handy little bits I tend to keep in my bag most of the time - not just when I am travelling.

Portable chargers are a no brainier really, if you run out of charge, you're not going to be a happy bunny, also, mine has a torch on it, which is cool. I always have my diary in my bag in case I need to make notes or plan things. moisturiser and lip balm in your bag is always a lifesaver, I hate it when I'm travelling and the aircon on the plane gives me dry skin, hands and lips. Next time I am definitely investing in a good quality eye mask and ear plugs; I hate it when all I can do is close my blind and not everyone else's and the plane is still really bright and there is nothing worse than being stuck on a plane with a screaming baby for 6 hours, so I'm opting for earplugs next time ha.

Last and definitely not least, snacks! When I'm not sleeping I'm eating. I usually like taking a bit of variety. If there is a Pret at the airport i'll get a sandwich, some fruit, a smoothie, a breakfast bar of some sort (my favourite are the Trek cacao and coconut bars), a bag of crisps and a couple of bottles of water because I get so dehydrated when I am travelling.

My list will be forever expanding and changing, I'm still figuring a lot of things out, but for now, this is what my journey usually consists of. Any tips and tricks, please let me know!

Ibiza 2016.

During my last year of school I can remember feeling really lost and stuck. Everyone seemed to know what they wanted to do, they had a plan, a path and some sort of direction. Everyone had plans of moving country to go to university, but I can remember feeling like I was the only person who wanted to do something more than just book studies.

So sat in my kitchen with my mom having one of our late night conversations with a cuppa, I decided I wanted to do something a little out of my comfort zone for my summer. My mom and I looked online and we stumbled across a language course in Ibiza. This jumped out at me because I really enjoy learning languages and of course... it's Ibiza. I think the stories of when my mom lived in Ibiza with her friend at 17 have always stuck with me and I guess I always wanted some of the ace experiences she had.

Cut long story short, I got myself out there and was met by a family friend at the airport. They immediately took me to this beautiful little restaurant with this amazing view. I really can't thank them enough for everything they did for me.

When Sunday rolled around I met the Spanish family I was staying with. They were nice enough people and welcomed me with some watermelon. But I have to admit, it is hard living with people who don't speak the same language as you. I had a little room with a fan that didn't work. So I unpacked and took myself out to wonder around Eivissa old town.

Ibiza old town is such a beautiful, crazy, interesting place. There are so many little cafes, clothes shops, fruit and veg stalls and , of course, the walled city. Walking around the streets of Ibiza was incredible, everything and everyone was so vibrant and gorgeous.

On the weekdays, I would attend the classes at the language school in the mornings. During our little breaks, we would go to this awesome organic café for lunch and after my classes I would walk 20 minutes down the road to the beach, chill and study in the sun for the afternoon. On the weekend or after my classes my family friend would pick me up and show me all of these beautiful beaches and cafes al over Ibiza. One of my favourite memories was driving to the highest point of Ibiza with friends and eating sushi watching the sunset, it was ace!

I enjoyed my time in Ibiza. Although sadly my 2 months got cut short to 10 days, it was definitely enough to give me the Ibiza bug. I love the place and needless to say, I will 100% be returning in the future, weather it is to live or for a trip, Ibiza is on the books.

My (sort of) bucket list.

There are a few little things that I really long to do; whether it is to do with travelling or creating. Whether or not you know it, we all have some sort of bucket list; things we have always wanted to do, see, make, learn and try. To be honest I've never thought about an actual bucket list before, but I think it is really important for people to have one, just to be able to look back at life to say you have truly experienced your biggest - or even littlest- dreams. It could be as big as travelling around the world alone or as little as learning to make a foreign meal.

Like most people I really long to travel and see different places, try different food, meet incredible people, learn new things, experience different cultures and ways of life. I think the place I want to travel round and see the most is probably Australia. I have a few friends from Aus who have ALL told me that I would get to Queensland and never want to leave. To be honest, I don't know what it is about Australia that makes me want to go there so bad, its just like some sort of mad attraction ha. I think its partly to do with the weather and the beautiful landscape and the thought of the opportunity and experiences.

This may sound really random, but I really love bees. If I ever see a bee on the floor that looks a little tired and worn out I always give them a little bit of sugar water to get their energy levels up to be on their way. Recently there has been increasing pressure on the possible extinction of bees, and we all know, if the bees die out, everything else will too. So for the past few years, I've been thinking of ways to help out our little buzzy buddies. I would really love to have a huge field full of bee friendly hives where they can live without being disturbed and can do what bees do best; make honey and keep the world going round. I can just picture all the little bees floating around in that field full of flowers and wildlife, pollinating and just being bees.

For the past few months, I haven't played guitar or sang in a while, never mind been in a band. Since I have moved back to the UK I've been super busy with my apprenticeship, college work and spending time with family. I've not lost interest in playing and singing, I just haven't really had reason to, in a way. I've been meaning to get a little set together to get myself out onto the music scene a little more, mix with people and just be able to jam. It's in writing, you guys can hold me to it now, ha!

Like most people I try to keep fit and eat well. 'Try' being the key word, ha! Once I actually get into a good routine of fitness and food I usually do pretty good. I just struggle to find the motivation when I do it alone. When I lived in Cyprus, my mom, brother and some friends were into fitness and health and motivated me, as they would be in a good routine too. I really enjoy doing fresh fruit and veg cleanses when I feel like I need a fresh start to flush my body of toxins and then start a different method of clean eating and exercise.

One of the reasons that encouraged me to move to the UK was that there is more opportunity to see your favourite artists. Since I've grown up on a tiny island, I've not really had chance to see many of my favourite artists since non of them ever come to Cyprus. When I was 14, I got tickets to see the Foo Fighters and I was SO excited. I had my flights booked to the UK just to see them and was supposed to be going with some of my friends. At the time they were hands down my favourite band. Literally the night before my 4am flight, I got a message from my friend saying that the rumors of the rest of the Foo Fighters tour being cancelled were true and that we weren't going to get to see them, and I don't think I have ever been so gutted! When they rescheduled for the following September I was already back in Cyprus, so I didn't get to see them.  Since I've been back to the UK Ive seen a few of my favourite bands like RHCP and the Goo Goo Dolls, but unfortunately, still not the Foos.

I also like to create. One thing that I have wanted to do for a long time is to create a blog, which I am so glad I finally ended up doing. I'm not great at it but I think its really fun and helps me get my thoughts down when I write them out. I'm not great at the whole aesthetic side of blogging with Instagram, but I post pictures that I like of my travels ect. Another thing I would really like to do, just for personal satisfaction, is to keep a travel diary of memories and a scrap book type to paint and create in. I really like to look back at these to remember things that I did, thoughts I had and things I felt. My dream job would to be a tattoo artist. last year I worked at a tattoo shop and got training from the guy who ran the shop, and I really enjoyed it, I just don't think I am creative enough or good enough at art to be able to be a tattoo artist, even though I would be my absolute dream job.

One thing I've always wanted to do, is learn how to snowboard. I've tried skiing and it was awful, I looked like bambi on ice, ha! I don't think I have fallen in my face so much within a small time period in my life. I've been told snowboarding is different and that I will find it a lot easier, so I really want to try it. Maybe an idea for our next family holiday?

One of my things on my bucket list would be to open a vintage shop. I can actually picture what it will look like already. I really like vintage shops because its just such an awesome feeling when you come across a really unique find. I have a little bit of a creative side in the sense of starting new projects which I think I get from both of my parents. My mom has owned a clothes shop and I think I would like to have the freedom of making something exactly how I want it.

I think I'll probably look back at this in a years time and have some new life goals ha. Hopefully I will have accomplished some of these things and if not, atleast have worked towards them.

March's book suggestion.

My book suggestion of the month is Paula, Michael & Bob by Gerry Agar. This book was like a crazy rollercoaster of emotions of extreme highs and shocking lows. This book definitely tugs on your heart strings as it paints a certain perception of Paula, Michael and Bob and then shows you a completely opposite side to them, which really plays with your emotions and how you feel about their situation. I think I enjoyed this book because I particularly like biographies. I like reading about peoples lives and experiences. It also helps that I like INXS so I was intrigued to read about what was going on behind the music and the press. I would definitely suggest this book to anyone who was ever interested to see a different side of the triangle of what was Paula, Michael & Bob; how they manipulated the press; how they dealt with their troubles; who they built relationships with; how they were mistreated and what they got up to in their daily lives.