4 ways to add pops of colour to your home

I'm a neutral girl through to the core. When describing the colours in my home, I'd probably use the phrases ' off white', 'slightly grey', 'hint of purple',  'touch of green'....you get the picture. Neutral shades are sophisticated, blend well together and make any home look relaxing and homely.

I won't drone on any longer about how much I love neutral shades. I am starting to sound like that women who talks too much about her cat (spoiler alert - that's also me...). Whilst I love that neutral colours make homes brighter and cleaner, even I think that there can be too much of a good thing.

All white and pristine homes can look amazing in home decor magazines and on pinterest, but in reality, it's nice to add pops of your favourite colours to any home.

Here are some easy and simple ways to add pops of colour in your home

How to get and stay organised

Despite being dubbed the 'Monica' of my friendship group, I actually have to work at staying organised. I have a rough routine that helps me to stay on top of things and makes organising and getting things done much more fun for me. As I have said before, not everyone will be as enthused as me about organising but hopefully these tips will make getting organised just that little bit easier for you.

What I Ate Wednesday

I am a nosy person and I LOVE seeing what other people eat. These types of posts may not be everyone's cup of tea (the food related puns are starting already), but I really enjoy reading other peoples 'What I Ate Wednesday' posts and watching their vlogs as it motivates me to try new recipes and opens my eyes to meals I hadn't thought to make before!

I was working from home today which meant I had a little more flexibility and freedom to make lunch when I needed it as opposed to having to prepare it in the morning. When I am in the office, I am more of a grazer and eat small things throughout the day, but when I am at home I tend to have proper breaks and actual meals and snacks.

As you can see I wont be quitting my day job to become a food photographer anytime soon 

April Goals| wedding, home and relationship

There's something about writing down my goals on my blog that keeps me somewhat accountable. I think it's quite therapeutic to clear my head and really narrow down what's most important for me to achieve this month. I am hoping that it will help me stay on track and also help me to set realistic goals that I am likely to achieve.

Wedding planning | 6 months to go

As I've said before, I am getting married this year and have really been enjoying all of the wedding planning, little details and being a bride to be. We are about 6 months away from the big day and there's still a lot to do. I have gotten a lot of help from a number of bridal magazines that give a step by step 12 month countdown and give you an indication of what to do at what stage. I thought I would do my own mini series sharing with you all what I have done to date and what I've still got left to do.

 I had thought about writing these posts after our wedding was over when I have an idea of everything that had gone to plan and things that I would have changed. However, I feel that by writing them at the time I'll be able to remember all of the detail and what I have done stage by stage.

Most wedding magazines have helpful plans detailing what to do at what stage

Spring cleaning| Wardrobe edition

  It's that time of year again - lighter evenings, warmer days, flowers all around.......and apparently the prime time for cleaning. When I was younger I remember my mum setting off on a frenzy of crazed cleaning about twice a year. Every ornament would be off the shelves and soaking in some kind of soap solution, we'd be cleaning under the sofa, dusting cobwebs off the ceiling and de-cluttering everything we owned. I swore to my mother that I'd never spend my time cleaning or worrying about de-cluttering and sorting things out when I had my own home. Fast forward 15 years and I'm not ashamed to admit that cleaning and organising are probably one of my favourite hobbies (feels really sad to write down but it's true!)

I tend not to do the whole twice a year manic deep clean and I prefer to do little bits throughout the year and generally stay on top of organising and cleaning so that things don't get too unmanageable. After a long winter of wearing mainly uggs, jeans and a chunky cardigan, I decided to go through my wardrobe to organise it. Here are the steps I took that might help you too:

A weekend with friends and nature| Center Parcs 2017

Sometimes we just need to get away. You don't need to have anything to get away from to enjoy a weekend break, but it's always nice to take a break from your usual surroundings and routines. You only need to take a few days away from your busy schedule to feel rejuvenated.

Like most people, I am not as happy in winter as I am in Summer and so I like to plan fun things to do in the winter to keep my spirits up. My friends and I visited center parcs at the Longleat forest  at the start of March which was perfect. The weather wasn't too cold but also meant that the village was relatively quiet as it wasn't in school holidays and most people tend not to go for an outdoors holiday in winter! 

No weekend break is complete without a sugar overloaded breakfast 

The weekend was full of great food, fun activities, fantastic company and a much needed dose of relaxation. I've moved about 2 1/2 hours away from where I grew up so I don't often get the spend quality time with my childhood and school friends. I really value the time I get to spend with my friends on our annual trip to center parcs and getting the chance to share meals together, play games and genuinely have fun.

When you have a heavy workload or a busy schedule it can sometimes seem impossible to take time out for yourself and have a few days off when you could use that time to finish your tasks. Regardless of how busy I think I am, I always allow myself a break every now and again and I feel so much more productive for it. It gives me a fresh burst of motivation and energy which I can then focus on the work I need to do.

Where do you like to get away to in the UK?

xx A xx

Choosing your wedding colours

Wedding colours set the tone for your entire day, whether you're more laid back with neutral vibes or want to show your wild personality with bright colours, it really adds a personal touch to any venue and wedding day.

I am getting married this year which is extremely exciting and has opened my eyes to the world that is wedding planning. I still have quite a bit of time before my our big day and I've only recently began to finalise our wedding colours and palette.

Paint samples are a great way to visualise potential wedding colours

I am no expert but I always find it helpful and interesting to read other peoples wedding plans and how they made their decisions etc. There are a few things that I considered when choosing wedding colours that would probably help others as well:

1) Personal style

For me this is probably the most important aspect. I want to look back at my wedding day and know that the day reflected my own style and not just what the most popular colour was. If your absolute favourite colour is orange, try and incorporate that into your palette and just go for what you love.

2) Location

The venue we are having our reception at has quite a neutral feel to it and so bright or cold colours would have looked a bit out of place. Think about your venue and its style and take this into consideration when choosing your colours.

3) Season

This ones pretty self explanatory. Lighter more subtle colours may work better in summer and spring whereas darker and fuller tones may suit an autumn or winter wedding. Although, in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn't matter. Back to point number 1 - do what makes you happy and choose something you love.

After taking into consideration these points, the first thing I did was to do some research. With the help of Pinterest, bridal magazines, Instagram and even photographs from friends weddings, I was able to narrow down on a general theme. I'm a neutral girl at heart and I know that I wanted a subtle, calm and warm feel from my wedding colours.

Pinterest is a great source of inspiration

After a lot of research online, I was struggling to find the perfect colours (even though I knew exactly what I wanted in my head). I decided to go to B&Q and look at all of the paint samples that they have. This meant I was able to narrow down on the exact shades I wanted and pick up the colour tabs for the vibe I was going for.

As my family are helping me make a few things for the wedding, I was also able to pick up extra colour tabs to give to them so that they knew exactly what my wedding colours are too. Visualising the colours and having them all together in my hand really helped me to decide.

All in all, go with what you love and what best expresses your personality and style. Your guests will love whatever colour you go for and you'll want to look back at your day knowing that you went with your heart.

I'll be writing a lot more wedding planning posts and will probably continue after the wedding looking back in hindsight. Let me know if any of you are getting married this year or have recently got married - I love hearing about other peoples plans and seeing pictures of their big day.

Enjoy your planning

xxx

Better late than never - resolutions in March

As usual, I am a bit late to the whole new year new me thing....but who says you can't start some resolutions in March. I have never really made any New Years resolutions, mainly because I have the willpower of a two year old. But this year, I wanted to make some positive changes, and what better time to start than at spring.

1) Waste less time and do more of what makes me happy
I spend endless hours wasting time in the digital world, be it TV or Internet. Whilst I enjoy these things and they can help me unwind and relax , I need to do so in moderation. My time could be much better spent focusing on other things that make me happy.

I want to play my piano more, go on walks, spend more time cooking yummy meals and trying out new things that I "haven't got time for". I am going to start by having one 'digital free' evening and seeing how much time I am wasting and how better my time could be spent. I'll probably blog about it so watch this space.


2) Make healthier lifestyle choices 

I am going to be realistic with myself from the start and accept the fact that I will not be a fitness fanatic marathon runner anytime soon. But what I am going to do is cut down on my sugar intake (which I have been successfully doing so far!), exercise more ( and by more I mean actually start....), and start thinking more about my eating habits and keeping active.


3) Improve my French

The one skill I wish I had was to speak French. The language is so beautiful to listen to and is something that I've always been drawn to. Whilst I can tell you what my favourite subject at school is and ask where the nearest toilets are, it's not really enough to hold a basic conversation (thank you GCSE french)!

My Fiancé and I are going to Paris in May so that's an incentive for me to improve my basic vocabulary.


4) Blog more 

Hopefully by sticking to my first resolution, I'll have more free time to do more of what I enjoy. I find it quite relaxing to sit down and write a blog post and it's really nice to look back and read old entries. It's sort of like a public journal and it would be nice to have more memories to look back on.

By writing my resolutions in a blog post, I am hoping that I will be kept more accountable and it will actually be a nice record of what I hope 2017 will hold. Here's to an exciting year ahead!

What were your new year resolutions or hopes for the rest of 2017?

Xxx