Sorry for the lack of an update, I had to re-install Windows 10 on my computer (new motherboard, cpu - the whole she-bang basically) and even now I'm still re-installing programmes as we speak. I haven't got Photoshop on my PC yet (hence no pretty graphic to go along with this post, but the sea will do right?) but as soon as I'm back on my feet I'll let you guys know.

In the meantime a quick little update about me:

Anxiety had a huge flare up last week after an incident - which I'll elaborate on when I'm back properly - but it seems to have gone back down to a level in which I can manage.

I saw my oral surgeon yesterday for a consultation to have extractions out under general anaesthetic and because I've been at the same weight for the last 6 years, due to an illness (long story cut short: cervical cancer jab + the pill = throwing up for 6 months straight back in 2010 = haven't regained weight since) he is concerned that my ability to not chew properly because of the teeth needing removal is affecting my ability to gain weight so he's put me down as VERY URGENT (i.e the next 3 weeks) and writing to my GP because he is concerned of how little I weigh.

17 days until my fiancé finally moves to England! 4.5 years of distance being kicked in the face! Yay!

Haven't really felt in the mood to be on Instagram (due to the anxiety spike) lately hence why no new pictures - as there's been nothing eventful/interesting to take pictures of and I'm honestly very drained and exhausted from the stress of everything going on in my life right now.

Recently I was given the opportunity to review ProActiv+'s new 3 step system. This is part one of my product review where I will document how my current skin condition is before I start the 8-10 week course of their deluxe kit.

I'm pretty sure many of you have heard of ProActiv+ and in case you haven't - you should really check them out. They have over 20 million customers globally, and their skin care range is designed to specifically help you give the skin you deserve and want to have.

As someone who has naturally sensitive skin and finds it difficult to control - I'm excited to share this journey with my readers. Below you can see a normal photograph of me, one without any make up whatsoever and my hair just thrown up into a super messy bun. This is what I look like on a daily basis - when I do happen to get out of the house (which I usually don't because I feel hideous) - I look like this unless I actually bother to drag the tiny draw of make up I have out and put on some.

As you can see this is me, naturally

I have quite naturally red skin and if you can notice, my chin tends to have a lot of blemish scars (usually from me hating how they look and picking them thinking it'll go away sooner...) as well as redness too.



I tend to usually get really itchy red cheeks during the week, especially if I'm feeling low or I'm due/on my period. I have a really hard time getting my skin to co-operate with me in general. Most days my skin care routine is usually just wash with warm water, pat dry and then moisturise with a generic cheap moisturiser which tends to not usually moisturise my face how I want it to. And my skin usually freaks out and is even redder so I end up looking like a shocked tomato. Between my eyebrows ends up becoming flaky and makes the tiny hairs in between my eyebrows more noticeable.

I'm hoping ProActiv's deluxe core kit really helps me find a way in which I can manage these problems and give me the confidence to wear my natural skin with pride and not grabbing my make up and hiding my forehead - which is affected by break outs quite often too - underneath my fringe.

Today is the start of my trial! I'll be posting a picture every Sunday for the next 8-10 weeks documenting how my skin changes on Instagram so please make sure you are following me on Instagram to keep up with the progress!


I received this product for free from ProActiv+ in conjunction Sparkle PR in exchange for an honest review. This is only part one of my review of the product. Any follow up posts, tweets or instagram posts in connection with this product are also part of the review and the only compensation I have received is getting to keep the products. All opinions are of my own. If you would like to read more about my Disclosure Policy, please click here.

So here I am, the conclusive post to my mini-series of dream wedding venues in Cornwall. This venue is pretty much the cherry on top of the bake well tart.

Gwel an Mor is a venue that I never heard or read about until I signed up to UKBrides sometime in the summer of last year and randomly got a wedding brochure through the post - it's part of being a free member on there, you can set it so that you get sent out brochures from vendors in your area.

The Yurt's really captures the spirit of an intimate ceremony at Gwel an Mor

When I showed my fiancé over Skype about it, he was put off by it because he's one of those guys that once you have a dream setting (the beach theme) he likes to stick to it and isn't keen on venturing far from it, but during his visit over at Christmas we poured over the brochure and intricately researched everything possible on the internet about it: what sort of ceremonies do they cater, do they have any packages that suit our budget, what's the accommodation like and is it a place that sparkles with magic? Looking into all these things, our hearts scream yes. The only thing about it is that it's quite a drive from where I live compared to the last two venues I posted about, which might prove difficult getting guests to and from.

We're not going to jump straight in and book it without touring it or staying there first, but everything we've seen ... - minus the beach theme (although there is a beach 5 minutes away that we can have our perfectly timed sunset photographs at)  - it's ticking all of the right boxes - especially when we LOOOOOOVE rustic weddings. Cough, okay maybe I love them just a little bit more than he does, he still adores them. Seriously, most of the wedding IGs I follow? RUSTIC. Most of the stuff I have pinned .........yep, RUSTIC.

Photography courtesy of Gwel an Mor.

Their wedding packages, as of February 2016 aren't too bad either. If you are like us, and aren't planning on having over 50 people at your wedding you can get use of the event barn and yurt, as well as three night's stay for the bride and groom, with a three course wedding breakfast and your very own wedding planner all for under £8.2k. Of course, those prices increase the more guests you have - their priciest wedding package listed only costing £12,174 for 100 guests. You may be thinking that's a lot of money, but considering other venues we've looked at - many charge at least £6k for venue hire and the menu per-person without a wedding planner to help make your day go as smoothly as possible. If you're the opposite of me and adore winter weddings - they even let you have one of their reindeer featured in your wedding photographs!

5* VIP Lodge. Photography courtesy of Gwel an Mor

Not only did we fall in love with the look of their venue, the accommodation available is absolutely gorgeous. As I have Norwegian heritage and my fiancé is Dutch, we adore the Scandinavian inspired architecture. They have a range of various lodges from their VIP lodges to their disable friendly lodges, there seems to be something for everyone, you can even bring the beloved family pet - although I don't think our indoor cats will be coming along as getting them into their cat boxes are more traumatic than it's worth haha!

Going back to the wedding venue itself, it's clear that this is a venue that has captured our hearts and souls completely and that is why it's grabbed the top spot in this mini series. And we're planning to have a mini-getaway sometime in the year to really capture the spirit of this gorgeous little resort.

Well then, I hope you've enjoyed this feature of posts as much as I have enjoyed writing them. All photographs used in this last instalment of the series belong to Gwel an Mor ! If you liked these sort of posts regarding wedding inspiration, please let me know in the comments :)

Recently, I decided I wanted a new look. I had been getting bored of constantly putting my hair up into a plaited/braided ponytail and frankly, having my forehead staring back at me all the time was not pleasant. I'm one of those people who cringe when I see my forehead, I dislike my natural hairline and I'd much rather have it hidden underneath a fringe.

So when I managed to finally get an appointment at my local hairdressers, Elize Hair and Nails in St Austell, I was so relieved. At last, I could do something different with my hair. It was far too long and not really workable so the only solution was to bung it up, and then Tuesday the 16th came. I had actually forgotten my hair appointment was that day until the night before as I was sure it was on the Thursday but thankfully, someone reminded me it wasn't.

Before

The weeks leading up to getting my hair done, I had been scouring the internet for different hairstyles that would suit my face shape and length of hair. I was stuck between the following two:

Hair dilemmas!

I had no idea if I wanted the left one, with Ashley Tisdale, or the right. I really liked both so I sent pictures of both hairstyles to my mum, one of my sister's and my fiance. Everyone who I asked said that the Ashley Tisdale one was nice, but it looked like it would be far too much work to maintain daily and that the right one would suit me better. But of course, ultimately the decision was up to me and me only. I deliberated for a few days, taking everyone's opinions into consideration and I decided I'd agree. I love the volume of the left, but as someone who doesn't use much hair product at all and I'd get bored having to spend all day doing it, I went for the right one. It looks far lighter, easier to manage and I really loved the fringe.

When I arrived at the salon, I showed Mandy who has done my hair previously (I haven't been to the salon in a few years time) what I wanted. I was hoping to get as near to the style as possible, and I told her that I understand that obtaining the exact same cut would be difficult but I was confident that she could do something to near it as she could. And I'm very pleased with the results.

After

For the hair cut, I had a wash, cut and restyle for £41 which I was chuffed with (I also threw in a £1 tip because I was so happy with it). She cut around three inches off the bottom of my hair and made me feel brand new. I hadn't been in a hairdressers for a long time and it was nice to be able to relax knowing that my hair was in safe and good hands. I feel much more confident now I don't have to hide away from the world with my grotesque and large forehead haha! Walking out of that salon, I felt pretty.

It's always nice to give yourself a bit of a pampering, whether it's in the shape of a new hairstyle all together or just changing your routine. The little changes I've made so far this year, with my anxiety and getting a hairstyle I like, are all towards a long term goal of feeling positive about myself and doing things to make me happy.

Fistral Beach has always been a favourite place for me and my fiancé. I remember one time when we actually got to spend Valentine's physically together a few years back, and the day he had to leave for the Netherlands, we decided to visit Fistral Beach just to top off the romantic, er, holiday.

It wasn't even the fact that anything spectacular happened on Fistral Beach. There had been some terrible storms down in Cornwall back in early 2014, and Fistral was one of the many places affected by the winds. Fortunately for us on the day we visited, the weather perked up and it was nice, warm but crisp. Just being able to stand on that beach that day, looking across the shoreline - children playing with their parents, dogs stretching their legs and birds swooping from one side of the beach to the other - and spending it with the love of my life was incredible.

Unfortunately, although I did email Fistral Beach Hotel for permission to use pictures of their venue, they didn't respond to me which is fair enough (I'm not upset about it and am I in no way, shape or form complaining about it) - they're a busy hotel and probably have far better things to do with their time than respond to little old me - so instead of using their photographs without permission, I thought I would use some photographs I took of me and my fiancé's walk on the beach back in 2014.

Panoramic shot of Fistral Beach, where you can see The Headland Hotel in the top left.

The thing I love about Fistral is that wherever you look, it's interesting. It doesn't disappoint you. If you look behind you (like in this shot) you still get a beautiful view as when you look in front of you, towards the shoreline.

The surface of the beach itself is pretty sturdy so you needn't really worry about your shoes getting too sandy as there's no sand dunes. Plus, you can take some pretty cute pictures sitting on the rocks situated around Fistral Beach, or maybe in front of the rock pools themselves which I can bet at sunset looks absolutely gorgeous with the sun bouncing off them - setting the mood right.

I can't help but think about potentially having a reception on the beach itself: fairy lights galore, three long rows of tables, with canopies above and beautiful floral decoration *sighs happily* ... yeah I've been pinteresting my dream wedding too much... *blushes guiltily*



This beach has a lot of sentimental value for us as a couple (not as much as the one we got engaged on) and it's definitely one of our favourite places to visit. I haven't been to this beach in a while, but as soon as we've closed the distance, I know we'll be back to Fistral Beach taking in the glorious sunshine and the calm waves. There's a few hotels around Fistral, which we'll try to get tours of but I doubt our somewhat small-ish budget will be able to afford them in such a beautiful location. But there is no harm in having it up for consideration.

Question of the day for fellow future brides: are there any locations you've scouted for your dream wedding but only to have them dashed because you just can't simply fit it into your budget?

Thank you for joining me for part two of this mini-series! I'll conclude February with the third and final instalment of my dream wedding venues!

I recently won a book party bag from a Pan Macmillan competition which was hosted by The Window Seat and included in the party bag was a book called The Secrets of Happiness by Lucy Diamond, along with a few other goodies (click the link to see what else I won).

I hadn't ever really heard of the author, to be quite honest but one of my elder sister's told me she had been really looking forward to reading this book of hers in particular. Now, I really value my sister's opinion when it comes to books as we're always sharing book recs to each other and discussing them in general, so when she told me that this book was meant to be really good, I thought it should be the first I read out of the three I had won.

It piqued my interest even more so when I read the blurb. At first I thought it would be your typical women's lit or chick lit but as I'm now quite into the book - I think I read about 100 pages within the first few hours which usually indicates that the book has hooked me - I'm thinking differently. It's not at all corny and I'm actually really enjoying how it reads. It's quite easy to get caught up in the plot and forget there is a world outside of this book!

My favourite character so far has to be Becca or Mabel. Mabel's personality is typically rebellious, trying to push the boundaries whilst her mother is gone. Becca, I feel is the quite misunderstood sister out of her and Rachel. She doesn't seem to have much confidence and is always trying her hardest to prove herself to people, to show them that she is worth their time, effort and isn't completely useless at everything she attempts to make a go of. I relate to her really well, especially with the latter part.

I'm excited to see if Becca and Rachel can finally repair their damaged relationship as step-sisters and why Rachel suddenly decided to disappear without telling a single person where she was going... hmm.. Better get back to it!

This is part one of a three part series of posts. 

I've been engaged for around a year and a half now. Most engaged couples by now would've already had everything planned out and would be close to getting married, but because of the circumstances me and my fiancé are in - that's a little trickier than you'd think.

Of course getting married one day is on the cards, hopefully sometime within or after 2017. There's nothing set in stone but our hearts desire of wanting to finally be each other's Mr and Mrs [insert surname] is something that burns deep within both of us.

We've not made any concrete plans for when we will get married as we still have to close the distance this year, settle down into life as a regular couple and get our feet off the ground in general. Both of us have aspirations for our future and some of those may or may not have to take the forefront first depending on how important they are.

So in the meanwhile of having to wait to start planning officially, I've decided to do a mini-series on the dream venues we would pick.

We start off at number three on our list which is Lusty Glaze which is located on the north coast of Cornwall, near Newquay airport.

The sea is a perfect backdrop to an intimate beach wedding. Photography by Keith and Neda Riley

Lusty Glaze has its own privately owned beach, which you can access via their famous steps - and there are many of them, one hundred and thirty-three to be precise (which may be a bit trickier for disabled and elderly people to navigate). Protected by the cliffs on either side of this secluded cove, it's perfect for an intimate wedding full of sun, sea and sand! And plenty of memories. Not to mention some gorgeous looking food in their beach-side restaurant, that I think I need to try sometime ;)

The thing I love about this venue is that there is so much you can do with it. Whether you want a laid-back ceremony or a wedding that it's just as full as excitement and adrenaline. If we ever decided to get married here, we know it would be perfect for our rustic beach theme - as we both love the beach and rustic things. Lusty Glaze also has a Pinterest full of ideas, so who knows what you could throw together to create your perfect wedding?

It's definitely a venue the fiancé and I will be looking into more when we start wedding planning, officially and it's on our list of must-see's!

Photography by Jonny Gidden, Cornish Photographer

I would love to hear from people who have been married at Lusty Glaze Beach or are planning to! What was/has been your experience? 

Thank you so much for reading. Next week, I'll be posting part two of this mini-series of our dream wedding venues in Cornwall.






Photographs provided by Lusty Glaze Beach who kindly allowed me to use some images with permission.