Popping My Target Cherry

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

If you follow along on Twitter or Insta you'll know that a couple of weeks ago I went to Seattle to visit my American Bestie Marie from the YouTube channel BitsandClips. 

For the entire 4 years (woah that went by fast!) of our friendship we have chatted almost every day on Skype and shared all the little bits of life that have meandered in and out. Our favourite thing to do is just, be. 

We've officially physically spent time together on two occasions. Once for a week in Spring 2014 in Seattle and once for a week in Winter 2015 in Orlando (for a big trip to Disney). Both of those trips were a whirlwind of sightseeing and families and activities. This trip wasn't. It was blissful. 

We decided to just have a week of hanging out, chatting, watching films, enjoying laptop club, seeing our girls play and eating waaayyyyy too many starbucks bagels. Oh my how I loved it. 

One of the many 'normal' things we did was visit a Target. My first over trip. Yeah buddy! As a YouTube addict I've seen an absolute tonne of vlogs from people who go there and watched lots of hauls but had never actually had a moment to go in and enjoy it. And, who better to enjoy a place full of trinkets and joys than the person who delights in all the things like that- MARIE!

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If you are struggling to watch the embedded link, click HERE to be taken directly to my channel. 

So, $143 later we were outta there and I was confused as to how that all happened! 

We had a little time before my flight home on the last day so whilst my Darcybluebird watched a film (you can just about spot her in the background), we filmed a haul video and had all the giggles. 

I hope you enjoy listening to us chitchat along as much as we enjoyed filming it. I wanna do these kinds of videos every single time I see her I think. 

Toodlepip!

xx

Amazing Advertisers || May 2015

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

Excuse me there but where is the time going this year? I'm sure I just sat down to write April's Advertiser post!!

The Inside Out Beauty

This month Heidi has shared all sorts on her beauty, fashion and lifestyle blog. From great beauty discount codes (I think if you are in the States), interesting food inspiration (excuse me, yes, I would very much like to eat chickeny goodness out of a roasted pumpkin) and a makeup tutorial, there is a little bit for everyone. 

Frano Florenzi

Franco Florenzi is a sleek, professional looking e-shop selling watches, bracelets and individual watch straps for both men and women. All the bracelets are what I'd call 'rope' style and many have a sweet nautical charm on. Very summery, very casual. Woo!

The Student Switchboard

Lynsey, from Scotland, enjoyed her five years of university so much that she has opened up a YouTube channel giving weekly advice about all the trials and tribulations of studying and the student lifestyle. From help with your dissertation to tips for sleeping better, Lynsey has a lot to offer and is totally worth checking out. 

Sparkles & Stretchmarks

Beware! Clicking on Hayley's blog is gonna take a chunk of your time because you won't be able to not get sucked in. I just clicked on to have a quick swizz through and 20 minutes later I feel totally invested in her life and adore her sweet babes. This month I particularly enjoyed the post about the bits and bobs around her home (totally want a homeware spree now) and I appreciated how honest she was in her postpartum posts. Very refreshing. 

Laze Sundaze

Preet's beautifully laid out blog is a pleasure to read through. I absolutely love the mix of beauty, lifestyle and inspiration and particularly enjoyed all the little happy Monday quotes. Laze Sundaze really is the kind of place you need to grab a smoothie and sit in for a good chunk of time. I just did and I feel all the better for it. Lovely lovely. 

Ever In May

I would describe Charlotte's site as a 'classic beauty blog'. It's light, airy, feminine, beautiful pictures, products you can't help but want to buy and good, well thought out copy. Her most recent Barry M post has made me reminisce about my love for those candy colour bottles of joy. The post I was most interested in (and infuriated by!) was about her terrible customer service in Boots. I'm so saddened to hear this happened and hope we are updated if it is resolved to a satisfactory standard!

Smudgeness

Oops. My plan was to have a little flick through this blog and give you a feel for what you can expect and whether I like it or not. What I actually did though is hop over and become completely and utterly enthralled in the 'The Highland Fling', a post about a guy names M and how she almost made it with him but yanno, didn't. As a single gal myself, I can relate to dating disasters and loved the details of this baddun'. Better luck next time Charlotte. 

Trudy Johanna

So lovely to have Judy back again this month and to continue delving into her blog which is an enticing space of everything that interests her. The layout is unique, the posts fresh and the copy easy to read. I found her post on job hunting quite interesting because I know how hard that is at the moment (my sister is looking for a job too) and it's refreshing to read something so frank and honest. I hope you find something super sparkly very soon!

Mikkel Weiss

Oh hello a boy! Vair vair exciting! Mikkel is a lovely chap who blogs about travel, fashion and lifestyle. If you go over for one thing at least, it should be the photography- it is b-e-a-utiful! I think my favourite type of post would have to be the 'Weekly Snaps' because I love a glimpse into people's lives and Denmark looks incredible at this time of year!

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And there we have it, this month's beauties all wrapped up!

I hope you have lovely days and if you're in the UK, you are making the most of the sunshine!

Toodlepip!

xx

Motivational Monday || Hope

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

Ok, today we're gonna get real. I'm gonna swear and be blunt and brutal. If you came here for your usual dose of sweet and floral (which is totally my normal vibe), today isn't gonna be your cup of tea. 

(Image)

This weekend has been totally shit. Utter, utter, complete shit. 

On Friday I started suffering with a toothache. It came on suddenly and sharply and I took tablets for it. I have a huge fear of the dentist. My dentist is actually the kindest man ever and has been taking care of me since I was 4 years old but oh man do I have a fear of dental stuff. 

My plan was to take painkillers until I could book an appointment on Tuesday and then see about a filling or whatever I needed. The pain increased. I started taking more tablets to try and numb the pain and I didn't listen when friends told me not to take too many. 

By Saturday I had tummy ache (probably because I had taken more than the recommended dosage) and couldn't face any breakfast because my tooth hurt to eat. I was booked to talk at BeautyConLondon and didn't want to let anyone down so I forced myself on the train and hoped I'd feel better once I got there. 

I didn't. On the train I was clammy, shaky, short of breath and nauseous. I rang my Dad to ask him to come and fetch me from a train station (I just wanted to get off the train) but he refused because he thought I was just panicking and he wanted to watch a rugby match. I was pretty hurt by that. So I stayed on the train and the sickness feeling washed over me in waves. I called my friend Natalie who was meant to be meeting me at BeautyCon and she agreed to meet me at Euston. 

At Euston I was a mess. By this point the panic had set in, the pain was worse and I felt very unwell indeed. BeautyCon was defo off the cards. Thank you to all the girls who filled in my slot for me, it is so appreciated. 

We had to decide how I'd get home. A car was an option but trains are actually quicker and smoother out of London and since I was still at the station it made sense. I forced myself to eat and drink something, got on the train and tried to think really calming thoughts. 

My tooth was agony but I was afraid to take more pills. I took 2 more. Silly. The waves of heat and breathlessness washed over again and I knew I was going to throw up. I ran into the little loo and was very, very sick. Before I'd managed to press the button to shut the door. Hooray. People saw. Lovely. 

One girl was so kind to me and also told me she was a viewer so if you are the blonde lady who chatted to me afterwards- thank you. It was really comforting to have someone to speak with. 

I got home and my sister came round. She tucked me in bed and I laid crying/watching Netflix and drifting in and out of sleep. By Sunday morning I couldn't handle it anymore and rang round trying to find an emergency dentist. 

By some miracle, my Auntie got hold of my usual dentist and he agreed to see me. I've never been more thankful for anything in all my life. At 3pm he removed the tooth and I went home. 

It's 11pm now and it still hurts. It was a bit of a beast to remove so my face feels very bashed up and because of the nature of the infection, my socket (ew) hurts too. 

The thing I think that has effected me the most this weekend is how alone I have and haven't felt. 

For all of my adult life I've been in a team. The 'Matt & Lou' team. It was good for a long time and then bad for quite a while too. It's best that we're not in that team anymore but in times of sickness, the team was a good thing. I was very afraid to not be in that team this weekend and not have my trusty support.

I realised this weekend that I have a new team. My Manager Maddie and Producer Natalie go above and beyond what they have to do for their jobs and I feel like they really truly care. My little sister stayed in my house and watched TV alone downstairs whilst I was so poorly up here and my Auntie dropped her day to take me to the dentist and care for me. Also, my Dad cares too - when the rugby isn't on ;). 

It's been scary this weekend. I haven't dealt with trauma like this alone before and I thought that without my old team it would be horrific. Well, it was horrific but I found my new team and I'm so glad about that. 

I hope that every time a life hurdle crops up that I will find new teams or be able to lean on this one. It brings me such comfort to know that people care about me. I hope that if they ever need me, they'll turn to me and I'll be able to help them too. 

When things like this happen, when you have to face fears, it's frightening and really shakes you up. I hope that as I go into this week I can focus on the positives- that I did it, that I have good people and that I am always well supported. 

Thank you so much to everyone who left sweet Facebook messages or tweets, your love was very much felt. 

I hope you have a good week and that you feel no fear for the challenges you face in it. 

Toodlepip! 

xx

BOOK COVER REVEAL! Life With A Sprinkle Of Glitter

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

I mentioned this in a video lately but I thought it would be fun to share it here too. 

In case you didn't get to see the jazzy little video, oh em gee, this is what my actual book cover will look like! I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!!!

It takes so much love and time and effort and (sometimes) tears to write a book, so when you see something like this, it's kind of like watching your baby walk. You just feel such a great sense of pride. Oof, my heart.

The book hits shelves on July 2nd but if you would like to get ahead of the game and pre-order it, you can click HERE for the Amazon link. 

I can't wait to have my copy in my hands!

Toodlepip!

xx

How I SHOULD Get Ready

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

I'm writing this from a huugggee hotel room in Seattle (I almost wanna spend the blog post talking about the great deal I found on flights and hotels for me and Baby Glitter but that's something for another time haha), whilst Darcy has a bit of Netflix time and we wait for Marie to come and collect us for a day of fun.

I uploaded a new beauty video to my main YouTube Channel (Sprinkle of Glitter) this week and thought it would be fun to share it here whilst I had a couple of minutes to spare.

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I actually filmed this a few weeks ago when I was in London for a few meetings. It's much easier to film this kinda dealio in a hotel room than my rickety little messy house. Since I stay in hotels a lot, I should probably try and do this more often!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it and had a little giggle with me. 

Toodlepip!

xx

Motivational Monday || Self Care in Dating

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

It's Monday. A new week, a new leaf. I'll be starting off my week in Seattle (we fly home today) so that's not a bad place to be eh?

I saw this on Pinterest and felt like it was the right thing to share this week. 

I'm at a place in my life that I hadn't planned on being. I'm 30, I'm single and I'm aware of other people. Men people. Oh hai. 

I keep typing and deleting things because I don't fully know where I'm going with this post. Perhaps I'll just leave it here and update you as and when. I'm facing something very new. It's exciting and a tiny bit scary but I like it. 

As I go forward with my new chapter, I'm going to remind myself to always take self care, respect who I am and be my best Louise, no matter what. 

I hope that if you are in the same boat as me, you will join me in those things and that we will find most lovely Kings to treat us like Queens. 

Toodlepip!

xx

LouiseLIVE 2015

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

If you have been following me on social media like Twitter and YouTube you may well already know that I am touring LouiseLIVE this June! OMFG wooo-hoooooooo!!

Buy Tickets 

Liverpool - http://bit.ly/1PdBNSM

Coventry - http://bit.ly/1FZtdBe

Edinburgh - http://bit.ly/1E1V1yW

Salford - http://bit.ly/1RuKNl7

London - http://bit.ly/1EsTMuh

Ticket Master - http://bit.ly/1ItF1xB

LouiseLIVE started last year after I felt that traditional 'Meet & Greets' weren't suitable for my rapidly growing audience, with girls queueing for up to 8 hours for a quick hello and a selfie. I felt this wasn't good enough and although efficient, didn't leave allow a valuable experience for either me or you. I felt I could do more to give you better. So, at conventions I began hosting hour long Q&A sessions called 'Glitter Time', where I could have higher quality interactions with viewers, conversations, get to know them a little bit and hopefully chat to them about the things they were interested in and wouldn't otherwise here on my channel on social platforms. After doing my first 'Glitter Time' at Vidcon 2014, someone said, 'You should take this to the stage properly'.

This way, nobody is left queuing for hours and rather than 3 seconds of a selfie and brief 'hi, how are you?', we can have an hour or two of really fun, interactive time that leaves a much better taste in everyone's mouths. (That's a really weird saying, isn't it??)

So, 'The Sprinkle of Glitter Experience' was born. We had a pilot show in Northampton, my home time, last November and it was a total hit. We have 100% positive feedback and I felt the show was something the audience really enjoyed. 

This year we're bringing it back with a newer (and let's face it, snappier, name), LouiseLIVE, more cities and more content. We've worked on fun segments, audience participation and all the lols and now I'm just ready and excited to do it!! 

Most of the tickets have now sold out but there are about 15% left so if you wanted to grab some for you or a friend, please do before they're all gone!!

I'm regularly checking the #LouiseLIVE on twitter so do chat to me on that if you'd like to and I'll hopefully see some of you there!!! WOOOOO!!!

Toodlepip!

xx

Motivational Monday || Beauty

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

It's Monday, the start of a brand new week and a chance to set things straight and be passionate and productive. Hurrah!

(source)

I've been thinking lately about what makes a person beautiful. 

I spend a LOT of time obsessing over beauty. I love beauty products, I make beauty videos, a lot of my friends are beauty bloggers & vloggers, I scroll through beautiful images on instagram, I look for the beauty in each day and, like a lot of women, I think about my own beauty. 

There are things about myself that I love and I'm glad I have but there are also things I don't like. I have naturally very flushed cheeks, I'm a bit squidgy-fatty and frankly, I'd like to be a bit shorter. We all have a list of things that we think lessen us or that we view as defects. 

For many years I've been the 'fake it til you make it gal', who would focus on the good and ignore the bad, leaving me feeling good and confident. Except, when you peal away the bravado, those insecurities are still there. 

As I edited my vlog footage from New York, all too many times I noticed things I didn't like about myself. There is a bit where I'm surprised with a helicopter ride and as I put my hands over my face in shock, my neck and cheek look really red and fat. That's what I noticed. I wasn't seeing the beauty in the amazing gift or the joy of the surprise, but the colour and size of a small portion of my face. I felt they were ugly. 

I've thought about that clip a lot. I've thought about the people that were with me. My manager Maddie who looks after me above and beyond the parameters of her job, my friends Alfie and Joe who feel like family and my friend Drew who was just so excited for the surprise. Those people didn't look at me and think my rosey cheek was gross. They didn't even see a rosey cheek, they just saw a Louise being happy. And when you really think about it, what's more beautiful than just being happy? Nothing. 

The point I'm making is, all those things you think are ugly, just aren't. Yes focus on the good and ignore the 'bad', but also, accept that the 'bad' isn't 'bad'. Accept that you are scrutinising it far more than anyone else is and that most people don't see you as a collection of features but as a person that they love or like or find fun or interesting. 

You are a person and that alone is enough to be classed as beautiful. 

Toodlepip!

xx

NYC Q&A

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

Since I am loving telling you so much about my little New York adventure last week I thought it might be fun to ask what it is you actually want to know and then just directly answer. I put it to twitter, with #LouInNYC and you asked so here are my answers!

(One of my little iPhone snaps from the high line. Have I mentioned that much? Haha)

What was one of the funniest moments to happen in New York?

This is easy. I was standing at Google during a break from the speeches we were listening to, talking to Dan, Phil and John Green. We were talking about a particular element of David Blaine's talk and I don't know what came over me but all of a sudden I did the most inappropriate hand gesture. As soon as I did it, I caught Dan's eye and knew it was all over. I apologised profusely through tears and laughter to John and Phil but it was too late, the giggles had set in and I was a mess!

What things should you pack to take on a long plane journey?

Every time I go on a plane I take pretty much the same things- passport, money, phone (loaded with good music to keep me happy), headphones, essential makeup & skincare and snacks. Snacks are important! This time though I also took my (for grown ups!) colouring/doodle book and pens. It was very soothing to just doodle about in it whilst I chatted to everyone. 

Weirdest thing a fan or friend gave to you for your birthday?

I wasn't really given a lot of gifts because the most important thing to me was time spent and experiences so my friends very kindly took me out for dinner and such but one gift that was really unusual was a song. 

Favourite food you ate in NYC?

Chinese noodles at Tao. OMG I need more. Now. 

If you could have taken one element of NYC home with you then what would it be?

The jetlag! I realise this sounds nuts but because my timings were all off, it was so so easy to wake up in the mornings and get going with the day! I wish it could be like that here!

What was having your birthday in NYC like?

Magical. 

How did you survive the busy city when you don't like change?

The first few hours were really overwhelming and I felt so out of my comfort zone. Then, after a while I got used to it and Maddie pointed out that you can't get lost because the streets are all in a grid system so that made me feel a lot more secure. 

What actually happened with the fans? I heard many things.

I've heard lots of things too so I'm happy to set the record straight. Nothing happened. I've seen a lot of rumours about me being mobbed or having a panic attack but that just didn't happen. In fact, I found the viewers I met in New York to be super chill, really gentle, none of them screamed or shouted at me and when one or two did, they quickly stopped and just smiled/waved. I stood and chatted easily and comfortably to them and really enjoyed our interactions. As far as I'm concerned, all positive experiences. 

Did you see any celebrities whilst you were there?

Mmmhmmmm. I met David Blaine, watched Snoop Dog talk and then DJ at a party, listened to talks from Wes Anderson and Mark Ronson and also saw Mark and Bruno Mars perform at Brandcast. Amazing! (Also yanno, I was sat in a room with the likes of John Green, Troye Sivan, Grace Helbig etc). 

Will you be doing a video on what you bought?

Sadly not because I did zero shopping. Cray cray!

Will you be going back this summer?

I'm definitely going back to the states this summer but I'm not sure yet if that includes New York. I'm going to Seattle next week to see Marie and then VidCon in California in July. 

What was the biggest cultural difference you noticed in NY compared to the UK?

I felt like people working in the service industry were a lot more friendly. I liked it. 

Was there a particular reason you found the intensity easier to deal with this time?

I think because I had Maddie my Manager there. Last time I had to be on control of everything myself and manage my own schedule and get myself to where I needed to be, but with Maddie there, things were a lot lot lot easier. I love that woman!

How did you find the helicopter flight and what was the favourite thing you did?

It was incredible. I love looking at things from up high and I also love roller coasters and thrill rides so this was right up my street. The city looked so shiny and beautiful. I actually cried for almost the entire trip because I loved it so very, very much. 

What one American shop would you bring to England?

Sephora. Please UK get a Sephora!

Was your hotel room nice?

So nice. We stayed at Dream Downtown. At first I was really freaked out by the weird mix of new and old (I vlogged about this), but eventually I acclimatised and loved it so much. The lobby in particular was gorgeous. I would have liked to have spent more time there I think. Snazzy hotel lobbies are my fave. I'm such a hotel addict. 

Thoughts on John Green's speech?

Wonderful. John Green is such an inspiration to me. I love how business minded he is, how smart he is and how whenever we see each other, we exchange tres funny stories about our kids, we have proper saddo parent moments and I love it. 

His speech made me think about a lot of things and feel really impressed by how much he's achieved. 

Did you get home sickness?

Yes. As soon as we left the airport and got on the little bus to go to the hotel I started to feel really upset and far from home. It helped a lot that my friends were there. I ended up just putting my headphones on and zoning out a bit to calm down. 

In my hotel room I let it take over a bit and got totally worked up, over messaged my friend about the decor and headed to Maddie's room for laptop time. 

Four hours later I was totally settled and happy as a clam. Usually it takes longer than that so a success I think. 

What did you think of the Google tablet?

I thought it was incredibly generous of them to give us one! I haven't had a proper play with it yet. Since I already have a tablet I'm thinking about giving it to a friend who doesn't have one. 

What was it like doing magic with David Blaine?

Basically amazing. I was so freaking excited when I realised he was in the room so to go up on stage with him was a bit mind blowing. I was not cool. I was a giddy mess. I loved it. 

What were some sights or experiences you weren't able to vlog?

Haha, there were a few sweet moments during the week that are just recorded in my memory. One thing I wished I'd filmed more of was the view from the Empire State Building but you know how it is, sometimes you just live the moment. 

What was your favourite outfit that you wore in NYC?

Without a shadow of a doubt the sequined holographic dress I wore on my birthday night. I felt like a futuristic princess! I looked on ASOS to actually buy another one to have as backup (yeah, that's how much I loved it), but it's sold out. Wahhh. 

Would you like to take Darcy there?

I think when she's a lot bigger I would but right now I'm just about managing to survive it myself!

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Thank you for all of your questions, I love answering the things you wanna know about. Next week I'm taking Darcy to see Marie in Seattle so maybe we could do this for that as well?

Toodlepip!

xx

I Left My Heart In NYC

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

Mmmmhmmmm yes, there have been quite a few blog posts and references to New York round here lately haven't there. Sorry about that. I'm not quite done yet but soon I promise it'll be out of my system.

I just wanted to share with you some of my favourite snaps that I shared on my instagram and just say a little bit about each of them. If you already follow me on all the social mediiiaaass then this might not be the post for you. 

Top Row. Left to Right. 

Heeyyyooooooo unicorn shaped biscuit on a lollipop stick. Yep, I was so game for these, I had about 4. 

The outfit I wore to Brandcast which was hosted at Madison Square Gardens. The dress was from ASOS two years ago, denim jacket from Primark, sparkle shoes a recent purchase from Dune and little black bag from H&M. What can I say, I'm a high street gal. 

Just a casual view of New York and the Statue of Liberty from a helicopter. No big deal. 

A highlight- watching Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson perform Uptown Funk at Brandcast. In that moment, I was so happy that if I had burst, confetti would have come out. 

Aviator shades (a recent H&M buy) in a helicopter. It was the best. 

Second Row. Left to Right. 

On the third morning, in a moment of bravery, I left my hotel all on my own and took myself on a little adventure. I walked down to the New York Highline which is a park built on an old tram line and has amazing views, a relaxing vibe and was the perfect place to stop and eat the disgustingly healthy breakfast I had stopped to grab at the hotel (natural yogurt with berries and granola if you're interested).

The 'Welcome' party Google threw on the first night had a candy floss station and naturally, Dan, Phil and I took advantage of it. The candy floss was, er, flossed (?) onto glow sticks which just made the whole process all the more special in my eyes. 

Maddie took this picture on her Polaroid camera at the Welcome party I think. I love those boys. I always feel so much calmer and safer on a trip if I know Alfie is there. He is a little bugger and teases me far too much but when push comes to shove, he's there to take care of me. 

The gang at Tao, an amazing restaurant right by our hotel that we went to the first night. If I wasn't so worried about getting poorly (seriously, every single time I go to America I get an upset tummy. I don't know what it is about their food but my body hates it), I would have eaten SO much more. It was delicious. 

Another view from the highline. I think the Empire State Building might be my favourite. 

Third Row. Left to Right. 

This is the outfit I wore to the first annual YouTube Summit, (which was INCREDIBLE). The skirt and Jacket are from Primark, vest and bag from H&M, scarf and necklace from Accessorize (a gift from my Auntie Judith), shoes from Monsoon. Grace Helbig said, 'You look like Malibu Barbie', so that made me really happy. 

You guessed it, another view from the high line. If you have the chance, go!

The lovely boys and I just before we took off to fly out there. I made it to check in by minutes and was so so so glad to be on that flight!

My friend surprised us all with a helicopter ride. I cried. It was a lot. I like heights. Oh man. 

At a real life Yankees Game. When I found out we were going I kinda thought it would be one for the boys, yanno, something Alfie and Joe would love but something that I would just smile along with. As it happened, I loved it. I was just sat in my little chair with yum junk food, the sunshine on my face, great company to chitchat too and I was just so weirdly relaxed. I'm a happy person but I'm not always a relaxed person so it was a real treat to feel so chill. 

Bottom Row. Left to Right. 

On my actual birthday night, I had a team Gleam dinner with Maddie, Clare and these boys. I love them a lorra lot. 

Maddie and I at the Yankees game. GO YANKEES!

As part of the Creator Summit, David Blaine came to do a talk about finding a skill that connects with people and being the birthday girl, I went up on stage and did magic with him. I say, 'did magic', but what I mean is be totally overwhelmed by how amazing his tricks were and die a little on the inside with joy. 

Did I mention I went on the high line hahaha?

With Dan and Phil after Brandcast, moments before I took the sparkle shoes of painful joy off and replaced them with my snazzy little fold up flats. Yeah buddy. 

And there you have it, four amazing days in twenty (I think) amazing pictures. Hope you enjoyed!!

Toodlepip!

xx

Hi, I'm 30

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

Wanna know something? I'm 30. I'm a 1985 baby. I have lived 3 entire decades. 

For a long time in my life, 'Louise is 25 again' became a bit of a running joke. I became fixated on not ageing and not entering the (what I thought to be) dreaded 30's. I was afraid that I would be considered old or that I would act boring or that I would be thrown out to pasture whilst all the 20-somethings danced wildly into the night and jetted round the world being big hot shots.

(I took a screengrab of a gif set from Tumblr which I think was taken from Alfie's recent vlog. It's not great quality but it captures the moment the wonderful people at Google surprised me with a giant pink sparkle cake. AMAZING!!)

I felt like this all the way up until last week. My plan was to not mention my age and I'd briefed my friends that if I saw so much of as whisper of the word, 'thirty', on twitter, I'd castrate them. Jack very kindly stuck to his word. Instead he just posted an awful selfie of me but that's another story. 

When I look back to my actual 25th birthday, I was working in a dead end office job with a hobby blog and about 7 youtube videos, my wedding was weeks away and little did I know it but I had about 5 weeks until I fell pregnant with Darcy. If you'd have asked me then, 'How will you spend your 30th?', I'd have thought very differently to it's reality. 

Life doesn't always stick to it's plan. Sometimes stuff works and it's great, sometimes things exceed your expectations and they're incredible (Darcy and Sprinkle of Glitter please and thank you) and then sometimes, things don't work out. In those things you have to make a choice. Will you mope about or will you accept and adapt? 

My 30th wasn't what I had envisaged. I thought I would be having a sweet family day with a Husband and maybe 2 or 3 children but instead, I had a different type of amazing day. 

I spent it with some (although sadly not all) of my closest friends at Google HQ in NYC, listening to inspiring talks from other creators as well as watching performances and shows from artists, musicians, singers and magicians. I was presented with a giant pink sparkly birthday cake, sung happy birthday to by a huge room of people, partied, dined, skipped about, and all round treated like a total princess. Even when your original plan doesn't come to light, it doesn't mean there isn't room for other amazingness. 

And so here I am, fine with being 30. I don't feel old or 'past it'. I feel motivated to enjoy this new decade as much as the last and to redefine my life plan. My twenties were so good to me, better than I could have hoped, so if my thirties follow suit, I'm going to be a really happy 40 year old in 10 years time!

Here's to all the wonderful 30-somethings out there who are laughing at themselves for being so afraid to leave their twenties. Silly us!

Toodlepip!

xx

Motivational Monday || Chances

Aloha Sprinklerinos,

If you're in the UK, Merry Bank Holiday Monday to you- no work, woohoo!! If you're somewhere else, regular Merry Monday to you!

This week's Motivational Monday is a follow up on last week's (here), where I talked about letting go of control and allowing other people in. 

So, it's one week later and I'm home from my New York Adventures and, crazytowns, I had the best week. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say perhaps the best week I've had in years. I was completely out of my comfort zone, had no sense of bearings, my schedule was totally in the hands of Drew and Maddie and I did things I would never have done if I hadn't just let go of control. I'm not sure I could do that all the time, but for those three days, I'm glad I took a chance on the notion. 

I vlogged all the fun for my Sprinkle of Chatter youtube channel so I won't go into too many details but I'll give you the emotional roller coaster here (the vlogs will just be a blur of me being over happy haha). (Is there such a thing as 'over happy'??)

Before I left I very clearly said to Maddie and Drew, 'Don't tell me anything, just surprise me', which a couple of days later I lived to regret when I begged Maddie for clues and details and she wouldn't give me any. 

I started to panic. What if I didn't like the surprise? What if I felt too far away from the hotel? What if I got so worked up I was sick? What if I was sick in public? What if I got lost?

To add to that underlying panic, interspersed in our little chitchats, they would say, 'More surprises planned!'. Argh!

And then, it was travelling day and I almost missed my flight. My taxi got stuck in traffic and I made it to the check in desk with only minutes to spare and a heart rate that was through the roof. In that moment I realised how fearful I was that I would miss the flight, miss the trip and miss the surprises and loveliness. On the plane I had a chat with myself (in my head, otherwise that would have looked reeeaalllyyy weird to other passengers) and reminded myself that sometimes in life you have to take chances. At the time they can feel really scary or you can be unsure if they are the right choices to make but that's the thing about chances, you don't know how it will work out, it's a risk. Taking risks is brave. They say, 'fortune favours the brave'. Do it. 

The week was a whirlwind. It wasn't just the one surprise, it was multiple. Some of them were work related goodies and a couple were just sweet birthday things. If I had not taken the chance on letting go of control, I would have regretted it and I would never have allowed myself those lovely experiences.

Sometimes, doing a really new or uncomfortable thing is actually the key to having a really amazing thing. I realise 'letting someone surprise me for my birthday', isn't quite the same as, 'quitting your job and following your dreams' or something of that ilk, but to me, it was a biggie. 

This year I'm going to take more chances. I'm going to be braver. I'm going to let myself enjoy life a little bit more. 

Sometimes those chances will end in failures and sometimes I'll get hurt but I'm ready for that. I think the good will outweigh the bad and I'm excited for it. 

Will you join me? Will you allow more chances into you life? Are you already that person? Tell us about it in the comments. 

Toodlepip!

xx