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