Quick and Easy Natural beauty treatments

One of the best things about natural products is that often, you can make them yourself in the comfort of your own home and they're more often than not, a whole lot cheaper than going out and buying all of these products that are full of chemicals. While I can understand that the pro's obviously know more about skincare than I do, I don't like putting things on my skin that I know nothing about so if a product contains something that I cant even pronounce then I most likely will be really reserved about using it.

I'm an avid natural product fan. I always have been and so I have quite the collection of books with different "natural beauty" recipes and step by step tutorials that I love to go through. I'm up for trying anything so I always give each thing a go, even if its only once. Because of this, I wanted to share with you guys some of the easiest beauty treatments that are 100% natural and literally take like 2 mins to create!

Self love

Hello beauties,

So today I really just wanted to spend some time sharing with you some of my favourite quote pictures from the internet. If this isn't your first time on here then you know that I spend (probably too much) time on sites like Pinterest, Tumblr etc looking at all of the different pictures. I literally hoard them on my phone and happily spend hours going through them all when I finally run out of memory on my phone.

It's a perfect way to put me in a good mood because I'm literally just surrounding myself with all of this positivity...and then the fact that it's so visually appealing is just fantastic! Because I've been having a few more struggles lately, I wanted to spend a little more time bathing myself with these little nuggets of wisdom. 

A-Z of Recovery: Dawn after darkness

Whenever anyone goes through a rough time, there will always be someone there who says that the darkness wont last forever and soon the light will shine again (or reworded some other way). It's one of those things where people will either think its super inspiring or super cheesy. But let me tell you something....its true.

Life isn't smooth sailing, if it were then it would be super boring. but its the scary and sometimes really unsettling part of life that we are going to learn from, I mean think about a sailor, they'd never become skilled at steering a boat if they never had any wind. We grow and develop as to the things that we are to experience in life. It's the versatility of these experiences that helps make us all even more unique. No one has followed the exact same path as you, and so they have different ways of viewing the world.

Journal: June edition

So its back again! My monthly little journaling and goal time. I must admit, I kind of enjoy writing these regularly. It really makes me reflect on what has been happening and pick out the things that have been great that I probably would have forgotten about ...and I guess we all know that I wont have remembered what my goals were so it's always fun to look over those again.

These kinds of posts are basically just excuses for big rambles....and those are my favourite kind to write. I love not having too much of a theme and just being able to talk about whatever I want and it really has become just like an online journal. In essence, I suppose I should really be a lot more careful as to what I post on here because I've got super personal lately but this blog is for me really, I just enjoy sharing some things with you guys too.

Brands to Bloggers

I think one of the things that most bloggers eventually wish to do (or at least all the ones I have talked with) is work with other companies. It's a great way to make connections in the business world, make connections for potential projects. Some people are lucky enough to have brands drop upon their blogs without much self promotion, and if you're one of these people then congratulations! Sadly, I'm not one of these people but don't worry, you never get anywhere without a little hard work so why not put yourself out there? Get in touch with different brands and pitch your services to them.

For all of these sites there are a few forms to fill out, explaining your followers, average reader count, the amount of unique viewers you receive per month, social media links etc. These help fill out a profile that brands and other bloggers can see. This way they can assess whether you have the right content that they're after.

How do I stay productive

As my career in blogging has progressed, I have noticed a lot of times where I have been really unproductive and you can tell in not only the amount of posts that I write but also in the depth of the content. We are only half way through 2016 and I have now already written and published MORE posts than I did in the entire of 2015. How have you done this? You ask, through a lot of trial and error, scheduling gone wrong and patience tested, I have finally come across some great apps and tips to help me keep on the ball (or at least appear to).

Planning
I am a stickler for planning. I love to make lists and really think things through before I ever do anything (that's probably why I never actually get anything done). You might not believe this but I actually have blog post titles drafted on a spreadsheet to last me until 6th May 2018! Obviously these ideas will most likely be deleted, changed or moved around the graph when those dates happen but its always good for me to have a bit of reassurance that I have something in the bank for a 'no inspiration' day.  You most likely wont want to go quite so overboard with your planning as I do but there's nothing bad to be said about a little structure in your life every now and then. Maybe plan your next day out or make a schedule to help you tackle a big project you have been meaning to start.

Timing
This last year I finally decided to give myself a little stability. I was forever writing posts and just randomly publishing them whenever I felt like it. Now don't get me wrong, this is perfectly fine if that's what you want to do but its just not for me. No one knew if and when I was going to put something out there and so my number of readers had dropped. Since dedicating certain days of the week and certain times to publishing my posts I have noticed a steady increase in the amount of people taking the time out of their lives to read my posts (yes that's you..thank you!) Don't worry if you're not always consistent with it though, everyone knows I'm certainly not. Sometimes the scheduling doesn't work, sometimes I forget to keep an eye on the time or sometimes I actually haven't finished my post in time for its regular showcase to the world (like now for example, it's 3:53pm...there's no way I will finish in 7 minutes). It's okay to sometimes not meet the targets, they are just there to provide a little structure and help me feel a little more in control of my day.

As well as the timing for posting, I have obviously had to carve out time to write my posts. I know they say that you have to wait for inspiration to strike but honestly sometimes I can just sit myself down, look through some of my planned posts and just pick the one that I am drawn to the most. It's the planning ahead that has harnessed my little 'light bulb moments' and allowed me to space them out effectively. It sounds dreadfully boring but it's what works for me. I'm not a very spontaneous person (although I do have my moments!)

Lately, I wonder if many of you have been thinking why I have been tweeting so darn often? Well the answer is very simple; Hootsuite. It's a wonderful app that allows me to draft and schedule loads of tweets and Instagram pictures ready to go up at a time of my choosing. previously I used Buffer but this app only lets you draft 10 things before you hit the limit. Sometimes this was fine for me because I only drafted the next days social media rambles, but sometimes I wanted to do it over several accounts (which obviously adds up fast). Now I am able to draft my tweets to go live every 2 hours between 9am and 10pm! The regularity of this has really boosted the interaction I get with my tweets so you should give it a go!

I hope these tips have inspired you to be a little more productive with your time (or hopefully made things easier for you).

Love,
Louise x

How to keep your blogging spark

So as you all know, I'm no newbie to blogging. 3 years is a long time but quite often it doesn't feel like that means you have had enough experience. When you're writing a blog, whether you want to make it into a career or maybe you just want to blog for fun, its important that you plan what it is you want to write ahead of schedule. Whether we like the idea or not, more often than not, planning is imperative for us.

No matter how often you want to blog, if you truly want to give your site the love that it needs, you need to make sure that the love you have for it never fades. I have been at the mercy of this more than once; it's very easy to get frustrated with the topics that you are talking about. It took a while but I eventually learned that this is perfectly natural, we grow as people as we experience new things. This means that the things that used to make your soul soar my just fizzle out and leave us feeling bored. At the same time, you may be blogging about a certain period of your life, just like I did, and then as you grow older you realise that you no longer need to talk about that past stuff.

Best friend appreciation

So what some of you might not know is that today is my best friends birthday! Emily who created PerksofNeverland is officially 19 today! It's really exciting when I get to be a part of all of her memories and share the joy with her.

I wanted to create a playlist that I really thought showcased our friendship. I want her to know just how proud I am of the fact that she has faught so hard to be the loving, caring, beautiful soul that she is today. So I went through songs that I thought reminded me of memories we have had, songs we always sing/have dedicated to each other and some that pose as messages I want to give her.

3 year Anniversary

I'm forever talking about how long I've been blogging and just how much it has changed my life etc. but today actually signifies my 3rd year doing this! Now, some people could (and have) look at what I do and think that I'm not very "progressed" considering how long I've had this account. There are most definitely others who are more "successful" and when they have been doing this less time than me it can be a little demotivating but my little slice of internet is my happy place. I would not give it up for anything!

It feels weird writing this post purely because it wasn't that long ago that I wrote something similar. Purely for my own memories, I wanted to use this post as a way to recap all of the great things that have been accomplished over the years!

Exercise after ED?

So recently I wrote a post all about the issues that I have personally found between exercise and trying to recovery from my Eating Disorder. The thing is, a lot of people have the same issues as me, even now I have to be very careful with what I allow myself to do because its still very very easy to fall back into that destructive cycle. My friends, it takes a lot of time to begin to change the relationship you have with exercise...here's my story.

Mid-year Sprinke of Glitter diary: review

Many of you guys know that I'm a huge fan of Louise Pentland, otherwise known in the Glitter world as Sprinkle Of Glitter. She is the queen of inspiration in the YouTube world and so naturally when she announced that she was releasing a diary I was straight on those pre-orders! Now 6 months into the use of this book, I figured I'd let you guys know how it's going. I love reviews that include a first impression of a product but I think its great for people to know what it's like when its actually used too.  

A-Z of Recovery: Choosing Life

I'm really enjoying writing this series. It's not only something that I like to do for you guys but writing about all of the reasons to choose recovery really reinforces my choices within myself. It's great if I'm having a bad day and I have something like this to read (or even to write) because it shows me just what I have to recovery for.

When we are in the midst of our darkest times, we often think that there is no reason to get better, that nothing will ever be good in our lives again, or at least that the good stuff will never stay. I've got one question for you though...how will you ever know if you give up trying now?

Journal: life lessons

Warning: this is some pretty heavy content so feel free to skip it

So the main reason for changing the blog name to 'Empty Journal' is because that is how I wanted to treat it; I wanted it to be my online journal that I could fill with whatever I felt that I needed to say during that moment in time. If you're reading this post then I have been really brave and decided to share this part of my life with you all. I have been open with many aspects of my life over the years on here but I have never talked about my love life. Many of you probably don't even want to know about it so feel free to stop reading.

Journal: May edition

So formerly known as my monthly reviews, I have decided to treat this mini series as a sort of journal where I can talk about whatever has happened in my life in that month whether its good or bad.

Mental health talk: Eating Disorders and Exercise

Disclaimer: what I am about to talk about isn't gospel. It doesn't happen for everyone. these are my personal views and experiences. For some people, exercise is an excellent tool for managing their weight in their recovery and they truly excel at owning their mind and body! It's a safe and healthy way for them to retrain their brain...but this isn't true for everyone. I'm a firm believer in sharing all sides of the story so that we can provide more support for everyone.

1 year anniversary : Evolution of Perks Of Neverland

If you guys follow me on twitter then you may very well know that today is the 1st Anniversary of my best friends blog (of which I blog with - not as often as i would like but often this one takes up a lot of my time). From personal experience, I know just how much these days can mean to the creators and how fast the time goes when you're doing something as fun as blogging.

Today is our 1st Birthday. Thank you for following our blog. Tweet us what you've loved about the past year #1yearofperksofneverland

— Perks Of Neverland (@NeverlandPerks) May 25, 2016

I wanted to use todays post as a way of showcasing all of the amazing things that she has achieved and spoken about over this past years, I hope you guys have learned to love her as much as I do!

What does 'Happiness' mean to me?

'Happiness'

If this isn't your first rodeo then you guys all know that I am completely obsessed with quotes. It doesn't really matter what they are about, I just love them and have so many books on my shelves full of them. I've always found it amazing how just a few words from someone can change the course of your entire day, they are perfect for something to read in the morning and just put life into perspective. 

Using this post as my excuse, I've spent slightly longer than is necessary on Pinterest, Tumblr and even Google images just reading some of the fantastic quotes that people have written. I thought I would share some of my favourites with you all. Hopefully it will help to brighten your day and maybe you can even come back to this post if you're ever having a bit of a down day. 

A-Z of Recovery: Bravery

Recovery is one messy subject, let me tell you but its also the most beautiful thing in the world. you will constantly see people out there, me being one of them, saying how recovery is so worth it, and you may think that we make recovery look easy or that you are not strong enough to make it. Let me tell you something right now, you are strong enough. You always have been, you just have to be brave enough to take that leap.

Recovery finds

I'm always up for things that can make recovery more approachable for everyone, so every now and then I scour the internet for new things for me to learn. As usual, whenever I'm doing something that is very important to my future and I'm stressed (in this instance it was my University assignments), it makes my recovery decisions a whole lot harder. So something I was spending quite sometime doing while I was off doing my assignments is looking at the kind of recovery tips and tricks that are offered by other people. Two of my favourite sites literally have everything that you need so I thought today I would just link some of my favourite things from them!

10 things about me

Hi guys, so since today is my birthday, I decided that I would do a '10 things about me' fact post because personally I'm really nosy and I love finding out things about other people so maybe you guys would like to more about the person that you've sort of known for nearly 3 years? If so then read on!

(Disclaimer: its just like when you do those ice breaker activities in class and suddenly you forget everything that you know about yourself! So apologies over the boring facts but I'm not a very exciting person.- I should have been creative and made it 19; one for every year of my life but I don't appear to know enough about myself for that hehe)

1. Cringe time....I have the BESTEST -that's officially now a word...for me at least- best friend in the entire world!

2. I'm going to see McFly in concert with my best friend in June!!!

3. I LOVE photography...im not necessarily very good at it but you don't need to be good at a hobby right?...right?

4. When I was a kid I used to literally cry my eyes out at the prospect of a photo of me being taken...except this one...hehe

5. I'm addicted to social media- I mean Snapchat is just life right now...and of course twitter is an all time love *wink wink*

  

 

6. I'm an animal lover...I mean, you've all heard me gush about my cat 24/7

7.  I come from a BIG family...like multiple brothers and sisters (and 10 pets)

 8. I am your stereotypical British lover of tea...I mean seriously, I drink up to 10 cups a day...woops.

9.  I had never taken a selfie until around February last year!...I know, how bad is that?!

10. As of today I am officially 19!
So its customary for you guys to have a very embarrassing ugly baby photo...enjoy!

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Hope you guys enjoyed these, if you don't really care about any of these facts at all (because lets face it, they're not exactly riveting, then thanks for reading and I hope you have a lovely day)

Love,

Louise x