The Fun Questions Tag!

Hey all!

It's been a long time since I last posted and in the past week or so quite a lot has gone on, some good some a bit worse but overall I'm so happy with the way it's gone on and things have worked out for the best. Anyway, I thought I'd do a tag because I've not had much tim to write content in the last week or so because we got a new tutor at college who is less than good but I'm sure she'll sort herself out anyway I shall get on with the Fun Questions Tag! Enjoy dearies! 

1) When is your birthday? 

December 14th 1995 - I'm a winter baby!

2) What are 3 of your favorite colors?

Silver, Gold and red at the moment, although silver is my absolute favourite colour.

3) What are your 3 favorites quotes?

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass, it's learning to dance in the rain" - I'm not sure who said that I just have a picture of the quote stored in my phone. 

"If you're always trying to be normal you'll never know how amazing you can be" - Maya Angelou.

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me" - C. S. Lewis.

4) Are you addicted to YouTube?

Um... Maybe... Possibly. Yes. I have a problem! *sobs heartily*

5) What are 3 of your favorite shows on TV or YouTube or both?

Once Upon A Time, American Horror Story Doctor Who.

6) What are 3 qualities you like in a best friend?

Humour, loyalty and kindness.

7) Do you like your name? 

My full name is Katherine Hayley Jazz Savage Simpson but I'm known as Katy Simpson. I hate Katy Simpson but I love Katherine Hayley Jazz Savage, if that made any sense at all.

8) If you have the choice to pick your own name, what will it be?

Ruby Pleasant, because rubies are my favourite gems and I'm obsessed with the Skulduggery Pleasant series!

9) What is your fantasy dream?

For Skulduggery Pleasant to save me from some danger and I become his partner... that's not weird right? Right?

10) Do you wear makeup?

I do, not all the time but I wear it o college sometimes and when I'm off out or going to a party or something. 

11) If you could write a book, what would the title be and what would it be about?

I have no idea about the title but I do write a little and at the moment I'm writing a short horror novella type thing with possession and demons and stuff. I love scaring myself witless to be honest. 

12) What makes you cry?

I cry when I see my friends and family upset, anything to do with hurting animals or children, Disney movies... pretty much everything. 

13) What makes you angry?

Ignorance, when people talk about others behind their back in a malicious way, homo/bi/transphobia etc and discrimination for any reason... and politics.

14) What makes you happy?

Books, books and more books, days out with my best friends, cosy nights in, spending time with the family. 

15) What is "Fangirling?"

See the picture? That is what fangirls/fangirling is.

16) What are your 3 favorites snacks?

I really like shredded coconut, sliced almonds and strawberries.

17) What are your 3 favorite foods?

Pizza, my grandmas sunday dinner and stir fry are my all time favourite foods. 

18) What are your 3 favorite drinks?

Water, Milk (with or without tea) and Shlœr, yummy.

19) Can you tell us a little about yourself?

Well, I'm 19, I'm a plus size blogger, I live in the North East of England, I'm obsessed with Harry Potter and Skulduggery Pleasant. I can sing, play piano and clarinet. I'm pretty cool and I love rainy days.

20) What are 10 random facts about you?

- I'm a Slytherin on Pottermore

- I can sing in German, Polish, Russian and Mandarin.

- I can perfectly recite every single line of Mulan throughout the whole movie. 

- I used to want to be a stripper when I was younger...

- I got my Mam to buy me a 'make your own skeleton' type thing but stopped buying after the head purely cause I wanted to recite Shakespear.

- I'm an only child.

- I have no idea what I want to do with my life.

- I want to live in the Scottish or Irish countryside.

- I'm single although I have various celebrity and non-celebrity crushes at the moment. 

- I have over 150 different types of nail polish.

21) What are your 3 fun things to do?

Read, draw and cross stitch are my 3 favourite things to do. 

Thanks for reading all hopefully some of you will fancy doing this tag, let me know and I'll check it out. 

Love Katherine. X

All images for this post are  taken from Google. :)

Blogging Tips & Tricks

Hello all!

I've been blogging for a while now and this particular blog is not my first, although it is my favourite of all 4 of the blogs I've maintained. I've had this blog for almost 3 months now and I think it's high time I put together a little list of all the blogging tips and tricks that I've learnt over the last few years of blogging. Hopefully some of you will find this useful, I think if I'd had a list of things that I know now before I began blogging it would have been a much smoother experience but I'm honestly very happy with my blog at the moment although a few things need to be tweaked soon. So, without further ado I shall begin. 

Schedule!

Once you've got through the main stages of starting your blog, so things like choosing on the type of blogger you want to be (e.g. I label myself as a mainly lifestyle blogger but I do like to throw a bit of fashion, beauty, food and other stuff in there too), creating the theme of your blog and so on, I would say it's then a good idea to plan or get yourself into a blogging schedule. Schedules will help massively because not only do they give you motivation to keep posting but life can be made much easier by scheduling particular days on which you'll post. This way you'll be able to keep posts consistent and give your readers something to look forward to regularly. 

Stay Consistent

In the previous point I mentioned that keeping posts consistent will keep readers interested and keep the traffic coming in. Traffic is definitely not the most important thing when you're blogging and t's a real shame that a lot more bloggers are focusing more on the traffic that the actual writing but admittedly we all like to see that we have traffic coming in because it means we're drawing the attention of readers and keeping them intrigued with content. By posting every other day or on particular days you'll get into a routine in which you'll become consistent in your writing/posting times. 

Carry Notebooks

I highly recommend that you keep a notebook or pad of paper nearby because the majority of bogglers I've spoken to personally say that inspiration comes to them in the most inappropriate of places... like when you're on the phone and there's never a pen near you. Notebooks, pads or even notes in your phone mean you're able to write down some of your best ideas for later on. It's a good idea to plan ahead on this one as well because the topics you're looking forward to writing about can be worked into your schedule so you can definitely get your best ideas out there at some point. 

Find Inspiration

If you're stuck for inspiration and need a bit of a helping hand there are a good few ways you can get over bloggers block. I'd definitely recommend having a bit of a brainstorm with friends or other bloggers you talk to, this means you're all sharing ideas in an open way and ideas can be shared that you may never have thought about in a million years! Another way of getting inspiration for posts is by asking your audience what THEY think you should write about, because who wants to read a blog that doesn't cater to what their audience want to hear about? By asking the audience also a sense of respect and value is given because you're listening to what they would like. 

Look into Social Media 

When I first started blogging on a serious level I was told social media was a big part of blogging and it would definitely help get my blog seen and I'd get more feedback. Obviously thinking I knew better I didn't take social media very seriously but it's genuinely a pretty big part of blogging. Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Bloglovin' are significantly involved in getting blogs seen and networking with other bloggers from my experience. I've been able to meet some wonderful bloggers such as Danielle from Underland to Wonderland and Tamara from  Me Just Talking To You. Other fantastic bloggers have been able to give me advice and support throughout my blogging experience and I would say it's something you wouldn't want to miss out on even if social media isn't your thing. 

Write What You Love

I have always said whether it is blogging, writing novels, magazine articles or whatever it is you write always write from the heart. If a blogger isn't writing with passion or interest then it shows greatly in their posts. This can be a major put off for readers, I  prefer reading things that you can tell are from the heart because they tend to lure me in and keep me hooked! The same goes for writers who don't write as they speak, it's not believable when someone writes things like 'verily' or 'forsooth'... I have no idea who does write like that but you get the picture. It's not real. Give your readers the REAL you and they'll thank you for it in the end. 

Thanks so much for reading, hope this helped all you fledgling bloggers!

Love Katherine. X

Day Trip to Whitby!

Hello everyone!

I'm really very happy to be back into the swing of blogging and posting but admittedly the break this week has been pretty sweet. I mentioned in my previous post (here) that because of a relatively free week I was able to go to Whitby with a couple of my best friends, Annie and Aidan, and although the early morning start and the A19 motorway meant I wasn't exactly overjoyed to be going to begin with I was extremely happy we all went because the day was just brilliant!

I've been up early everyday this week and yesterday morning wasn't an exception, I think I got up around 7:00am and quickly hopped in the shower and hopped back out after practically using all my honey and almond scented soap that I got from Whitby the last time I was there; what can I say? I like soaps!

After my lovely shower I managed to get my hair done, make up on and get dressed all in the space of 20 minutes which for me is pretty darn good! Also as a little 'NOTE TO SELF' here I will be doing a post on what I wore to Whitby sometime in the next week which will include hair, beauty and fashion. Anyway, after that I set off for Aidan and Annie's house and got there at like 9:15am which was making good time; we spent an hour at their house then set off for Whitby after fuelling up the car. I'd been dreading this part for a couple of days because, although I'm a good driver, I panic LOADS when it comes to the Teesside motorway because I had a very close call there once with another car. I was terrified and every time a big wagon passed I would make noises like someone deflating a balloon. Every now and then there were cigarette breaks for Annie and Aidan but we managed to get to Whitby in one piece by around 12:20pm. 

We headed straight to a really lovely restaurant named Hadley's Fish Restaurant where myself and Annie had traditional fish and chips and Aidan had Haggis and chips, that really turned my stomach. We also managed to get through two pretty big pots of tea while we were there, Yorkshire tea is the best! I've got to say everything there was wonderful, the service was friendly, fast and really welcoming, the food was delicious and very good quality and the décor was just so cosy; fairy lights everywhere!

After lunch we all had a look around the shops, stopping at some stalls, smelling the soap shops, and of course going into the weird little Gothic shops that Whitby is pretty renowned for. After a while though Aidan went up the 199 steps to get some pictures whilst me and Annie went into a pub called the Duke of York, which was anything but welcoming, put nicely. We all had drinks and then I remembered that the parking ticket on my car had expired by about an hour and a half so it was a mad dash back to the car to make sure I hadn't gotten myself a ticket, thankfully I hadn't so we all stressed for nothing!

We all then decided to go to the Gothic shop up the top of Whitby called Pandemonium, unfortunately I was parked on double yellows so I ended up staying in the car and watching for traffic wardens while Annie and Aidan went in and looked around, I'm not all too keen on that shop so I'm not envious that I stayed behind. Oh and on the way out of that area I managed to get myself stuck going the wrong way in a one way street, that was... interesting to say the least. 

On the way home after what can only be described as a fantastic day for everybody, all three of us decided to pick a topic to discuss on the way home, this topic was one of my favourites (sarcasm alert); zombies. Turns out that I'd be pretty inept in a zombie apocalypse, Annie would most likely survive and Aidan would probably be the one to get seriously injured. Half way home we all started to get hungry so we stopped at a little place called the Cross Keys and before we even got food we left we waited for over 40 minutes just waiting to be seated, get drinks or have our orders taken. Definitely won't be going back there, put it that way. So, we ended up at KFC in Teesside park attacking our chicken pieces, Annie and myself got flat pepsi (not nice, don't ever try pepsi with no syrup). Finally we got home about 8:30pm and all of us were knackered, it had been a really long but a bloody wonderful day and I for one think we need to go on more trips like that. Good company, good times. 

Thanks for reading everyone!

Love Katherine. X

First Month of Blogging: Overview

 Hi All!

So, it's been exactly one month and three days since I started this blog (26th December 2014 to be exact) and I can honestly say I'm overwhelmed with the support and guidance I've been given by friends, family and so many other wonderful bloggers that I've had the great pleasure of meeting. 

I initially started this blog because I needed an outlet for stress, I've always enjoyed writing and it's always helped relax me, then I got the idea to write about things I enjoy and post them online... hence the start of this blog! I initially wanted to do a specifically themed blog on News and Celebrity type things but I honestly don't care about that stuff enough and I think that can often show in a bloggers writing, if someone doesn't care about what they're writing it can be a great let down for readers and the blog will go nowhere. All I wanted to do was write about my experiences therefore I chose to do a general lifestyle blog and I must say it has been going swimmingly!

In the first few days of blogging I was pretty proud that I'd been able to post everyday and be consistent with the time roughly, and also I'd managed to come up with three pages full of a small notebook of ideas to use for posts. 

Everyday I was getting more and more page views, I know that views aren't the most important things when blogging but honestly it is lovely to see that people are reading and even commenting on your blog. In the first month I've even managed to get nearly 1,500 page views which for me I'm so pleased with. Thanks to blogging I've also managed to develop my writing skills and social media skills, I've never been technological but I so admit that it's been SO fun using twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and bloglovin, to expand my network. I've met lovely people like Tamara, Danielle and done posts alongside Aymie Louise. With blogging I honestly think that I've found something I genuinely love and I would hat to give up for whatever reason, college is a bit of a stumbling block when it comes to posting everyday but I will always make time for it, because it's such an enjoyable pastime. I'm so grateful that I've been able to develop skills I never thought I could with blogging!

Thank you al so much for reading my blog, I hope you all enjoy it and there will be many, many more posts to come in the future as I won't be stopping anytime soon!

Love Katherine. X

Work Placement Hints and Tips: Making a Good Impression

Hi All!

Recently I've not had much time to post anything on this blog so for that I have apologies, as many of you will know from a previous post I'm currently studying Health and Care at college (and loving it!); well after three months of settling in, getting used to assignment formats, making friends and quickly grabbing myself the student representative position for my class, I can finally say the part I've been most excited about has finally arrived. Placement! From day 1 all of us on this course knew we would have to do at least 100 hours of practical work experience, excluding simulation ward time, so all the girls in my class have not stopped talking about where they would like to work and how excited they are. It's a really exciting time for everyone, particularly the younger girls in the class who have just finished year 11 and are being thrown into the world of health care work.

Well today I visited my place of work placement  for a taster and it was fantastic! Some of my peers have gone to residential care homes, GP surgeries, Primary schools and day care centres for severely disables and vulnerable people. Where did I go? Well I get to work in a local Butterflies Day Care Centre for babies and children between 4 months and 3 years old, and admittedly it was a difficult day dealing with 23 young children with no official training and 2 other staff members on hand but WOW it was such fun! Before the fabulousness of today got going I and the rest of my class was extremely nervous to start work placement, one girl was convinced an old person was going to beat her with their walking stick! So I thought it might be helpful to make a short post on how to deal with first work placement nerves and the best way to make a good first impression on your employers.

1. Introductions - It's always a good idea to introduce yourself a few days or even a week or so before you first start work, this gives the impression that you're enthusiastic and eager to start work positively. Get yourself acquainted with whoever it is you'll be working with so it doesn't seem as scary on the day.

2. Induction - Usually your place of work will give you an induction the day you begin work but its always a good idea to ask a few days before you first go. This will help you get to know your way around, and you should find out about fire procedures, fire exits, bathrooms, staff rooms, lunch rooms and so on.

3. Questions - On your initial visit to your place of work it would be helpful to ask any questions you need to know, what do you wear? Who do you report to? What happens in an emergency? What time do you start and finish? What is the lunch and break situations? Make sure you cover everything you can think of so you are completely prepared for the first day.

4. Look Smart - Obviously placement isn't a fashion show and you really don't need to look like a model but looking smart and professional with help give the right impression to your employers and clients you'll be meeting. Often employers will ask for black trousers, leggings or knee-length skirts/dresses if they're modest, along with pumps or appropriate heels. Depending on the work you may be given instructions about how to wear your hair, for example, because I am working with very young children and babies I was told to tie it up so it cannot be pulled.

5. Get There Early - Getting there early shows that you are alert, prepared, willing and eager to get started and you'll definitely make a good first impression if you're punctual!

6. HAVE FUN! - It's really important to stay professional but remember while you're getting your experience just enjoy the time you have, it is an experience after all and you are bound to meet some lovely people and learn valuable skills from your time. 
I hope this has helped someone out there. 


Love Katherine. X

Apologies and Schedules

Hey Everybody!

This is going to be a really, REALLY brief post because I seriously pushed for time at the moment. I'd like to apologise for not posting yesterday as I did have a rather good post planned, however I'll save that for another day, so keep an eye out for lots more posts to come. I've not had much time for blogging this week and I doubt I will until about Thursday night because this week has been crazily busy and it's only Tuesday! 

Anyway, I've not been posting because I have a massive amount of coursework that I received today, three assignments and SO many forms to ill in for work on Thursday, although I'm very excited about that. 

I'm also very excited because I've finally managed to get some scheduling done so I have a full month's worth of posts prepared for all of my lovely readers out there!

I hope everybody is doing wonderfully and I shall be posting more come tomorrow night if I have time!

Love Katherine. X

Maya Angelou 'Letter To My Daughter' Book Review

Hello everyone! 

Today's second post is going to be the first of many book reviews that I'm planning on writing on this blog, I'm extremely excited about these posts as I grab any chance I have to post about books. As I'm an avid reader I doubt I'll be running short of books to review, some of the books I'll be reviewing in the future will be rather old and some relatively new, this is because I believe that somewhere, someone will read my blog and might just want to read one of the books that have been reviewed and I honestly can't think of a better way to use this blog than giving someone a bloody good book to read! I'll be reviewing each and every one in my own words and not all of the books I'll be reviewing will be good or booth that I've really enjoyed. As this is my first book review post I'm doing it on a Tuesday because I'm so excited to get it out and finished, however, from now on I'll be posting these reviews either every Sunday or every other Sunday depending on how much time I get to read because of college. 

This week's book is by the late, very great Maya Angelou and it's her book 'Letter To My Daughter' that I'll be looking at this week. I received this book for Christmas from my Mam and I was overjoyed when I unwrapped it; Angelou is one of my favourite writers, one of which I've only recently gotten into, I've some of her other work and I find her writing truly mesmerising, and her writing style a joy to read. This book is a collection of brief essays in an autobiographical form in which Angelou recounts lessons she's learned throughout her life;  she addresses this book to her daughters. Angelou gave birth only once to a son but in her book entitled 'Letter To My Daughter' she speaks to the millions of women around the world, in her introduction she states this as follows "fat and thin, pretty and plain, gay and straight, educated and unlettered. I am talking to you all". Throughout the book Angelou provides each brief chapter or essay with her usual passion and delivers it with her usual, beautifully poetic style, in fact some chapters are pure poetry, literally.
When I was reading this book I was given the sense that I was being spoken to by a gentle and caring relative grandmother figure, if you will. Chapters addressing issues from rape, vulgarity and finding love at a mature age, each gives a fantastically powerful message to end with and it was truly a joy to read, some things in this book I believe I will kep with me for the rest of my life, for example, Angelou speaks of being charitable simply by giving others your smile, of turning your music down if it's overly loud and she speaks of being brutally honest when people ask "how are you?". I will cherish and treasure this book always, I'd highly recommend it to anyone.


Love Katherine. X

The Liebster Award

I wasn't sure of what exactly the Liebster Award was although I'd heard several bloggers discuss it and it had piqued my interest although I'd not planned on doing it until I was tagged by Aymie Louise yesterday. Ta for the nomination my dear! 

I've nabbed the rules from Aymie's blog:

• Thank and Link the person who nominated you -Check
• Answer the nominators questions - Find my answers below
• Nominate 11 small blogs with under 200 followers who you believe deserve this award
• Create 11 new question for your nominees to answer
• Notify those nominees via social media/blogs

What type of music do you listen to? Include examples

I've said in a few previous posts that I tend to listen to a mix of music but some of my favourites and most listened to include Queen, McBusted, The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato and  Dolly Parton and so on. I guess my music taste is pretty varied. 

What is your favourite movie?

No question, Disney's Mulan is my favourite. I remember watching it for the first time when I was much younger, I absolutely adored it and nearly 15 years later I still adore the movie. I also know every word to every song in it. 

What three places would you put at the top of your travel bucket list?

Oh good question... I think Ireland would be right at the top of my list, I'd love to go to a cosy little cottage in the Irish country, I love rain and typically "bad" weather so Ireland would be great for me. Next would be Hawaii, I'm Disney crazy and I've always wanted to go to the place where Lilo and Stitch lived when I was a little kid, now I'd love to go to Hawaii because  most of the views look amazing! Finally I would love to go to America and do a road trip and go to every state, there's loads of history and culture in America so I think hat would be a really fun trip to go on. 

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I have rather bad eyesight so I'd love to change that, it would be fab to take my glasses off and be able to see perfectly for once. Also I'd be spending less on frames and lenses haha. 

What's your dream job?

My dream job would definitely be owning my own bookshop, that would be like a dream come true having a quaint and cosy little bookshop in Whitby. At least that way I can make a living with my favourite things, books.

Who is your hero/inspiration?

I have two, it's a tie between my mother and my grandmother. They are the strongest women I know and they've both been through so much in their lives yet they've managed to raise children and keep a wonderful home as well as teaching me some of the most important lessons that I've learned so far. 

What's your biggest fear?

Spiders. 

What's your favourite season?

Winter is my favourite seasons because of Christmas, my birthday, the weather and general loveliness during that time. 

Sweet or Savoury?

I'm a total carnivore, I love meat so I'm definitely a savoury person. I have to really fancy sweet things to eat them. 

Are you an introvert of an extrovert?

I'm rather introverted, I prefer to listen that to talk and I'm usually the wallflower at parties or gatherings. Although I do have extrovert tendencies when I'm with good friends. 

Why did you start blogging?

I started blogging as a way to jut vent, I find writing really relaxing so whats a better way to relax than write about things I love on my own blog?! :)

I'm going to nominate the blogs I love most:

http://dibdabdebs.blogspot.co.uk

http://diapersandtutus.wordpress.com/

http://maddykake.blogspot.co.uk

http://www.tartanmouth.blogspot.com

http://www.pastelskies.co.uk

http://www.aliceswonderemporium.com

http://www.fineanddandyblog.co.uk

Sorry that I couldn't think of 11 but these are my favourite small blogs.

My Questions:

What's your favourite topic to blog about? E.G. lifestyle, fashion, beauty etc.

How long have you been blogging?

What's your favourite type weather?

Are you a laid back or highly strung person?

You can move anywhere in the world, where would you most like to live?

Who is your favourite singer/band?

What's your favourite TV show?

What's your favourite book?

What's your favourite childhood memory?

Who is your blogging/vlogging inspiration?

Vintage or contemporary music?

Advice to My Younger Self: Things I've Realised

A young me with with the grandparents on our jollies

This post is my second post of they day and it's going to be a pretty personal one, I've been doing a lot of soul searching these past few weeks and I think it's about time I put my thoughts into physical(ish) form. Over the years I've struggled with quite a few things such as body issues, long term medical and health issues self esteem/confidence and bullying. I never was the sort of person to stand up for myself and take charge of my own life... until now. Over the course of my life I've completely changed as a person, as a woman, I'm confident, I'm funny and to be rather honest I'm an all round fabulous lady and all of those bullies, those people who've tried to put me down, they've failed miserably because right now I couldnt be happier, I've learned quite a lot in my short life but I've only just realised most of it. This post is basically me, the strong and confident woman I am now, telling my scared, anxious younger self what's what in life. 

It's okay to be single! It's okay to love yourself too!

When I was much younger I never thought of myself as beautiful or even pretty, I thought of myself as the girl who would always be bypassed, trodden on and left alone because everyone wants to avoid the fat girl with her nose in a book. I genuinely thought I was unlovable and that being single was a cardinal sin but my GOD I was so naive! Just because I was single I thought I was less of a person, less than what all the other girls in my class were but I was so wrong! Looking back now being single in those years allowed me to focus on other things, I got good grades, I had time to spend with my best friends and have fun like any other teenager should be doing, I wasn't overly concerned with boys I was concerned with my own body issues. I was able to figure out who I am as a person because I didn't have the pressure on me to get a partner because I assumed nobody would want me! As I've gotten older I've realised how wrong I was, I've had boyfriends and such albeit not loads but the feeling of having a boyfriend is nothing compared to the feeling I get when I'm able to look into the mirror and finally say that I like... nay I love who I am as a person, of course I still have my insecurities but who doesn't?! My appearance does not define me, I have a fab personality, I'm funny, quirky and I have awesome friends. That brings me on to my second point...

The things I don't like about myself don't matter to anyone but me!

"Can you see my scar?" "Am I too pale?" "My stomach is far too big" these are the things I would cry over when I was younger. I would cry about them because I didn't like them, I thought my friends could see those insecurities, could see how awful I looked... No. Those things mattered only to me, they only mattered because I let them matter. I spent so much of my time obsessing over how I looked, crying about my appearance and what I could and couldn't wear. If I could go back in time and meet my younger self I would grab the poor girl by the shoulders and I'd make her believe that she was and is a gorgeous young lady with a personality to die for! I'd tell her to wear what the hell she wants, do whatever makes her happy and stop wasting her teenage years worrying over things that were only huge problems to her. Nowadays I do just that, I wear what makes me comfortable, I do what makes me happy (reading usually haha) and I spend time with the people I love and have a good laugh nearly every single day.

Don't try and make everyone like you!

This was a biggie for me mind. I was so scared of doing something wrong, even at home, I tried to make every single person I came across like me. This in the end became too stressful and I realised that half the people I was trying to make like me, I didn't like myself. That I realised pretty quickly in sixth form when I met a wider variety of people, you simply can't make people like you and I would have saved so much time if I'd stopped trying to do that. Now I take the mentality of - well I'm being myself so if you don't like me you're missing out - and I'm getting along just fine and dandy with that mentality. Actually I'm much more chilled out and happy since I've stopped trying to get everyone to like me.

Put yourself first! Say No!

This is something I still have a few issues with, I think that's mainly because I like to help people whenever I can though. When I was a young whipper snapper I did everything... for everyone. When I was at school I would actually do other people's work because of my inability to say no, that took up way too much of my own personal time so now if I don't want to or I can't do something I will say no. I've found out how important it is to take some time for myself, even if it's only 5 minutes listening to my favourite songs or half an hour reading. It's a great way to calm down and relax, I wish I'd had the sense to see it when I was younger. 

So all in all over the years, yeah I've struggled with stuff but so have so many other people around the world, I don't ever let that fact take away from what I feel or what I think but I've finally realised that along with going with the flow, loving and accepting myself and making sure I surround myself with positivity, life isn't always going to be as bad as it seems, it may not have turned out exactly as I planned it would when I was younger but it's much better that I ever could've imagined right now. 

Also for those of you who have body issues or are having trouble accepting yourselves I highly recommend following Tess Munster, Body Positive and the Eff Your Beauty Standards on Instagram!

Thanks for reading all and I hope you enjoyed reading it. 

Love Katherine. X

My Everyday Make Up Look - Go-To Products

This post is something I've been both really looking forward to and one I've been seriously dreading. I'm far from the most confident gal around town but my confidence and self-esteem has sky rocketed these last few months because I've changed my whole attitude towards myself and it's really helped. Anyway, this post, as the title says, is going to be about my go-to make up look that I usually wear everyday for college or just going out or whatever. The reason I brought my confidence is because this will be only the second time ever that I've posted a picture of myself online, I'm always apprehensive when I do post selfies. Any who I'm babbling so I'm going to get on with the post!

The picture on the left shows some of the products I use to create my everyday natural (ish) make up look, these products are my favourite and I've used some of them for years. I'm going to quickly explain how exactly I create this look and review some of the products as I go along. 

Before applying any make up at all I usually give my face a quick wash or go over it with a Clearasil Ultra Rapid Action pad to remove any dirt from my pores. These work really well and clear my pores right away.

I then apply my Make Up Academy Pro Base Primer evenly, I don't use any brushes for this as I don't see the need. After applying the primer I use my Garnier Skin Perfector BB Cream, this is absolutely fantastic and instantly hides any blemishes on your face not matter what, I find this really helpful as I often have to wax my upper lip and areas on my chin because of a preexisting condition and that can cause scarring but this cream covers it immediately, it's a godsend and I'd buy tons of it if I could. (Note: these are all my own opinions). Other than on my eyes and my brows and when using blush or bronzer I tend not to use brushes when applying make up purely because I find that i get a more even and natural look from using my fingers, this again is my own personal opinion, some people may want to use brushed instead. 

After that I use my MAC Studio Fix powder foundation. This is a good product depending on the time of year for me as my skin around my T-zone can get very dry, when this happens i absolutely can't use this product because it just sticks to any dry areas of my skin despite using facial wipes and such before hand. Next I will do mah brows, I use a HD Brows (Foxy) and that is pictured to the right. I have dark eyebrows anyway so I only really need to use it on the ends of my brows; I use the bottom right colour on the palette pictured to the right. 

For my eyes I use a Natural Beauty palette I got for Christmas off my Mam, I love this palette because literally every colour on there goes with my skin tone and looks fabulously natural, perfect for everyday wear. I usually start off with a white on my lid and brow bone to highlight, then I colour the lid with a natural light creamy colour, a brown along the lid and a deep brown in the crease of my eye. I blend the colours together from there and I end up with a brown and golden smokey eye. I've always loved the smokey eye look. 

After doing my eye makeup I move on to the lashes, applying a coat of Natural Collection clear mascara, waiting for that to dry then applying a bolder coat of either black or deep brown from the Natural collection again. This gives my lashed a lot more length and they look much bolder once finished. Also Natural Collection is fantastic for the majority of people who have allergies to regular make up as it doesn't contain half of the chemicals used in ordinary beauty products. My lips are next and at the moment I'm using MAC A04 Dare You, this colour goes on really evenly and you only need one layer because it's such a solid colour, I love this because it makes my lips really aft after use.

Finally I use my Avon Glow Bronzing Pearls and my Avon Makeup Setting Spray (pearls pictured above, to the left), I apply the bronzing pearls to my T-zone and cheek bones very lights to give a natural tanned look making sure it isn't too defined or dark because that can make me look as though I've used a brown blush, which I do not suit at all because of my naturally olive skin tone. A couple of quick sprays of the makeup setting spray on my face (about 25-30cm from the face) and my look is complete. The image below is my finished look and although the image is bad quality you will be able to see that my face is clear of blemishes near enough and that my look, other than the eyes, is very natural. I chose to use my blogger "profile" picture as the image to show my natural look off best, this is only because I really like this picture of myself and I think it shows the colour of the make up very well. Thank you all for reading, I know it was long but hopefully worth it!

C'est Moi!

Love Katherine. X

50 "Interesting" Facts About Me Tag!

Very bad picture... but it's Me!

Hi All! 

Right now I'm sitting at home, feeling less than my usual self as I've got some sort of bad cold so I came home from college earlier. I'm only really doing this post because I was chatting to another blogger who isn't active any longer, unfortunately; she was telling me that she enjoyed writing this post and it might be worth me having a go, so here I am giving it a good go. I'm jut going to be posting 50 facts about me that seem interesting, it's going to be kind of difficult because I'm not THE most interesting person to ever live... then again who is? Right, let's get down to it!

1. My full name is Katherine Hayley Jazz Savage Simpson - kind of a mouthful but I love my name. 
2. I'm naturally a lightish blonde however I dye my hair dark chocolate because I always loved brunettes. 
3. I LOVE Christmas.
4. I study Health and Social Care.
5. I hope to be a university lecturer (of either health and social care or social work) in the future.
6. I am a total bookworm, I read like 40-50 books a year. 
7. I'm obsessed with Harry Potter.
8. My favourite book series is Skulduggery Pleasant - I've read them all (including novellas) at least 10 times. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm reading them all again right now, currently on the 5th book (Mortal Coil)
9. I am seriously obsessive compulsive. 
10. I choose not to label my style, some people find that rather odd.
11. Spiders are my worst nightmare, I have a meltdown if I see even a money spider.
12. I started blogging as a way of venting any stress I had after college or whatever. It genuinely helps me wind down.
13. Sarah Millican is my idol, that woman is fabulous. 
14. I'm a nail polish addict.
15.  have a really, really rare genetic mutation that affects my DNA and certain receptors in my brain. As far as we know only myself and my father has this  exact condition in the Europe.
16. I have a teddy bear in my room that's been passed from child to child in your family for 60 years. That's pretty cool if you ask me. 
17. I live in converses.
18. I have to hamsters called Hamish (as in McBeth) and Molly (as in Hooper from Sherlock)
19. I'm an only child.
20. I'm atrocious at mathematics.
21. My favourite writer is Danielle Steel (other than Derek Landy obviously)
22. I don't drink.
23. I'm an ex-smoker now. 
24. I'm 5 foot 4 inches.
25. I have green and yellow eyes.
26. I play piano extremely well. 
27. My favourite thing to play on piano is Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. 
28. I play Clarinet.
29. I also sing, my preferred singing style is opera. 
30. I have a MacBook Pro that I haven't worked how to use yet.
31. I have 9 piercings all in all. 
32. I proudly identify as a feminist!
33. I'd love to be a hippie.
34. Whitby is my favourite place on earth. 
35. I have a Peugeot 3008 13 reg car.
36. I passed my driving test first go, both theory and practical.
37. I'm allergic to lavender.
38. I once took part in a singing contest and won against professionals. 
39. I can speak German and a bit of French.
40. My favourite part of my body is my bosom area, TMI but it is. :)
41. I once had a Bearded Dragon I had to give up called Shelley.
42. Silver is my favourite colour.
43. I have PCO/S. Not interesting but I'm struggling for facts now ha. 
44. Despite this post I don't like talking about myself.
45. I have a rescue bullmastiff named Bella.
46. I live with my Mam.
47. I'm from the Newcastle area.
48. I hate shopping, with the exception of stationary shopping.
49. I love jewellery, especially rings but I can't wear fake stuff because of allergies. 
50. My Mam and Grandma are THE two most important women in my life. 

I hope you all enjoyed reading this because I really struggled to find all of those facts! The picture at the beginning of this post is of my beautiful mug, in case you hadn't gotten that before... ;) 

Love Katherine. X