Driving: Taking the plunge.

In July I finally took the plunge and looked for driving instructors in my local area. Since then I have been driving for 8 weeks now and every lesson I have, I gain more and more confidence. I turned 17 last October and I had got my provisional license a little bit before my birthday, I think it was the end of September and at first I thought 'right I can do this!' but the more I thought about it, the more I was absolutely petrified of getting behind the wheel.

 I then told myself I would start driving lessons in January but I got my maths resit results back and they weren't good, I had failed for the second time and so that put me off starting in January. I actually get my GCSE maths resit this Thursday and I am absolutely petrified, in case I have failed for the 3rd time but I am trying to be as positive as I can be. I then kept pushing it back and pushing it back and then I just thought to myself 'I don't think I'll ever do it' but I want to be a primary school teacher and I want to move out of the town I live in now, I need a car and I need to be able to drive. In order for me to explore the world - driving will help me with that.

So I took the plunge at the beginning of July, I looked at local driving instructors, chose one and the same night I was booked in for my very first lesson. It was very spontaneous and I couldn't believe that I'd booked it. I felt a bit excited but I was so anxious about it. My driving instructor is such a laugh and I feel like I've learnt so much already with him. I remember my first lesson, he drove me to this little village that I had never been to before and told me to get in the driving seat, I then had to adjust my seat, my mirrors and he showed me all the gears and told me everything I really needed to know - the car basics. Then off I went, I was gripping onto the steering wheel for dear life and I remember every time a car was approaching me or was behind me I felt all shaky and scared because I was driving a car for the very first time?! Although there's dual control in the car (Thank god!) you're also in control of the car and after my first lesson I felt absolutely fine getting into the drivers seat and I look forward to every lesson.

I've started to relax a little when I drive and try not to cling onto the steering wheel so tight. During my 8 weeks of driving, I've done a 3 point turn, roundabouts and mini roundabouts, traffic lights. gone in every gear up to fifth and reached about 40 mph. Although this doesn't sound a lot and a lot of people will be probably rolling their eyes, I feel like it's a massive achievement for me. To say I've never drove a car before and the fact I was absolutely petrified to get behind the wheel, I think I'm making steady progress. I think I'm more proud now that I can actually drive through my town and have cars behind me and not feel nervous, although most drivers are impatient and hate being on the road with learner drivers, at the end of the day, we all have to learn once upon a time.

I will continue on my driving journey learning practically and I also need to start learning my theory and book my theory. Another thing I will be absolutely petrified of doing. I hate exams and tests and so these two will definitely have me in bits. But I will remain calm and tackle those obstacles when I get to them but for now, I'm loving learning to drive and I'm so glad I took a spontaneous plunge.

Current favourites.

Good morning! Today I'm bringing you a current favourites post as I've been loving a lot of things recently. I'm currently really loving the Monday Motivation playlist on Spotify too and even if it isn't Monday, I still love listening to it. So without a lot of my usual rambling, I shall tell you all about the products and things I am currently loving.

 

So firstly I have really been loving these tasty snack packets of *Love Chin Chin  - I've especially loved eating the vanilla flavoured ones. At first I wasn't completely sure whether I would like them but I actually do. They are the perfect snack and I've been eating these instead of  a cherry bakewell or a slice of cake! I kindly got sent the whole range to try and my favourite is definitely the vanilla flavour. I will definitely be repurchasing the vanilla flavour for sure! I've been eating these on there own but you can warm them up, have them as a dessert topping or even a pie base! I would love the packaging to have a re-sealable zipper or something just because I would never want to eat them all in one go and it would make them much more travel friendly if they were already open. I don't know how much these are per pack but I know that you can buy them in bulk on the Love Chin Chin website here.

The next product I have been loving is the *Fake Bake 5 Minute Tanning Mousse. I've actually been using this for a couple of months now but I have definitely been wearing this more often as it's summer and I want to have a tan because I'm not going abroad anytime soon and I'm so pale it's unreal. This tan is wonderful, although it has quite a biscuit-like smell, I actually really love the actual product, it gives such a natural tan and it dries super quick. I find this tan is really easy to apply and I've had several compliments when I have worn it and so this is a clear winner for me. I'm not the biggest fake tan lover and hardly ever went near it but since discovering this fake tan hero, I'm converted. This tan is £22, so it's not the cheapest on the market but I will definitely be repurchasing this.

There's two products from Merumaya which have really stood out to me recently and these are the *Luxury Facial Wash and the *Concentrated Spot Treatment. Out of the two, I love the concentrated spot treatment as I can see visible results from using it, although the facial wash is very nice. The facial wash feels quite sticky to begin with but then as you rub it into the skin, it becomes quite soapy and then you wash it off with warm water. My skin feels really clean and super soft once I've used this product, so this is why I've been loving it recently. At £16.50 this facial wash isn't the cheapest on the market but I think it's quite reasonable and I would buy this again in the future. As for the concentrated spot treatment, I'm usually quite sceptical when it comes to 'spot treatments' but this actually did work for me. My spots were reduced every time I used this and I will definitely repurchase this. At £14.50, again I think it's reasonably priced. The concentrated Spot treatment has got 75% off currently and you can buy it here.

The next product I've been loving is the *NectaPerfecta by Beegood. Now if you've read my blog for a while, you'll know that over these past 2 years I have fallen in love with Beegood as a brand and there's not been a product that has disappointed me. You can use this beautifying mask as a face rejuvenator if your skin needs an extra boost as it targets the signs of ageing and refines and improves elasticity. You can use it as a scalp treatment before shampooing which stimulates cell renewal and promotes overall skin and hair health. You can use this as a SOS reparative mask to help with sore, challenged or dry skin and areas such as elbows, feet and knees. Finally you can use this product as a hands rescue remedy as it can be used overnight to moisturise hands and cuticles. My preferred method to use this mask is as a face mask and I usually leave it on for 15 minutes and then use a muslin cloth and warm water to remove it. My skin always feels so soft when I've used it and I absolutely love it. This product is very luxe and is £39.95 - which is quite expensive. However I think it's well worth the money as it is a 4-in-1 product and a little goes a long way with this product. I will definitely be repurchasing this when I need to.

 

The next product I'm absolutely in love with is the *Botanicals Cleanse & Polish. At first I did wonder if it would be similar to Liz Earle's Cleanse and Polish but it is completely different. Again, Botanicals is a brand which I have discovered over these last few years and I honestly would not look back. I love their products so much and this is another hit with me. This product is exactly what it says it is, it is a cleanser which can also be used to exfoliate. The texture is a new one for me as I'm used to products that exfoliate to be quite gritty but this product is very smooth and as you put it in your face and rub, you can feel the little bits in it but it's a lovely product to use and I will be repurchasing. My skin has never felt softer and I think it's a brilliant idea to have a cleanser that can exfoliate your skin too! Botanicals actually have 2 different cleanse and polish' but I have the rose and camellia product. It is priced at £24 and so it is quite luxury but I think it's well worth the money. I would love to try the other cleanse and polish which is for normal, combination or sensitive skin as I have combination skin, although this product works well with my skin too.

 

 

The last product I've absolutely been loving recently is these * 7 Day Doll White Teeth Whitening Strips. Now if you know me by now, you know that I absolutely love trying anything to try and get my teeth white and I've used them for 5 weeks now, as I have done 1 strip a week and I have noticed a difference. I got a pack of 7. I really love that Doll White are non-peroxide whitening strips.  I will definitely be repurchasing some of these and you can get 10% off at dollwhite.com by using the code: FLYER. In the packets you get one upper and one lower strip to put on your teeth. At £12.99, I will definitely be purchasing them again.

 

So there are my current favourites, I know all of them have been sent to me for consideration, however I still wanted to share them with you because I have been trying them out and are currently loving them.

 

What have you been currently loving?

 

 

*Disclaimer: This post contains products that have been sent to me for review purposes only. This does not influence my opinions in any way. My views and opinions are 100% honest.

Summer Holiday Fun and Failed Polaroid Pictures...

Hello all. Today's post is a lifestyle themed one. As you may be aware of, my summer holidays from college actually started on the 15th of June and they won't end until the 13th of September. This year hasn't really felt like a summer holiday for me, as, if you've read any of my previous posts you'll know that I have a part time job too. I got my part time job in March and ever since then, I don't really feel like I've had a minute to myself. Although I work part time, I practically work full time hours and so summer hasn't really met the expectation I was hoping. I love my job, don't get me wrong but sometimes I just feel like I never get a break. Now most people have exciting summer holidays which include going abroad, going on a shopping spree, enjoying the sun rays and generally having a fabulous fun summer. I hate to break the stereotype but my summer hasn't consisted of any of those things. My summer holidays have consisted of work, driving lessons and the occasional day out.

This brings me to showcase my beautiful *Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Camera in pink - it's simply the most gorgeous thing ever and I had lots of fun taking photos even if they were a total fail - story of my life. I was kindly sent this by Ocean Loans, who have set up this wonderful project, which I think was such a great idea. On one of my days off, I managed to escape to the seaside, which meant a trip to Bridlington. I tried to take a photo of the harbour but nope, it didn't develop well as you can see. That happens to be the 3rd picture in. I have also been sorting out my positive quote pictures and my photos themselves and so that is the second picture in. I then decided on one of the other days that I would take a good ol' selfie, to see how it turned out and it ended up being the best developed of the lot! #Vain.



Overall my summer hasn't been too bad, I just haven't had the exciting summer I hoped for but I would love to know what you've all been doing this summer, so do let me know in the comments.

Although I'm a total fail when it comes to taking polaroid pictures, I absolutely loved using and taking the photos. Hopefully I will get better at taking them in the future and be able to showcase them!

I would like to say a big thank you to Ocean Loans again for letting me take part in this wonderful project!

*Disclaimer: This post contains items that have been sent for consideration and review purposes only. All my opinions are 100% honest and are my own.

*Summer Dresses Wishlist.

 

Hello everyone. Today I have a different kind of post for you and it's a 'summer dresses wishlist' post and I have chosen 5 gorgeous summer/holiday dresses from the JD Williams website and I wanted to share with you the 5 that I love. I have to admit, it was a difficult one as there are so many beautiful dresses and they are reasonably priced. I could have chosen over 20 dresses to put in this post but I thought I'd keep it simple, otherwise it would be a very long post. JD Williams is a brand I have never really come across but now that I've discovered them, I am always scrolling on their website to see what is available. Throughout summer, I live in dresses and so without further a dew, I will show you my 5 dresses that I am lusting over for the summer.

 

 

So the first dress that I absolutely adore is this Joe Browns Delightful Denim Dress. Even in summer, I am that kind of girl that will where denim whether it be in the form of a dress or jeans. I absolutely love how stylish this dress is and it has pockets! I cannot tell you, how I adore dresses that have pockets, so handy. It has a stylish belt and it is perfect if you are going to a festival or even if you just want to go somewhere in general. At £50, it's not the cheapest dress but I still think it's super affordable. This dress comes in sizes 12-32, which I think is great.

 Next up, I have chosen this Navy Print Frill Skater Dress. I love skater dresses and they look super flattering on me personally and I love the colour navy too. The pattern on the dress is super summery and I think it's the perfect addition to anyone's summer wardrobe. Skater dresses are really comfy to wear and so I would highly recommend. This dress is currently £20 instead of £25 and even then I think it's a great price. This dress can easily be dressed up or dressed down and so it's perfect for any occasion you may have in summer. This dress is available in the sizes 10-32, which again is really great.

 

The next dress I have picked is the Together Print Jersey Dress, which is probably my favourite dress out of them all. This dress is stunning and I think it's perfect for all of the summer events that may take place, whether it be a christening, wedding, engagement or just a general party. This dress is super flattering and I think it would look lovely on. I'm definitely contemplating buying this dress for my birthday. At £65, again not the cheapest dress but I think it'll be amazing quality and it's still quite affordable. This dress is available in sizes 10-32.

 

The fourth dress that I think is perfect for summer is this Damson Ribbed Jersey Swing Dress. This is perfect for the transition into Autumn but ideally just as nice for summer too. This dress can be dressed up or dressed down and as it's a loose fitting dress, I think it's super flatting and perfect for those hotter days. This dress is £20, so again it's super affordable. It's available in the sizes 10-32.

 

Finally the last dress that I adore is this Blue Geo Print Deep Plunge Wrap Dress. Again, I think this is really flattering for summer and it can definitely be dressed up or dressed down. At £29, it is reasonably priced and it is available in sizes 10-32. This dress is very elegant but it looks comfortable too.

 

So there you have it, my top 5 summer dresses wishlist. I really hope you've enjoyed this post and be sure to check out JD Williams and their holiday dresses and maxi dresses.

 

 

*DISCLAIMER: This post is in collaboration with JDWilliams, although all views and opinions are my own.