Life Lately #1 | Northen Adventures and Etsy Relaunch

Ahhhh, it's good to be back in front of my laptop tapping away at the keys, only trouble is I've been stuck on what to write. You all know that my blog is my private little space on the internet that I share with a handful of you guys but sometimes I feel a little restricted on what I can and can't publish even though I make rules around here. The thing is, I want to be really open with you and tell you everything that's going on in my life and write really awesome, relatable content but the truth is I can't open myself up to share all those little personal bits. 

Anyway, enough of me feeling sorry for myself, let's dive into what's been going on, shall we? 

Why Hello There, 2017

Man, I can't believe it, it's finally a new year! Let's say farewell to 2016 by telling the world just how naff it was. ~Thank god it's over~ Now I'm not the type to say all this "new year, new me" malarky but this year I think it just may be my year for a change. There's no real reason why I think this beside my gut having a fluttery feeling when I think about it, ooooo.

Where Have I Been?

For the past couple of weeks it's felt like I fell off the face of the earth and to be quite honest I feel as if i'm still lost. Just before my birthday in late November I faced a huge betrayal which I never saw coming, it was a huge smack in the face and a major knock back in my well being and mental health and since then I've been struggling with the simplest of tasks and every day life.

The Christmas Playlist | 28 Of My Favourite Christmas Songs

Oh my gosh, I can't believe it; It's finally Christmas! And before anybody say's "it's only November" hear me out; The city's Christmas lights have been switched on and the German market has opened up, christmas songs are on the radio and the John Lewis advert is on the telly, how can it not be christmas?

I love christmas for so many reasons but one of the main reasons is the music. There's just so many christmas songs to choose from isn't there? The old classics, the 2000 hits and then the cover versions and I can never memorise them all and which ones are my favourite. I recently bought a 3 disc christmas album from HMV and I hated it, it barely had any of my favourites on their and it made me feel more like the grinch rather than a christmas elf so I decided to put my spotify premium to good use and hunted down 28 of my favourite christmas tracks. Some old, some new and a few covers! 

Why I Left My First Job Before It Began

A job is something I've always wanted but couldn't have for a very long time, it's not because I didn't have the qualifications or the skills, it's not because I was lazy or couldn't be bothered; It was because of my heath, my mental health. 

For the past few years I've suffered from mental illness, I was diagnosed 3 years ago but have been battling with the same feelings since I was an early teenager and I'm nearly 21 now. Feeling this way made my education and my social life extremely difficult and it still has a huge impact on how I live now.

For the past year or so I have been living on benefits as I have been deemed not fit to work by a medical professional and I decided to take the time to focus on getting better. I attended my psychiatrist appointments and tried several different medications but they all came with too many side effects or didn't lift my spirits. 

Everybody tells me "only you can make yourself better, you need to be positive" or "it's all in your head" but it's not as simple as that, is it? I have surrounded myself with the things I enjoy and the people I love; I've practiced self care and socialising, going out and keeping myself busy but at the end of the day the thoughts are back and I'm feeling hopeless again.

11 Things I Like To Do Which Don't Involve A Screen

In todays world it's hard to escape the screen, whether it's on our phone, laptop or tv screens there is always a screen staring back at us. Honestly I can't go an hour without checking my phone unless I've found something good to distract me from it. Picking up our phones or watching tv has became our second nature but sometimes we need to disconnect from it and give our minds a break.

1. Painting

I've been a lover of art my whole life but only in the past year I found an overwhelming love for watercolour painting. I love how you don't have full control over the paint and you never know exactly how it'll turn out. Let's not forget the beautiful texture and effects the dried paint leaves.

I find painting really relaxing, I almost sort of just doodle with paint, I rarely set out to paint a specific picture; I mostly let my paint brush decide.

7 Things To Do On Halloween Without Leaving The House

Hello everybody! Oh man, can we all take a minute to look at how cute this picture is *heart eye emoji*, it just sums up autumn, right?

Moving on... So it's nearly halloween and it's one festivity I really love but here in the UK there's not much to do to celebrate it unless you have money to travel to scare fests or just get drunk with a few mates and to me they don't sound very appealing. Call me a loser but I'd much prefer to stay in the warm, cozy comfort of my own home and do some small things to celebrate halloween. 

Hello Again!

Ah it's good to be back... I've had a very extended blog break, just over half a year long! I went from posting twice a week to a downwards spiral as a series of events all happened at once which left me feeling very jet lagged and lost. I came to the hard decision of taking down the blog until I came to terms with the changes in my life and here I am, once again!

I hadn't only been away from my blog but I also abandoned the majority of social media but I can say with confidence that it has done me some good. I spent time digging deeper to find the things I enjoy in life and surrounded myself with them and I've hit a few major life milestones in the short amount of time too...