I confess... my shopping addiction

I love shopping, I just find it so exciting looking for things to buy: clothes, makeup, room decor, technology, food, anything!? This wasn't too bad when I had my Saturday job as I didn't spend all my money at once, I mean I was only getting a small amount which meant I really had to save for the things I wanted.. and I shopped occasionally...

Now it's a different story, as I work right near the centre of town it is so easy for me to get to the main high street where all the shops are and this means one thing: More shopping- lots more! I find myself more times than not nipping into town on my lunch break to buy 'just a few bits' or ordering things on the internet when I'm feeling down..

 I think this is pretty normal for a girl of my age, and some guys who like shopping just as much, however the main part of this blog post is to highlight the fact that materialistic things control us so much more than we think, It becomes a competition or a craving to buy more and more and the truth is it will never be enough to eliminate these feelings of needing materialistic belongings- the newest iPhone, the latest fashion trends, that makeup recommended by your favourite celebrity and the list goes on. It is a vicious cycle...

Many of us are guilty of this and I am NOT saying that we shouldn't treat ourselves,or spend the money that we earn on the things we want because that's what it's all about... but I just feel like we don't fully appreciate how lucky we are to have all these things and more importantly I have recently had to remind myself that getting more and more things won't make you truly happy, in reality it makes you want more and more and you can become obsessive over what you have, what you don't have and what other people have and it can make you turn to greed and sourness.

The things that are most important to me is family (I put Chad under this lable) friends and doing the things I love such as photography, horse riding, and going to the gym! Unfortunately I haven't been doing photography or riding my lovely horse.. but I have also learnt that you can't do everything and that is okay! Anyway I am digressing, my thoughts are overloading! What I am basically trying to say is I am making a conscious effort to focus on making memories with people and experiencing different things rather than focusing on the next thing I can buy when I get paid and spending my spare time looking for things to buy!

I will still shop, of course I will but, from now on I will think about what I am paying for and think about whether I need it and actually want it or if it's just something that gives me a short burst of excitement and then nothing.

I have so much more to say than this but I won't ramble on for any longer than I already have!

I hope you enjoyed a little insight to some of my more personal thoughts and I'll be back soon with another post!

Heather Fields and Fresh Fruit!

Last weekend me, Mum and Morgan ventured down to Market Drayton to visit my Granddads house, unfortunately we only get to see him a few times a year due to the fact that he is so far away and has a very busy schedule (alongside his wife) Whenever we go we have a nice time, normally involving some time outdoors and a chance for me to do some photography, not forgetting some amazing food! (I've been learning)

The first day we firstly went out in the little old car for a ride, it's become our little tradition, we always nearly get wiped out about 3 times as well; this car doesn't exceed 35/40 mph, which can be very scary when pulling out of a busy junction...

Me and Morgan then went outside to do some fruit picking. Living amongst the madness of everyday life full of gadgets and social media, being asked to do something so simple but satisfying was a simple pleasure. Living up to the fact that we are competitive, we held our own 'competition' of who could find the biggest strawberry, of course Granddad had to find the biggest haha.

It was so nice to get outside and do something that I don't normally do, the strawberries were so tasty as well!

We also picked some Raspberries, I have to admit more may have been going in my mouth than the bowl, I really just love Raspberries!

I personally think there's something so therapeutic about being around nature, that sounds so cliche but I honestly think that sometimes some old fashioned fresh air can make you feel 100 times better than being stuck inside.

The next day we went on a walk through heather fields and wild flowers, I really enjoyed being outside, unfortunately the weather let us down and we got soaked but it was worth it!

I had such a nice time and I really did appreciate being outside and doing photography whilst being surrounded by natural beauty!

That's all for today's post, I will be letting you know how I am getting on at my new job soon!

Sunday Strolls and Ice cream!

Recently I have found myself so busy, caught up in revision, working, riding, sorting various things out for school and 6th form, and it has become a rarity that I get to just go out on a walk and just breath! So when Dad asked what I wanted to do today I asked if we could take the dog and go for a walk at Whisby Nature Reserve, so that's where we went!

I wore my new denim pinafore dress with a jumper underneath, along with my new boyfriend style coat and my loafers (big mistake- it was so muddy and I got blisters)  Excuse the picture quality I didn't have my camera!

We went on the second longest walk but it didn't feel long as we were chatting amongst us and just appreciating our surroundings, my brother did say "It's a bit boring walking around here though , there's nothing really to see.." and my response was "Yes but really, there is. Sometimes we just don't appreciate the little things that we are so use to." which is true in many cases! I love the railway bridge at whisby, I like how you can lean right over the railway.

Of course I made Morgan and Liam partake in a sibling selfie, I'm not really sure they wanted to but I made them haha, I am not happy that Morgan is officially taller than me now, although that isn't hard at all with me being 5ft 3.

One of the reasons I love Whisby is the lake, I find it soothing just walking around it and the sound of Ducks and Swans flapping around, is that weird? Probably.

Like I said earlier it was a big mistake wearing my loafers, it was very muddy and because they're new and still quite hard my shoes ere rubbing, so towards the end I had to walk ridiculously slow, behind the rest of my family and to make it even worse I had to keep stopping scraping mud of my shoes with leaves, trust me to pick up a prickly leaf!

                                               Just realised I'm a bit of a poser, Whoops!

   Especially towards the end of our walk when it was getting darker, the lake looked so beautiful

I really liked my outfit today, I think that the denim compliments the material and colour of my coat perfectly! You can find this pinafore (here) and it's in the sale!

After we finished our walk we sat outside and got a nice, warming hot chocolate- we kind of had to as we had bribed Liam with one the whole way round!

Then after our drinks things just got better, dad said he would take us to Daisy Made to get some ice cream, I of course got Chocolate and also Peanut Butter, both of which were delicious! You can't beat Daisy Made's Ice cream in my opinion.

It was so nice to get away from my usual surroundings and get some fresh air around my family, Whisby is definitely a favourite of mine.

What have you been doing this weekend?