Tag: personal

August bujo

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WELL HELLO. 

I know, you’re probably thinking the same thing as I am as I write this..
a BUJO POST STEPH?
WHAT IS WRONG? 

I haven’t done a bullet journal for 3 months now… but I am finally back on the ball and have a very colourful bullet journal set up for August. I really really love it. So so much. So I’ll stop blathering and show you! If you’re interested in my last bujo post, check out my May bujo post!

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I do not quite know WHAT this is… maybe some kind of window rainbow display. I like it though: it’s colourful and it’s very indicitive of what is to come for the rest of the bujo. August is a month of happiness and sunshine for me, so I picked ALL OF THE COLOURS. 

Next up is the page that I think I might be the most proud of in my whole entire life. I never would’ve imagined that I’d be doing doodles of jeans in my bujo, but I did and I really bloody love how it looks (like they actually LOOK LIKE JEANS). You all know I love a quote page. Then we have my to do list – it is not actually blank… there is SO MUCH on my to do list, which is so sad. I’ve kept it simple this month!

Moving on from the to do list, we have the bookish pages. I’ve got a page for book post and then a page for the books I’ve read. I saw this “books I’ve read” on a google images search and it took me FOREVER, but I think it looks brilliant and I’m so pleased with it! I’ll be writing each book I read on the different pages. Let’s hope I can fill ALL of the pages! 

Last up in the old August bujo are pages for gratitude and my mood tracker. Again, after a little peruse of google, I found this lightbulbs one and I really like it. I’ve just used the rainbow to show my moods – red for happy, down to grey (I know, I added it) for sad. It’ll be interesting to see the range of colours in my lighbulbs! 

And that’s it. I’ve kept my bujo simple this month – no weekly layouts. Not being at work means I don’t really need to track my time that well. 

I hope you all enjoyed seeing my bujo again. I loved taking time (I watched the whole of Pitch Perfect as I did this!) to just be creative again. 

S x 

 

Thursday Tag: 30 Interesting Questions Tag

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Hello there!

It’s Thursday again. As if. Following on in the tradition of the past few weeks, I’m stealing a tag from my friend Charlotte’s blog. No shame at all. I love a good tag. Plus I love a tag which means I find out new things about people and allows you to find out things about me (which arent’ necessarily bookish things!)

(If you want to check out Charlotte’s post, it is HERE. Don’t tell her I sent you though!)

Let’s go…

What are your nicknames? What do you prefer to be called?

I have SO MANY nicknames. In a family as big as mine, it is inevitable. Some of the more notable ones are: Peach, Spot, Size, Cowbag, Eena. Outside of that I get Steph a lot. I much prefer being called Steph over Stephanie.

How often do you doodle? What do your doodles look like?

I’m a frequent doodler. I like to doodle as I’m listening. All of my university notes and staff meeting notes are COVERED in doodles.  I tend to doodle shapes over actual things though.

What do you do if you can’t sleep? Do you count sheep? Toss and turn? Get up and try and be productive?

None of those things. I tend to put on a podcast/video of something that I can tune out of and have it on as white noise. I’m usually quite a good sleeper, but there are times when I just can’t get to sleep. (Shout out to Safiya Nygaard videos here)

Do people consider you talkative or quiet?

Now this is an interesting one – it depends who you are and where you know me from. Probably a bit of everything in my life. I’m a proper introvert, but I can extrovert when I need to.

What makes you cry?

That question should be what DOESN’T make you cry? I cry at EVERYTHING. The most recent things to make me cry: books, my new baby cousin, the Queer Eye advert, thinking about my kids going into Year 6, stress.

What is your biggest pet peeve?

Ghosting. Lateness. Cockiness. Those are my top 3. I hate people who do these things.

How many times a day do you look at yourself in the mirror?

I have no idea. Probably 3-5 times? It depends what I’m doing.

What is the strangest thing you believed as a child?

Who knows. Let’s be real: a lot of things we believe as children are bizarre. A man who can travel around the world in a night and deliver millions of presents? Strange. A fairy who collects teeth and in exchange leaves you money? WEIRD.

What is the guilty pleasure you enjoy too much to give up?

Why should I have a guilty pleasure? Surely something that gives me pleasure should be something that is embraced.

Who performs the most random acts of kindness you know?

Charlotte (the very one I stole this tag from). She’s one of the loveliest people I know, but she only wants people to know that she is the Queen of Fire (which she is).

How often do you read the newspaper? Which sections?

Very rarely. I don’t really read the paper. I’m more likely to catch up on the news online where I’ll read the Education news, Entertainment news and local news.

Which animal scares you most?

Spiders. No question. I don’t know why. But no.

Are you more likely to avoid conflict or engage in it?

Avoid. I do not enjoy conflict at all. I’m one for people to just get on with each other. I’m not great in an argument cause I just fold and give in and I don’t want people to see that weakness (ha, deep)

What is the most recent compliment you received?

Hmmm… *shrug*. It probably came from one of my kids, colleagues or Charlotte though.

What question are you tired of hearing?

When are you going to have kids?
When are you going to move out?
When are you going to get married?
Do you want to be a head teacher?

What is the strangest thing you’ve eaten?

Snails. They’re just like mushrooms to be honest.

Do you have a whole lot of acquaintances or just a very few close friends?

Both? Like, I know a lot of people and can socialise with lots of different pockets of people depending on what’s going on, but I definitely have a very close bunch of friends who I trust with my life.

Do you have a catchphrase?

Things I say often:
Why are people?
I’m so tired.
Right.
I own it, but I haven’t read it yet.

What is your all time favourite town or city? Why?

I’m going to be predictable af here, but Newcastle. It’s home. It’s comfort. It’s the people I love the most. It’s Geordies. It’s the Quayside. It’s my friends. It’s growing up.

If you had to change your first name, what would you change it to?

I don’t know? I’ve been asked this question before and I still haven’t got an answer to that question.

When was the last time you lied?

Erm… who even knows.

What’s something that amazes you?

How incredibly kind humans can be. I am OFTEN floored (and cry) when I see those videos about people helping other people out in times of need. I know the world is a shitty place to live sometimes, but kindness absolutely floors me. More of those videos thanks.

Would you rather be the first person to explore a planet or the inventor of a drug that cures a deadly disease?

Anyone who knows me knows that I am absolutely not the kind of person who will go exploring an unkknown planet. Saving lives however would be my jam, so inventing a drug that cures a deadly disease.

What is your favourite amateur activity?

Swimming. One of my favourite things to do is getting in the pool and just swimming back and forth.

What was your first thought when you got up this morning?

‘What time is it?’ (generally my first thought every morning)

What is your favourite song (at least at the moment)?

Hmmm… The Best in Me by Ed Sheeran. I am loving his new album.

List someone you know and describe them in 5 words

Kelly: best dragon owner on Earth.

You can select one person from history and have them truthfully answer one question. Who would you select and what would the question be?

Well that’s a loaded question. I wanna be like “oh, I’d ask Hitler why he was such a dick” when in reality it would be something/someone a lot less political.

Which celebrity or artist do you resemble the most?

I do not know? Someone tell me their thoughts!

What do you want me to know?

You know what, you’re amazing. If you’re having a good day, remember it. If you’re having a bad day, remember that you’ve probably made someone smile today. Whether you realise it or not, the world needs you around. You’re someone’s best friend; you’re someone’s favourite person on the planet. 

And that’s it!

Did anything surprise you in this post?
Have you got any random questions you’d like me to answer?

Let me know in the comments!

S x

 

Anything but books tag

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Hellooo,

I saw this tag over on Charlotte’s blog (don’t tell her I read her blog, hehe) and I thought it would be a brilliant way for you all to get to know me a little bit better… when I’m not reading books! So here we are today with the ‘Anything but Books’ tag. Let’s see how many times I manage to mention books though (what can I say? They’re a big part of my life!)

If you fancy doing this tag, please go for it!

Name a cartoon you love

A cartoon I love? I mean any Disney film. But also I love the Lego movies, they’re funny. Any kids animated movie that has jokes in for the adults, I am THERE for. I love a good animated thing. When I was growing up though, my favourite cartoon was The Jetsons or Wacky Races.

What is your favourite song right now?

I love a WHOLE different range of music. I keep coming back to the Dear Evan Hansen soundtrack and You Will Be Found is my jam. I also love Help Me Now by Kevin McHale (yes, that’s him from Glee!). I can always rely on my babe Ed Sheeran too.

What could you do for hours that isn’t reading?

Good question. Besides sleeping though? Walk at the seaside and listen to music. OR OR OR listen to podcasts. Shout out to Rosie and Chris Ramsay’s podcat ‘Shagged, Married, Annoyed’ because it’s hilarious. But also something like sit in Quilliams and just write/planning for school/planning for blogging is one of my favourite things to do. Or go to my cousin Kate’s house and just chill out with the Redshaws because they’re my faves.

What is some thing that you love that would surprise your followers?

Hmmm… I do not know. I love a war film. I really enjoy watching tennis. Gymnastics and swimming are two of my other favourites.

What is your favourite unnecessarily specific thing to learn about?

WORDS. THE ETYMOLOGY OF WORDS. OH MY LORD. I love words. I love finding new words, I love learning about how words have changed. Dear me. Do not get me started because I find it FASCINATING.

What is something unusual that you know how to do?

I genuinely believe I am not interesting enough to have an answer to this question.

Name something that you made last year and show us if you can

I decorated my classroom – does that count?

What is your most recent personal project?

Hmmm… getting through my NQT year? Learning to love myself for all that I am? How deep do you want this answer to be?

Tell us something that you think about often

How gosh darn tired I am? (That takes up a lot of my thought time)

Tell us something that is your favourite, but make it oddly specific

Sitting in one of the window seats leaning against a wall in the Starbucks in Newcastle city centre on a sunny day with a coffee (hot or cold, I dont mind) and either ginger biscuits or banana bread.

Say the first thing that pops into your head

‘I’ll be sitting up in my room, back here thinking about yooooou’ – I’ve been rewatching Terrell and Vincint’s Song Assosciation video OVER AND OVER this week because it makes me laugh so hard and I just adore them. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about and would like to, I suggest you check out THIS VIDEO on the old YT)

And that’s it folks!

Have you learned anything new about me?
Is there anything else you want to know about me?

Let me know in the comments!

S x

“Be happy: it drives people crazy”

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Things that have made me smile recently

Books. My family. Meeting Baby Joey. Spending time with my friends. Quilliams. Tea. Breakfast. Going for walks just for time to think. Witchy Trio texts. The sunshine. Waking up to a light morning. Spending time by myself. Doing a job I know I want to do for the rest of the time, even when it’s SO BLOODY HARD sometimes. Knowing that it is almost the Summer holidays. Transition day. Meeting my new class. Overhearing people complimenting the work I’ve done this year. Looking back and seeing how far I’ve come. Allowing myself time to breathe. Texts from lovely people. Finishing two books in one day after not being able to read for ages. Lovely notes from people. Vincint. BookBitchez. Thirsty conversations. ALL OF THE GAY. Some exciting book events coming up. The thought of seeing my Welsh love in a few weeks. YALC excitement. Laughing at stupid jokes. Terrell. Dear Evan Hansen. Ed Sheeran. The Matilda soundtrack. SimplyNailogical videos. Watching tennis. Roger Federer. Wimbledon being everywhere. Watching Wimbledon with my kids and them asking 700 questions. Reflecting on the year I’ve had. Looking forward to the future. Reading amazing picture books. Reading books with the kids. Books. Always books. 

Final half term contemplations…

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Ello, ello, ello

So for those of you who are new around here, hi, I’m Steph, an NQT in a gorgeous little primary school in Newcastle. I love my job, I love where I work, I have the best colleagues in the world. My road to teaching hasn’t been conventional, but I got there in the end. I was a TA for 4 years, then I became a HLTA, then I realised that yes in fact teaching was the thing that I wanted to do for the rest of time, so I got my degree (as well as working full time) and then, last year, I finally qualified. So this year has been my NQT year. I work with a brilliant bunch of kids who make me laugh EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Now that we’re at my final half term, I’m just gonna share some musings, some thoughts, some questions, some wonderings about my final half term and maybe, just maybe, what I would like the future to hold.

  • Teaching is completely and utterly for me.
    It’s hard, it’s really exhausting at times and there’s more things to think about than brain space sometimes, but it’s the only thing I want to be doing for the rest of time (cause let’s be real, I’m going to be working until I’m 100). I invite anyone who thinks my job is “easy” to come and join me for a day or two… then you’ll see.
  • The politics of teaching is just ridiculous at times.
    I try not to get involved in the politics of teaching, but there is more of it than I realiased and that’s not fun. I get it, I get it, but man, I came into teaching to be a teacher, not a politician.
  • I do this job because I love it, but yes the holidays are great.
    People are ALWAYS commenting on this… and yes I can’t get away from the fact that the amount of holidays I get is wonderful (I would never deny this) but equally half terms are NEEDED.
  • I want to enjoy teaching for a while.
    People ask me (quite regularly) about going into management and senior leadership and while that’s not something I don’t want, I didn’t qualify just so I could be on someone’s SLT. It would be great to find myself with the responsibility of being a leader one day, but not just yet. I wanna actually master this craft before I try my hand at something else. One day I would like to see myself as a leader, but at the minute I don’t see headship in my future.
  • The subjects I thought would be the scariest haven’t been.
    I was DREADING teaching PE, absolutely dreading it, but actually, it’s become one of my favourite things to teach. Is it the thing I’m best at teaching? Gosh no, but it’s just so FUN. I’ve HAD to open my eyes and upskill myself and that’s been great.
  • Twitter is a wonderful platform for teachers.
    Do I feel like an imposter at times? Yes.
    Do I think why do these people care about what I think at times? Yes.
    Do I sometimes worry that my voice isn’t needed? Yes.
    But let me tell you, twitter teachers are the best, most caring and giving people you can come across. Find yourself a bunch of teachers who make you laugh, challenge you professionally and who support you and you’re laughing. I’m so very lucky that I found my tweacher friends quite quickly and they’re the best bunch ever.
  • Don’t be scared to get involved in conversations and attend events.
    There are so many conversations happening all the time and if you’re passionate about something then join in. People will challenge what you think and people will support what you think – if you’ve got the gusto to go out there and talk about something you’re passionate about do it. Yes there’ll be people who say things to antagonise you, but you choose the conversations you join in and the people you surround yourself with. There are SO SO many teaching events to get along to so get yourself out there and do it (it’s terrifying, but it’s worth it). Look up #BrewEd – there’s bound to be one near you happening.
  • Some lessons won’t go to plan and that’s life.
    I beat myself up SO SO MUCH about this and slowly, I’m realising that I’m human and bad lessons happen. It doesn’t make me a bad teacher, it just means I need to take a step back and think about why it didn’t go as well as I thought. I never did quite understand the whole “doing reflections” thing from my SCITT, but now it’s something I do without even realising (rarely are they written down, but it’s all in my head and it’s all useful)
  • It’s not a bad thing to ask for help.
    Asking for help is such an important tool. I encourage my kids to do it ALL THE BLOODY TIME but I’m so bad at it because I see it as a weakness (isn’t that mad?!) but I’ve got better. I’m still not great at it, but I’m getting there.
  • Ask all of the questions, even if you think they’re stupid questions
    THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A STUPID QUESTION. Say it again. Ask it again because you might not get the chance to ask it again.
  • Stick to your guns about something
    If you believe in something, or you think something isn’t right, then stick with your gut. I’ve had to do this a few times this year and I’ve been right every time. If there’s one thing I believe in in this job it’s that teachers know their kids. If something’s not right with your job, your workload, you, one of your kids, talk to someone about it. People are generally ridiculously supportive.

I have a load more to say but I’ve already rattled on for 1000 words (sorry guys).

I’ve loved my NQT year with all of my heart. It’s been exhausting, incredible, moving, frustrating, emotional and so many other words. I know this is just the first step up a VERY BLOODY LONG staircase, but it’s the only staircase I wanna climb. 

Thanks for sticking with me. If you’ve got any questions or anything you wanna say, please just let me know. I’m a bit inconsistent with my teacher posts, but I think it’s something I’d like to do more of.

You’re all amazing. Let’s have a brilliant final summer half term! 

S x

If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands…

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*clap clap*

Todrick Hall songs. Talking about old TV shows. Spending the day on the beach with my kids. The sunshine. Old photographs. Cringing at some memories. Starbucks Sundays. Making plans with friends. Making plans with myself. Being ok by myself. Texting new people. Texting old faves. Witchy Trio laughs. Being so proud of friends. Knowing I have the most considerate best friends in the world. The excitement about having a new member of the family soon. Half term. Taking time to look after myself. Reading books. Buying new books. Drag Race. Miss Vanjie. Tidying. Finally finding something in the supermarket I’ve been looking for for weeks. Twitter teacher friends. Time. Space. Exciting plans. Going to London to celebrate excellent books. Knowing there’s only 6 weeks of being an NQT life. The things that are coming in the future. Being slightly terrified, but knowing it’s all good. My goddaughters. Having a cry. The seaside. Supportive friends. Picking up whatever books I want and reading them. My kids EMBRACING our ‘Mystery book’. My kids loving books in all of their guises. Excitement for YALC. Basically, all of the bookish things. Always books. 

 

May bujo

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HELLO THERE. 

How are we all doing today? I’m here to share with you my May bullet journal. I apologise for it taking so long to get this posted… today we shall fix that! 

So I asked the people of Twitter what they wanted my bullet journal colour to be and with a resounding 48% of the vote, orange won!

twitter bujo colour

So May was to be the month of ORANGE bullet journal colouring! 

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My monthly page is a lovely sunshine. Yknow summer and all that! 

Then we have a quote page and the monthly overview page. I love this quote because I think it’s something we should all take into consideration. I’m really loving using the Zebra midliners to “highlight” things too. I have 8 different colours and they make me so happy. The monthly overview page is slowly becoming more and more useful, but as you can see it’s still quite plain… I need to have a play around with it to make sure that it’s the best it can be!

Next up is my bookish double spread: book post and books read. This is a spread that I’m constantly playing with. I am getting much better at tracking my book post (left page). I have a key to tell me what I’ve acknowledged (tweeted/grammed), read and blogged. I find it really helpful. When I’d taken these pictures, I’d read 3 books… since then I’ve added 2 more books. The stars system is ultimately flawed, but for my own personal consumption it’s helpful. 

Over the page we have my mood tracker and another quote page. I saw this orange idea while I was browsing the interwebs and I decided I needed it. It’s not perfect but I think it’s well cute. I’ve stripped down the amount of moods I’m tracking this month to just 4. I really can’t get the grasp on which moods I need to track (ha!), but these 4 are working this month. On the other page (right), I’ve actually started to fill it in with things that I’d do (or at least try) if I wasn’t so afraid. It’s quite eyeopening to be honest and I would encourage everyone to do it.

As May is the month of Mental Health Awareness Week, I changed this page (left) to be a MH page. I’ve been filling it all month with things that make me smile/things to do when I’m feeling a bit down. It’s quite lovely to see the sheer range of things in my life that make me smile/feel better when I’m feeling a bit fragile. The other side (right) is my trusty gratitude page, filled with all of the things I’m grateful for. 

Last up is my weekly spreads. Again, I’ve changed these from last month and I’m already loving it a lot more. It’s very simple/minimalist, but it functions perfectly as I need it to. There’s space for me to see what I’m up to this week (on the left) and then my inevitable to do lists (right). According to these pictures, my to do lists weren’t very long… but they most definitely are MUCH longer than this! 

And that’s it! That’s my May bujo. I hope you enjoyed this! If you have any questions or comments, let me know. I’d love to know what you think. Send me links to your bujo posts because I’m nebby and want to see them!

S x 

 

BOOK BLOG: Bethany Rutter

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No Big Deal: a book that means a very big deal!

21eba24b-9c6a-4906-86d0-bf42bfc98cae(gorgeous proof copy sent to me from the publishers… see final cover further down)

“Meet Emily Daly, a stylish, cute, intelligent and hilarious seventeen-year-old about to start her last year at school. Emily is also fat. She likes herself and her body. When she meets Joe at a house party, he instantly becomes The Crush of Her Life. Everything changes. At first he seems perfect. But as they spend more time together, doubts start to creep in.

With her mum trying new fad diets every week, and increasing pressure to change, Emily faces a constant battle to stay strong, be her true self and not change for anyone.”

No Big Deal tells the story of Emily (gorgeous, brilliant, wonderful), a teenager who is going through it all. She’s a girl who the world judges based on one thing: her weight. Emily doesn’t see her weight as a problem, but the rest of the world does. The rest of the world expects her to change because of who she is. Emily has this brilliantly unfaltering confidence in herself, but as you go through the book, as friendships fall apart, as boys come into the picture, as society wears her down, this unrelenting confidence risks changing forever.

I loved this book. Like hands down loved it.

Emily is an absolutely astounding MC. She’s stylish, she’s hilarious. Her perspective is absolutely mint. I laughed A LOT at some of the things she gets into because I’ve been there. Getting stuck in a dress in Topshop? God, I know that feeling so much. Doubted your worthiness because of your weight? Yep. Been there. I loved that she bossed life and was stylish and cool and brilliant. Her weight wasn’t the thing that defined her. She showed that it doesn’t need to. She had interests. She was a ROUNDED character. 

For so long, the fat character was the funny friend, or the one who never got the boy, but in this book, that’s not the case. This book shows that it doesn’t matter what size you are, you matter and that your story isn’t dependent on your weight. Your story is important: even if society doesn’t think so.

I’ve struggled to write this review, not because I didn’t love this book (because trust me, I loved this book an awful lot), but because every time I come to write this review it turns into something about my life… and y’all don’t need that.

This book is brilliant. It’s funny, it made me cry, it made me think, it made me want to shout: so many emotions. It’s interesting. It has a refreshing voice. It’s written in a brilliantly readable way. I’d love to think that Bethany Rutter will be around for MANY MANY BOOKS introducing us to a whole range of characters who are as badass, brilliant and body positive as Emily. This book, its character, its story is going to hit a chord with so many people. Whether you’re the fat friend or not, it’s going to matter. It’s so much more than a story about a fat girl: it’s a story about the importance of loving yourself and how much of a BLOODY HARDSHIP that can be at times. 

I think this book hit a note with me because I WAS Emily. I am Emily now. I’m on that journey of self acceptance, of loving myself for whoever and whatever I am that day. I’ve been there. I’ve doubted every single thing in my life because of the status of my weight. It’s just a thing.

PLUS. Look at this cover man. I proper love it. I can’t wait to have a finished copy in my midst. It’s going to have pride of place on my “favourites shelf”.

No Big Deal

My Goodreads review:

If I could swear, I would. This book is exceptional. I am/was Emily and there’s nothing more important that seeing yourself in a book. I hope every young girl gets a chance to read it. Loving yourself is SO IMPORTANT. This book made me laugh, cry and want to shout. Just bloody marvellous.

And because I loved it so much, I made a mood board. To me, this moodboard represents so much of what the book talks about. Style, fierce, brilliant women, loving yourself, owning life.

NBD mood board

Thank you so so much to Bethany and the brilliant humans of Macmillan Books/MyKindaBook for getting me a proof copy. I GENUINELY think this book is going to hit a chord with so many people.

Have you read No Big Deal?
Can you name another book that has a fully-realised fat MC?
Who is your favourite body positive person?

Talk to me! 

S x 

Be kind to yourself: you’re doing a great job

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Hi there friends!

I’m not really sure where this post will end up going, so please bear with me. May is #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth and I think it’s important to put the spotlight on MH. It’s not a taboo subject. It’s not something that should be silenced. It’s something that should be talked about. We all endure and cope differently and each and every experience is valid. The more we talk about this, the better it will be for everyone.

Every week this month I’m going to post another little mental health type post. You don’t have to read it if that’s not your thing, but if it is I’d love to know your thoughts on whatever it is I’ve posted about. The posts each week may be what I do when I’m feeling like I’m spiralling, some books I might recommend or anything. I’d love your suggestions on what you’d like to see me talk about. 

One of the posts will be centred around body positivity – why it’s important, what it means to me, how we can be more body positive etc. This year’s Mental Health Awareness Week 2019 will take place from Monday 13 to Sunday 19 May 2019 and the theme for 2019 is Body Image – how we think and feel about our bodies.

Today I’m going to just spend a few words talking about perception. How we perceive others and how that can in fact be SO INCREDIBLY different to how we perceive ourselves.

Something I do is asking people to describe me, keeping their positive words (in my phone, my bujo, my brain) for when I don’t have any for myself. Now some people may think ‘well that’s awfully self-centred of you’, but sometimes you need someone else’s words of positivity when you have none yourself.

If you ask people to describe me in a word, you will more than likely get the following words:

  • funny
  • loud
  • bubbly
  • confident
  • friendly
  • affectionate

And I think those are words that I would use to describe me from time to time. There’s also a whole chunk of words, which aren’t as positive, that I would use to describe myself. I am, at times, my VERY OWN WORST CRITIC.

It’s SO EASY to fall into a hole of “you’ve not done this, you’ve not done that, that could have been better, you’re not this, you’re not that, that person is doing this and you’re not”. It’s so easy. It’s so easy to listen to the negative things that people have said about you, rather than the equal amount of positive things. It’s so easy to only think negative things about yourself, rather than tell yourself positive things.

I’m particularly bad at being kind to myself some times. And some times I need reminders that I am enough. I am kind. I am friendly. I am funny. I am good at my job. These reminders need to come from me. It’s lovely when other people tell me them, but it doesn’t make as big a difference until I start to believe them.

I’m a BIG LOVER of quotes (and mood boards as readers of this blog will attest to), so I’ve put together a moodboard of quotes that have hit a chord with me as I’ve been scrolling recently. We all deal with our mental health struggles in different ways, and each and every voice is valid – for me, these help to show me that I’m not alone. They help me to see that OTHER people have felt the way I feel. 

MH month

Thanks for stopping by today. If you ever need to talk, or just want a hug (virtual, or real), my inbox/twitter is always open.

Love, Steph xx

There’s nothing quite like a good cup of tea…

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If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you will know that I am a massive fan of treating myself to a breakfast ever now and again.

In Newcastle, we are spoiled for choice of places to go… but I will ALWAYS go back to the same place. And I recommend that you guys start going too:

Quilliam Brothers Teahouse

img_5374(Look at that cute little tea cup man, and my own pot of tea!)

For those of you who have no idea what Quilliam’s is, it’s a teahouse in the centre of Newcastle and it’s just majestic. When you go in you are handed a menu, but it’s no ordinary menu… it’s a tea menu. There are tens of choices you can choose from (I literally have only breakfast tea, or lately I’ve been having a vanilla black tea which is delicious) and there are teas for ALL tastes. The first time I went I had NO idea what I was doing/wanted, and the staff were MORE THAN HAPPY to recommend and help me make a decision. You get a cute little Quilliams tea cup and your own pot of tea (for someone who was a newbie like me, this was a PROPER revelation… not only was I able to choose from 10s of teas, but I got my own pot of tea!)

Now, I mostly go to Quilliams for breakfast (those of you who follow me on Instagram will see that mostly!) and, as the pictures above show, the breakfast is something that is well worth grabbing. You can get a whole host of different breakfasts: eggs, pancakes, granola, sandwiches, full English. There’s options for those who are gluten free and dairy free too! Just ask the people who work there and they’ll be happy to help. I always get the Eggs Claremont (poached eggs on toast with sausages) without hollandaise sauce. I would recommend this 100%. Everything that comes out looks and smells delicious… I’m just a stick with what you know kind of gal ha! 

Quilliams doesn’t just do breakfast though… 

There’s a MASSIVE range of cakes and treats you can get as snacks! Pictured above is the mini egg brownie, chocolate banana bread and orange cake (gluten free). Recently some friends and I went and we all have pretty different tastes in life, but we all managed to find something to eat AND ENJOY. We all had some food, some cake and some tea. It was a majestic day. The other picture shows the nachos they do on a night time and man… they’re just DELICIOUS. 

If you’re in Newcastle, or ever in the North East, I would completely recommend visiting Quilliams. It’s one of my favourite places to eat and just have a little me time. The vibe is really chill and the staff are always more than happy to help! 

Check out their website here where you’ll find more information about their menu, where they are and other essential information! 

What’s your go to breakfast food?
Do you have one place you ALWAYS go for a little treat?
Can you recommend somewhere for me to go and try out in Newcastle?

I can’t wait to hear what you all think! This wasn’t quite books… but Quilliams is another love in my life! 

S x