2017 has been one hell of a year hasn't it? A lot has happened this year, over the whole world! I thought I would reflect on the highlights of my 2017 and let you all in on what I have enjoyed this year.
2017 was the year that I finally attended a LUSH bloggers event! I was so super excited and honoured to have been invited, I couldn't quite believe it! It was so nice to have a sneaky peak look at the Easter products and be able to choose a couple to take home! It was nice to have one on one time with the staff, to discuss what we liked about the new products and a gossip about all things LUSH! It was also really nice to meet some other bloggers who live in my area, although most of them were mainly all about make up, it was still nice to know there are other bloggers around!
After being a Harry Potter fan since I was a very small child, growing up reading the books and watching the films and spending years wanting to go, really really wanting to go to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour, I still find it quite hard to believe that I finally got to go. This has been on my bucket list since the studio opened back in 2012. I thought I was never going to get there as prices to travel that far down the country from where I live are so expensive. I thought I was never going to see the home of Harry Potter, where the cast spent the majority of their time, working and learning. Finally being able to see it all with my own eyes is something that I will never forget. I was in awe the entire day at how amazing they had made the studio, how many Harry Potter artifacts were right there in front of me, the real props that were used in the films. I was so emotional that day, I nearly cried at least 5 times! I would go back in a heart beat! This day was easily one of the best days of my life.
Photo credit - Google Images
After leaving sixth form in 2012 and deciding that I didn't want to go to university to study Photography like I had originally planned, I spent the next four years in and out of temporary employment. I was very lucky in those four years to never be unemployed for more than a week or two in-between jobs, but I hated the uncertainty of not having a job at the end of the month, living on a four hour a week pay check and that one time I received my P45 in the post before my manager told me I wasn't going to have my contract extended. It caused me a lot of stress and made my anxiety go through the roof. I had a long term job in the civil service and I found where I wanted to be. I loved office work and I really enjoyed working as part of the government, I felt like my job had purpose and it was so much better than size ordering t-shirts in a retail job. I applied for a permanent position in a different part of the government in the summer of 2016 and I found out I had the job in the October. I started in the December of 2016 and I'm not going to lie, I hated it at first. I wanted to leave and go back to my old job, I would come home so miserable and cried quite a lot. It's hard to believe that I felt like that when now, just over a year later, I absolutely love my job! I finally think I have found the job for me and that makes me very happy. Sometimes my job can be a little stressful and I can come home and feel like I just want to curl up in bed and sleep for days as I am so tired, but I am so happy I stuck it out and kept telling myself that everything would be okay! To anybody who is looking for work or is in temporary employment, I know how it feels, I know how shit it is to work your butt off in the hope of being rewarded with a permanent contract or an extension and not feel like you're getting anywhere, but I promise you it will and can only get better! Just stick in at it and you'll soon find your perfect job, just like I did!
I have been wanting to attend the Showcase since the very first one, the thought of all the exclusive products and getting my hands on products early made me so excited! I was finally able to see what all the fuss was about for myself, take all the photos of all the LUSH I could have ever asked for and be surrounded by so many people who share such an immense passion for LUSH, just like I do. Although I was a little disappointed in the Showcase itself, it has to make it to this list for a few reasons. If it wasn't for the Showcase, myself and Reece probably wouldn't have taken the plunge to finally go to London, we'd been talking about it for quite a while but just never found the time or money to actually do it. I had been wanting to go back ever since I first went and as Reece had never been before, I thought it would be the perfect trip for us both. I also got to finally meet a very good friend of mine, Jess (@snapsoflush on Instagram). We had been speaking since the Christmas of 2015, nearly every single day! We'd became really good friends over that time and it was so nice to actually meet in person, spend the day together and chat, sniff and compare all the new LUSH that was coming out! We are definitely going to meet up again and I'm super excited to go to Liverpool as I've never been before! So thank you very much to the Showcase, you may have pissed me off but at least I got to go away with my boyfriend and meet my friend!
Photo credit - Google Images
I very rarely talk about my best friend on my blog, I don't know if she reads my blog posts (I highly doubt she does!) or even knows I have a blog! I have been best friends with my best friend, Lauren, since I can remember. We grew up together, her Nana is my godmother and my Mum used to babysit her Mum when she was younger, it's very confusing, so we just say we're cousins! All my life, Lauren has always been the one person I know I can rely on. Whether I broke up with a boyfriend, had a fight with a friend or had an argument with my parents, I have always known I can call her and she would be right there, just as she knows she can always count on me, whenever she needs me. Lauren has always liked to prank me, so when she told me she was pregnant back in 2015, I honestly didn't believe her until she had a bump. She had little Lacey in March of 2016 and became one of the best mums I have ever known. Lacey is the most adorable little girl I have ever met, shes so super clever and so loving! It's so cute when I walk in and she comes straight for a cuddle! So one of the top highlights of my year has to be my best friend having baby number two! Little Taylor was born at the beginning of October and he is the cutest, cuddliest little man in the world! Seeing my best friend with her children makes me so happy, because I can see that she is happy and that's all I've ever wanted for her! I am so excited to see Lacey and Taylor grow up into the amazing, strong and independent people I know they are going to be, but just not too fast, I want them to stay little and babies forever!
Travelling with Reece is one of my favourite things to do, ever. I love it when we go away for a weekend or a few nights to somewhere we've never been before. I love going exploring a new city together and being alone to do whatever we want, when we want. When we see each other, either I am staying at his family home or he is staying at my family home, and while that isn't an issue at all (I love his family and he fits right in in my house) it is so nice to just have time to ourselves. It's nice to not have to creep about at night and worry you'll wake somebody up, or be home at a certain time because my Mum is cooking our tea. Even if we only go away for the day, I enjoy it so much, us just being left to our own devices. This year, we have visited the Dark Hedges, the Giants Causeway, the Lake District, London, Edinburgh and Belfast. Next year, I want to visit so many more places and possibly even go abroad together! Here's to hoping!
I hope you have all had a very lovely and successful 2017! 2017 has had it low points, but it's also been an overall good year! I am so excited to see where 2018 will take me.. Hopefully to saving for a house!
Wishing you all a very Happy New Year and all the well wishes in the world for 2018! Thank you for reading this blog post and if you're a frequent reader, thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming back! It means more to me than you will ever know that people take time out of their day to read words that I have written!
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**Disclaimer: All views, opinions and photos are mine unless otherwise stated**
#2017 Photo credit: Google Images
#2017 Photo credit: Google Images