H E A R T A U T U M N: 2018

A 2018 round-up & plans for 2019

Ok I'll get the obvious out of the way first; but WHERE the heck has 2018 gone?! It's genuinely been (another) blink and you miss it kind of year where I feel like I've accomplished absolutely nothing.
But ANYWAY; my favourite type of posts to read are peoples chatty catch-up posts; Megan does this superbly in and amongst every post; while Sophies 'mid-month catch ups' are another strong favourite. Back in the summer I decided to start my own kind of monthly catchup posts, but (A) I didn't seem to have enough I wanted to say about every month and (B) I felt like I wasn't posting regularly enough to fit monthly catch-up posts amongst my usual content, so they faded away. Now that it's the end of the year though, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for such a post!

2018 has been a funny year, I've not done anything extraordinary or been on a fancy holiday (or any holiday for that matter) but I've learnt to love myself and for me, that beats anything else. I've stopped doing things for the sake of others and started putting myself first, which may seem selfish, but sometimes is necessary. I don't want to compromise on my happiness and my mental health for someone who doesn't care about my happiness and my mental health.
I've begun to enjoy working out and practising yoga; I now eat plant-based, enjoy cooking more than ever and I've started taking care of my body. I might still be in the same job, but I've had new responsibilities and feel more confident than ever. I've worked with some amazing brands both on my blog and instagram, but most importantly I've met new people, made new friends and visited new places.

I've written my best content:
Nothing like a bit of self-promo to kick start things is there! I'm happy with all of the content I've put out this year; I stopped writing posts I wouldn't read (hence why there wasn't a single gift guide in the run-up to Christmas) and started writing more honestly about real-life topics. So here are my favourites;

'Making Christmas The Time For Giving' - I spent a lot of time collating information for this and am really proud of how it turned out. I want to try and use my little platform for good!

'The Sustainable Series #1 - Armedangels' - Getting to work with a brand focused on sustainability was the kick up the bum I needed to start this series! I'm so proud of the photos (I shot them all solo with my trusty tripod) and am just really happy with how this all turned out.

'25: Recovery In The Age Of The Internet' - One of my most honest posts to date but definitely one I'm most proud of. The photos, the words and just the fact I was in a good/strong enough place to share this makes me immensely happy.

'The Perils Of Being An Introverted Blogger' - I often struggling with blogging, sharing my life and worrying if I'm online enough. I'm the most introverted introvert and so just getting things like this off your chest feels good.

'On STILL Not Knowing What I Want To Do With My Life' - My most favourite set of photos EVER. Also: I'm still in the same position of not knowing what to do and the fact this resonated with a lot of other people was wonderful.

I've read more than ever:
I've always loved reading but I'm just a slow reader. One of my goals for this year was to get through at least a book a month, which I have just managed! I've also (of course) read a lot of blogs because there's a lot of talented writers out there! Here's the top picks of what I've read this year:

Everything I Know About Love, Dolly Alderton - Dolly has such a way with words, I just adored this.

The Language Of Flowers, Vanessa Diffenbaugh - this was so poetic and such a heartwarming (and heart-wrenching) story, I can not recommend enough.

Feminists Don't Wear Pink & Other Lies, curated by Scarlet Curtis - very inspiring and uplifting; I actually have a post coming in January that was influenced by this.

The New Fashion Rules, Victoria Magrath - the only ~influencer book I was truly excited by, Victoria is my constant inspiration in the industry and she smashed it with this.

Megan Ellaby is my number 1 blogger, always inspiring my fashion choices and giving me the confidence to wear what the hell I want. Her posts are always so well written, chatty and personal and I just adore her.

A special shoutout to other blogs I've loved this year: Pretty Normal Me by Em Clarkson; Holly Loves The Simple Things; Sopharsogood and Anika May.

I've seen great shows:

For 2018 I wanted to spend more time going to ~shows; whether that be live music gigs, theatre shows or simply films at the cinema. I love art and artists and by far prefer an evening spent this way than just going drinking (obviously, now that I don't really drink!). My best of the year have been;

Harry Styles. My number 1 definitely didn't disappoint when I saw him in Manchester back in April. He's a wonderful human, I love everything he stands for and he puts on an incredible show.
My best blogging achievement of this year was being invited to see The Greatest Showman at the outdoor Luna Cinema at Bolton Abbey this year. I took my mum along and although cold, it was such a great evening!
Flashdance is one of my favourite musicals and seeing it live on stage was incredible! Joanne Clifton played the role of Alex and was just as wonderful as you can imagine!

And if you're wondering why I've left everything clothing related out of this, then I'm assuming you missed my last post on the best pieces in my 2018 wardrobe, so give it a look!

I've enjoyed varying my writing a bit this year, embarking on my sustainable series as I try to be more sustainable myself, and just generally writing things of more substance. Things that you can really build a conversation around.
I know that fast fashion has been a bit of a hot topic for a lot of people this year, but it's really something that I am trying to step away from. So that's why there's no 'what to buy in the sales' and 'who has the best offers' posts over here. I'm not gonna push sales for things you don't need in the hopes that I can make a few quid - I avoided all things Black Friday for the same reason.
But one thing I do think, looking back over this years content, is that I need to start working with photographers again. I stopped for various reasons (low self-confidence and bad time management for two) but the outcome is always better with a professional and that always inspires me more.
Other than that, for 2019 I don't really have big plans to change things on here! I'm thinking of getting a new theme and sprucing it up a bit; but in terms of content I think I found my groove this year. I'm really happy with the style of content that I've fallen into so just want to build on that!

I started bullet journalling at the beginning of December and already I am feeling SO much more organised, so maybe there'll be a post on that soon?? But in there I have a few goals for next year and I thought I'd share the little ones. Because there'll no doubt be countless resolution posts to sift through!

1. Read the Harry Potter books (and read more in general!). Please don't hate me, but when I was younger I tried multiple times and just couldn't get into them; then the films started coming out and there seemed no point. But I really want to get through them now! I also want to make more time to read all year, so I've set myself a target of 30 books on GoodReads. I'm a very slow reader but fingers crossed!

2. Do more for charity. I want to make more of an effort to not only donate to smaller charities, but to support in other ways too. Whether that be some kind of sponsored event or fundraising or whatever! I need to get brainstorming. If you're local and want to join me PLEASE do.

3. Explore new parts of the country. There are so many glorious places in this country and I feel like I've seen so few of them!! Most of them are on my doorstep too because, hello, Yorkshire is the greatest county on earth. So I just want to get out and adventure more.

4. Get more enjoyment from working out. I got rather good at going to the gym this year; I invested in the GraceFit Guides to give me some focus and have been really getting into them. But I still want to vary my fitness more; get into swimming, focus more on yoga and maybe try a class or two!

If you've made it to the end of this post the well done because I know I rambled and crammed an awful lot in, but I didn't want to spread this all out when everyone is doing similar posts right now, I know it gets awfully tiresome.

Wearing: Jacket, Zara (old) - Jumper, Primark (old) - Skirt, ASOS - Tights, Accessorize - Beret, Vintage - Boots, Stella McCartney (similar) - Bag, Coach

So share your 2018 highlights! What was your favourite point of the year? What are you most looking forward to next year?

Loves. Emma.

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Best-Loved In My 2018 Wardrobe

A Generation Obsessed With Productivity & Being Busy

In christmas , volunteering

Make Christmas The Time For Giving

I always remember that, throughout my childhood, the start of Christmas time meant getting bundled up in our big coats, hats and gloves, to go out delivering food hampers and tins of biscuits to all of the elderly people in our village. We (my mum, dad, brother and I) did this alongside our neighbours; they were the ones who organised it all and we simply helped with the delivery. But it was so rewarding to give these people gifts; people who couldn't get out much (especially in the snow), who didn't have much or who were lacking a close support network. And I guess that shows the major positives of living in a small village doesn't it? Because our neighbours worked with the woman running the local post office to compile a list of recipients, gathered donations and planned the deliveries all off their own back.
I don't remember when this all stopped, but I believe somebody else in the village took over the role. And I kind of miss it? It was such a tradition, knocking on old ladies doors and seeing their faces light up at the unexpected gifts, before going back to our neighbours and all having a warm drink. This is exactly what Christmas should be about! Did anyone else do the shoebox gifting through their school too? Where you'd fill a shoebox with gifts for those less fortunate and send it off, that was another thing I always looked forward to. Along with (obviously) presents and food and family time! But at the end of the day, I think giving is much more important than the receiving at this time of year.

So when my friend Natasha suggested we look into volunteering over the festive period, I leapt at the chance. I don't know why I haven't before, fear/nerves/laziness, take your pick! But unfortunately at the middle of November we were already too late, which I guess is a good thing, because everywhere we asked was fully booked up with volunteers right into the new year. There were (obviously) opportunities still available, but we're not able to commit to long-term partnerships at the moment. Something to definitely bare in mind for the new year though.
Instead, we've looked at donating money/gifts instead of time, so I thought I'd share a few options if anyone else is wanting to do more this year:

Donating Gifts

We have Magic radio on in the office at work quite often, so I've heard multiple adverts for 'Mission Christmas' which they're collaborating on with Bensons for beds. They're working to ensure that every child has a gift to unwrap this year and with 640 drop-off points across the UK, all you need to do to help is donate a new and unwrapped toy. You can find all the info here! There's also options to donate money towards gifts if you're unable to get out and buy one/there's no drop-off location nearby.

Monetary Donations

How many people really take notice of the Christmas cards which they receive? Or even bother sending them at all in 2018 when you can send a text/whatsapp/tweet/facebook post/instagram DM or whatever else? There's a few people I've known who would instead opt to donate to a given charity, tell everyone that's what they were doing and encourage others to donate instead of needless paper waste. And I think it's a great idea! It also works if you've got relatives/colleagues/neighbours who you usually just exchange gifts with out of politeness and get things you don't want nor need. Ask them to donate that money to a charity of your choice instead and do the same for them. Do you really want another generic gift set with zero thought?
If you want to donate your money to a specific cause, there are many charities who offer those options! Centrepoint: you can buy a homeless young person a Christmas dinner for £10, a Christmas gift for £13, a set of toiletries for £15, or a safe, comfy bed for the night for £35, among many more options. Refuge: there's a 'gift list' where donations are used to buy specific presents for women and children or, alternatively, you can buy refuge parcels, e.g. a Christmas dinner parcel for £5, an Emergency parcel for £10 or a Safety and Independence parcel for £50. These are just 2 amongst a number of charities with these kind of offerings!

For the animal lover

I was initially gonna recommend WWF here for adopting an endangered animal as a gift, but then I found out that they're sponsored by Canada Goose and are all kinds of dodgy so I found some alternatives! Wildlife Trusts offer options to sponsor an array of animals from hedgehogs to dolphins in aid of protecting UK wildlife. Blue Cross have pets that you can sponsor including cats, dogs, horses and hamsters and Dogs Trust have even more dogs to choose from. But if you're an animal lover yourself, it's worth thinking of the animals in shelters over the winter. Donating blankets to your local shelter is sure to be a big help, as is donating your time to help if they have vacancies. January is always a busy time for shelters (A dog is for life, not just for Christmas, etc.).

Food banks

Giving to food banks is probably most peoples first though when wanting to donate at Christmas, and it is something which can easily be done now as lots of supermarkets have donation points in store; you can simply add an extra couple of items to your trolley and pop them in at the end! If you want to do something a bit more for food banks, a reverse advent calendar is a great idea. (I know we're already on the 5th December so I'm a little late in recommending this, but sh!) You simply donate one item each day of Advent and to make the most of this, you can check out what your local food bank is most in need of.

Helping the elderly

Not everywhere will have systems set-up like we had in our little village, but there are different ways you can help elderly people. If you have elderly relatives or neighbours, just to try to visit them more, ask if there's anything they need when you're going to the shop (especially if it's snowy!). Sometimes they just need a friendly face and a little bit of company. Age UK have lots of advice on small acts of kindness that you can do to help!

And it's not just giving through charities that's rewarding at Christmas, but buying gifts for your loved ones. It should never be about the money spent but instead the thought that's gone into the gift. Please shop small if you can! One of the gifts I've got for my mum this year isn't expensive but it's something that I know she's gonna love and I just keep wanting to tell her about it. I'm too excited to wait!!

But the important thing about giving and donating is to only offer if you can and what you can. Don't feel pressured to donate if you've saved to buy presents for your loved ones and don't have the extra cash; don't give up time to help your elderly neighbour if it means compromising on work or visiting relatives. Be logical and be reasonable, a little goes a long way.