It's okay to not be okay.

So today I have missed another lecture. That’s the fourth one and it’s only the second week. 50% due to being full of a cold (the third one I’ve had in less than two months) and the other 50% is due to the complete absence of motivation.

I feel incredibly low at the minute. There is no particular reason for me feeling this way. I just do. Some people just don’t understand this and I don’t blame them, I don’t even understand it myself. I have no reason to be in the state that I am, everything in my life is good and I’m a very lucky girl! I get annoyed at myself because of this which makes me feel even worse. I’m stuck in a bit of a rut.

GUEST POST 2 | BY BOUDOIR BLOGGING

Hello everyone, my name is Jess and I usually blog over at Boudoir Blogging. This post is a little different from what I usually write about but I'm hoping it will help at least one person. My post is all about weight, it's something I've struggled with a while now and I would like to share my story with you. (Cheesy right)

I've been meaning to write this for a while, but I just kept putting it off, why? Because lets face it who really likes to talk about home truths? But here it goes:

What I achieved in 2014!

Hello! Hope you all had a lovely Christmas!

Apologies for neglecting my blog, but December has been absolutely hectic and I've had zero time or motivation to write. I've also just noticed that I'm only a few pageviews away from 3000!! THANK YOU!

Anyway, with 2015 being SO close and lots of you sharing your New Year's resolutions, I thought I would finally take some time out to write a quick little post...

Now, I'm not one for actually making New Year resolutions, I don't particularly like the idea of identifying any flaws in life and aiming to change them, (not that there's anything wrong with making resolutions!), so instead I thought I'd twist it up and share achievements this year...

For the first time ever, I've actually made myself proud with what I've done:

- I passed my first year of University with a First (might not seem a big deal to some, but for me, this was big)

- I STARTED THIS BLOG! It was something that I started at the spur of the moment and I never thought it would do so well and receive such an amazing response. It also lead to me discovering such an amazing online community... YOU GUYS ARE FAB!

-In the same month that I started blogging, I also started volunteering for the British Red Cross at a local charity shop. I originally did it to gain some experience and to keep me busy over the summer. I planned to stop in September, but I've carried on as I love it so much and couldn't ask for a better group of people to volunteer with. I've even managed the shop too, which was nerve racking as it involved a lot of responsibility, but I coped with no problems, which brought a massive sense of achievement!

- I'm a lot happier in myself than I was last year. My confidence has soared on so many different levels.

I could go on more, but these 4 things were the major ones that I really wanted to share.

My only goal in life is to be happy (cheesy, but true) and at the moment I am, so my only 'goal' is to maintain this :)

So, what have you lovely lot achieved this year?

All the best for 2015 and if you have made any New Year's resolutions, good luck! :)

Katie x

P.S I have a guest post that will be going up in the first week of January, so keep an eye out!

Too shy to go to the gym...

This week, I actually need YOUR advice...
Late this summer, I joined the gym. I was full of motivation to get fit, but so far, I've made very little progress. I will hold my hands up and admit that this is partly due to my motivation flying out of the window (being curled up in bed is always going to sound better). But the major reason is that I'm just too shy to go...

Should it be declared when Photoshop has been used in magazines and adverts?

If you've read my blog before, you will know I like to put my two pence in when it comes to current topics that relate to body image. And the recent images published of Keira Knightley and Kim Kardashian West have got me thinking... should it be declared when Photoshop (or any other image editing software) has been used to alter someone's appearance?

THE MAKEUP EXPERIMENT | BY TAYLORED BEAUTY

Today, I've got a great post by Taylor from taylored-beauty.blogspot.co.uk. Taylor challenged herself with the question 'Why do we bother to wear make up?' and has written her thoughts after doing her own experiment. It's one that makes you think and we would both love to hear yours thoughts and experiences too. Enjoy! 

Are we becoming too nitpicky on what is and isn't a good promotion of body image?

Most of you will have seen the picture of a girl stood next to the Topshop mannequin, which recently went viral and prompted lots of criticism towards Topshop for promoting a poor body image. For me personally though, it prompted a different (and possibly controversial) thought - are we getting too nitpicky when it comes to our views on what is and isn't a good promotion for body image?