When I turned 21 two years ago I did a post called
21 Things I Want To Achieve, and to this day it's still one of my favourite posts. I did something similar last year, that being
22 Things I've Learnt In 22 Years and this year I've decided on 23 Things I Love. It gets more and more difficult each year to come up with a new post but as it was my birthday recently I want to carry it on as I really do love looking back on the previous ones.
1. Going On Trains - There is just something so exciting about getting on a train and just doing nothing for a few hours. I mentioned this in a post a long time ago but for me the actual travelling to wherever I'm going is just as fun as the actual destination. I love to zone out for a bit, read a book, or listen to music and just chill. I always get excited when I know I'm going on a train soon.
2. Petting Dogs - Dogs are probably one of my all time favourite things, whenever I see one I always get a little giddy and smile and sometimes I even wave and say hello, cos I'm a child, but I just love them. As I had a dog when I was younger, I now don't really feel a home is complete without one and I am just waiting for the day that we get to bring one home. It would be loved beyond belief. It's not often I get to actually have a stroke of any dogs but when I do, BEST DAY EVER. There was one at Winter Wonderland in November which was more than happy for me to pay it some attention and it really did make my day.
3. Bubble Baths - For me there isn't much that is better than a boiling hot bubble bath. Whether I'm stressed, tired, poorly, or just a bit bored, a bubble bath sorts me right out and just chills me out. It's my time to read a book or catch up on some youtube, and I actually for some reason seem to come up with quite a few blog ideas when I'm relaxing in the bath! Now it's Winter, I'm having about a million baths a week as they make me feel so warm and cosy.
4. Face Masks - Sticking with the pamper theme, I love a face mask. I never used to get the hype around them but after trying a few different ones last year, I'm now all about them and can't get enough. I've got a little stash in the bathroom cupboard now so whenever I feel my skin is in need of some looking after or I'm having a bit of a self care night, I've got plenty to choose from.
5. Blogging - I suppose this is a bit of an obvious one but I really do love blogging more than I can say and I don't know where I would be without it now. I started this blog on a whim almost 4 years ago now, never did I think I'd still be doing it now and still finding things to talk about. I definitely go through phases where I'm not as into it as other times or I have a bit of bloggers block but overall it's the best thing ever and as I love to just talk, it's the perfect thing for me really.
6. Baking - I've posted so many baking recipes on my blog, I've actually lost count but it really does make me so happy. I have a firm few favourites now like my
lemon drizzle,
school sponge cake and
easter chocolate cake so I make those quite a lot but I also love trying something new and coming up with different recipes. It's such a good feeling when you try something and it goes well and everyone likes it. That is one of the best feelings ever for me.
7. Listening To Podcasts - This is something I only really got into towards the end of 2017 but now I love putting on a podcast rather than the TV and getting some blogging done. It's almost like having a friend with you as it feels like your involved in the conversations. If you have any recommendations of any I should listen to, let me know!
8. Cooking - Similar to baking, I love it when I make a meal for the first time and it goes well. I'm not always that adventurous with food and I do tend to stick to the same sorts of things, but whatever I choose to make, I just love being in the kitchen. I love making really warming meals in the winter especially and cooking for other people always makes me happy.
9. Christmas Markets - I always get so excited around November time as that's when all the Christmas Markets start and after such a special trip in 2014, I always want to go back to them. They just make me feel so festive, the Manchester one especially, and it always gets me so ready for Christmas. The food is always pretty amazing too!
10. Cleaning - So this isn't something I love every single day, but when I'm in the right mood I actually really enjoy cleaning. Seeing things go from messy to tidy and having a clean flat makes me think a little bit clearer and generally just makes my day so much better. It really is true, a tidy house, a tidy mind.
11. Getting Through A Boxset - I love watching the soaps on TV and I'm all about reality TV like TOWIE but I also love binge watching a boxset. There are some brilliant shows on Netflix at the moment and there has even been quite a few good ones on ITV and BBC recently aswell so we've been watching so many different things. We got through all 4 series of Line of Duty last year which is such an incredible show and we also fully caught up with Game of Thrones so it meant we could watch when it was actually on TV.
12. Supermarkets - This might seem like a bit of a weird one but I get so much joy from supermarkets! I absolutely love food shopping and though we usually spend far too much on stuff we don't need, I always enjoy it so much. We did quite a big food shop just before Christmas and I just loved it, I don't know why they make me so happy!
13. Going To London - A bit of an obvious one if you're a regular reader of my blog but of course London had to be on this list. I won't go on about it because I'm aware I talk about it a lot, but of all the places I've been, London is my favourite. It's really hard to explain but I don't think I've ever felt as happy as I do there and to say it's probably one of the busiest places and somewhere a lot of people with anxiety would hate, I feel so comfortable there.
14. Making Lists - I love getting things written down and in some sort of order, like with this list I suppose. If I've got a lot to do, making a list of what's a priority really helps get my mind in order and it's such a good feeling when I can tick something off. I make lists for just about everything but it really does help with keeping organised.
15. Music - I can listen to music for hours and hours on end. I love just sitting with my earphones in, with the music turned up really loud and just doing nothing. It helps when I'm feeling stressed and at night I even like to listen to music as if I'm struggling to sleep, it gives me something else to focus on. I also find music is a massive motivator. If I've got music on when I'm blogging, I find it makes me 10x more productive and I get loads done.
16. Buying Gifts - As much as it's nice to receive presents, I personally really do love getting gifts for others. Every Christmas I get prepared so early when it's come to other peoples presents, I start looking months in advance because I just find it so exciting! I really think about what each person I'm buying for would like and I do put so much effort into it. I want people to be happy and smile, it's just the best feeling.
17. Going To The Cinema - As we have unlimited cards we go to the cinema quite often and now I think it would just be weird if we went more than few weeks without it. Last year we saw so many different films and I'm hoping we get to do the same again this year. It's a nice little date night and it really doesn't have to be expensive.
18. Decorating - As we rent, we're limited with how much decorating we can do, but I'm really happy with the changes we've made over the last few years. Adding the
photo wall to the bedroom was a big step and completely changed up the room, I love our cosy living room, and we've now actually made some real progress with our spare room. As it's a small flat, that room is kind of the one where just about everything that doesn't have a place goes so it's took a lot of work but I'm actually writing this post now in the office and I've waited a long time for that! I'm looking forward to adding more to the office as the year goes on and I'd really love to paint the bathroom finally in 2018.
19. Pinterest - Out of all of my social media, Pinterest is probably the one I love the most. As I mentioned in
this post last year, I just find it's the one with the least pressure. I can post as and when I want, I can repin a variety of different things and it's just fun. I can spend hours and hours on there!
20. Spending Time Alone - I don't like to be lonely but I do like to be alone. Sometimes you do just need a few hours to yourself to not necessarily do anything, and it can do you the world of good. When George went away in December with work, I of course missed him and by the end of day 4 I was like okay come home now, but it was quite nice to have that time alone to just look after myself and do what I wanted. When you live with someone it can be easy to just spend all of your time with them and not really think of anyone else but I did enjoy having a bit of time where it could just be me.
21. Staying In Hotels - Similar to my very first post with trains, I find staying in hotels so exciting. I love getting back to the hotel after a day out exploring wherever we are and having that feeling of just exhaustion and getting into a massive bed. I always get so giddy about staying in a hotel and I don't think that will ever go away!
22. Colouring - I definitely don't make as much time for this as I used to but colouring really helps with my anxiety. It just really relaxes me and gives me something else to focus on other than whatever is stressing me out. I've got a few different colouring books now, each of them so different and I really do enjoy having a bit of time to focus on that instead of my phone or the TV.
23. Reading Old Blog Posts - This isn't something I do often but whenever I do, I always have such a good time. I love reading back through my old posts as I get to see just how much I've improved since I started and I also get to relive some really lovely memories. I've blogged about all of our weekends away, shopping trips, birthdays, things like that and it always makes me smile when I have a re-read of them.
So that's 23 things I love! A real mix of travel, food, blogging and so much other stuff. I have no idea what sort of post I'll do for my 24th birthday next year, this one was difficult enough 🙈
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