Valentines Gift Guide For Her #1

There have been two Valentines gift ideas up over the last few weeks, the first one being personalised prints from Printiki and the second being some lovely products from Feather and Down. Like most years though, I'm also doing a few general valentines gift guides because I've seen some really unique bits online that I had to share.

The first place I've seen some really cute gifts is actually the Card Factory. If you're on more of a budget or just don't want to spend loads because lets face it, valentines is only one day out of the year, then you should definitely have a little look. I've bought things from here most years because they are so cheap and they always do a wide variety of things. The first thing that caught my eye this year was the Valentines Rose Ornament which is £3.99. It's very Beauty and the Beast and it's something that can always be kept in your home. A little keepsake which might be a nice idea is the Message In A Bottle which is only £1.99. You can write your own message inside or just keep it as a cute ornament. If you're looking for something that can go in the home then these Ceramic Keepsake Plaques are perfect! These are £4.99 and you get three and they look really good quality with lovely sayings on each one. If regular date nights are your thing then this box of Date Cards might be a good choice. It's £3.99 and it gives you ideas of different things you and your partner can do for a romantic date night. It can be hard to come up with new ideas of places to go so things like this are a big help. Lastly if you're planning a romantic breakfast in bed, then Card Factory have a load of different balloons which I think would look so nice in the room. Just little things like this are such a good idea and aren't expensive at all.

For me it isn't valentines without chocolate but if you don't want to splash out loads then Hotel Chocolate have some ideal gifts. This year they have little boxes of Milk Chocolate Hearts for only £2.50 and you can choose from a variety of sayings on the front. If you want to get a bit more than that then Cadbury Direct have some amazing hampers available. I like the look of the Love Treasure Box which is £10 and contains a double layered milk tray box, a mini roses box and a selection of popular chocolate bars. Now onto personalised gifts which I think are always nice to receive. Not On The High Street are one of my favourites for quirky gifts and currently I love the Personalised Map Of The Stars Print. This is definitely on the more pricey side but if you want to go all out and pick something really special then this is perfect. You can pick a location, date and time and it will show the way the stars were at that exact moment. A gift that I think is perfect for a blogger is the Personalised Metallic Leaf Design Makeup Bag. It looks a really decent size and is so pretty. Now a few bits from Next, their Just Pink Perfume is one of my favourites and not only does it smell beautiful, it looks it too. Another thing I think is perfect for a blogger, because we all love our props for photos is this Eyelash Jewellery Dish.

If you're wanting to go all out with gift wrap this valentines then Pretty Gifted have got you covered! On their website you can create your own wrapping paper, choose whatever colour, font, and wording that you want and they'll create it for you. It's such a simple process and takes no time at all. I got the chance to personalise my own wrapping paper for Valentines this year so I went for red paper, arro font, rainbow foil and my message said Mr & Mrs with a ring icon. What's great about this process is that you can preview it every step of the way and can really see what you like the most before ordering. Like I said when I featured Pretty Gifted in one of my Christmas Gift Guides, you can instantly tell the paper is good quality and it doesn't feel cheap or flimsy at all. It arrives perfectly packaged so no damage can be done on it's way to you and it also comes with a gift tag and gel pen which is such a nice extra touch. If you want anymore information about Pretty Gifted or if you want to create your own, check out their website here and make sure you use my discount code - tiffany18val for 10% off your order!

It seems to have taken quite a while for most places to bring our their Valentines stock this year but now there are so many romantic and unique gifts available. From the cheaper keepsakes to more expensive personalised gifts, whatever you're after, hopefully you've found this useful and it's given you some inspiration! I'll have another Valentines gift guide up soon so keep an eye out for that!

*Affiliate links used in this post. Personalised wrapping paper gifted for the purpose of this post

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Give The Gift Of Sleep This Valentines With Feather And Down*

It can be so tricky to find the perfect gift for your partner when Valentines Day comes around but if your other half struggles with sleep and relaxation, then Feather and Down have you covered! I reviewed a few products from this lovely brand last year, and absolutely loved them all. I'm a huge fan of them and personally really believe that their products make wonderful gifts, so if your partner does have problems drifting off at night, why not give the gift of sleep this year?

Feather and Down have grown and grown over the last year and it's so easy to see why. So many people, me included, struggle with getting to sleep now, whether that's because of stress, anxiety, or even social media, it can be one of the worst things when you are so tired but just can't fall asleep so products like this are only needed even more now. I hadn't found many products in the past which really helped until I tried a few out from Feather and Down, and that's why I really think they are a great brand to give for Valentines. They sell a range of products which encourage a restful night and encourage relaxation, and who wouldn't love that?

I've been trying a few new products out over the last few weeks starting with the Soothing Body Oil which is currently £8 in boots. This is a product which I actually think is fab for massages for the ultimate romantic night in. This oil is supposed to soothe your skin, seal in any moisture, calming your senses with a luxurious blend of essential oils. With calming lavendar and chamomile, this really does smell beautiful and is the perfect scent to help you drift off to sleep. It's a dream to massage into your skin and soaks in so well without leaving any sort of sticky residue which has happened with other body oils I've tried in the past. After a hot bubble bath, this is the perfect product to use before slipping into comfy pyjamas and settling down for the night.

If like me, you love a relaxing bubble bath then Feather and Down have some products which are perfect for you. Their Sleep Salts which are also £8 in Boots are so easy to use, just sprinkle into warm running water, and they'll fill your bath with a soothing fragrance which will help relieve any stress or tension you're feeling. For me, if I'm feeling down, stressed or a little bit ill, then a bath always sorts me out and products like this only make it feel more like a proper pamper evening, which we all deserve to have every now and then. This 500g tub of Sleep Salts will last ages for plenty of chilled evenings in, helping you relax and unwind after a busy day, and clearing your mind. 

Another bath product which is an essential for a cosy, warm night in is the Bath Essence which is currently £7 at Boots. Like the bath salts, just pour under warm running water for a foamy bubble bath that is sure to soak away any tension you're feeling. Like the rest of Feather and Downs products, this has a lavendar and chamomile scent which completely fills the bathroom and leaves you smelling lovely. I like to use this along with a bath bomb when I can, a good book and some music. It leaves me feeling so ready for bed and I always have such a better sleep than I do on days where I don't use any of these products.

I think if you're partner is going through a bit of a hard time at the moment, or just finds sleep a bit of a struggle, then these products are for you! I know I would always be so happy to unwrap some of these products as anything that can help at night is a life saver. Aswell as these three wonderful products, you can also find a range of others available on the Boots website so there really is something for everyone. From their award winning pillow spray, to shower cream, to sleep balm, and more, you are spoilt for choice. All products are currently on 3 for 2 in Boots so be sure to stock up while you can! I couldn't recommend them enough.

Have you tried anything from Feather and Down before?

*Products sent for the purpose of this post. I only work with brands relevant to me and my blog. Affiliate links used in this post

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A Little Homeware and Blog Props Haul

I posted a homeware wishlist last week on my blog and luckily I managed to pick a few bits up that I featured! Usually when I post a wishlist, I have every intention of getting a few bits and then never do but this time there were some things I just couldn't leave. I never really do hauls on my blog as I just don't buy too much worthy of mentioning but I love each and every single thing I got so I wanted to share them with you!

London Sketch Duvet £12 - As soon as I spotted this bedding set I knew it had to be mine. It was only £12 for a double which I think is a bit of a bargain as bedding tends to be quite pricey. We tend to rotate the same few bedding sets and as it had been quite a while since we last bought a new one, I saw this at the perfect time. I love that it has London landmarks on it but in a subtle way. I love anything to do with London but I didn't want something that was really obvious and out there. This goes well with the bedroom and I think it will be so nice and cosy. There is nothing better than fresh warm bedding is there?

Bear Tealight Holders £6 - This was something else that I just couldn't leave in my basket. £6 for two tealight holders really isn't a bad price and as soon as I saw them, I knew they would go so well in the living room. As there were two I thought they could go either side of the TV stand as that's a chocolate brown colour too and really can you ever have enough candle holders? In winter especially, I love lighting a load of candles and I currently have about a million tealights to get through, so it kind of made sense to get these 😉

Heart Chopping Board £5 - The last thing I picked up which was on my wishlist is the Heart Chopping Board. I'd been after one of these for so long as a blog prop but I'd never found one that was exactly what I wanted until I saw this. It was £5 and is really good quality so will definitely be used for it's proper use in future. I love the little 'handmade with love' quote on it and I just think this will be such a great prop for any foodie collaborations or baking posts in future.

A Few Blog Props - I just wanted to mention quickly a few blog props I ordered around the same time as these as I think they were such good finds. I ordered some fake peony flowers ages ago from Ebay for about £4 and I'm sure you've seen them in a lot of my blog photos, so I decided to order some more to change things up a little bit. I went for more peonies but this time in a different colour and I can't wait for them to arrive. I'll leave a link here to them if you also want to order some. Ebay are great for fake flowers like this. When doing a food shop online at Asda recently I also picked up a few miscellaneous bits which I thought would be great for photos. Just a £1 roll of pink wrapping paper which could be used as a background, and also these dried rose petals which were about £1.50 I think. They're supposed to be used as a garnish for meals but I think they look lovely in photos and are great to just scatter when you want to add something but you aren't sure what. You can see the flowers, wrapping paper and rose petals in this photo here with a new snowglobe I bought recently. I suppose that should be mentioned anyway in this post as I only got it recently from Card Factory and it looks lovely in our living room!

I'm always looking for new bits for the flat but very rarely buy them so it was nice to treat myself. I didn't want to get things for the sake of it but these bits all really were needed and look exactly how I hoped. 

Are you a fan of homeware shopping like me?

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Things I'm Looking Forward To In 2018

2017 was not what I planned. I'm pretty sure I said that about 2016 too but the last few years have just been a bit rocky! Though there have been some good things happen and it wasn't all bad, I am definitely looking forward to a fresh start this year with hopefully many exciting things happening. I thought I'd get some of the things I'm looking forward to written down and I'd love to know how you're hoping 2018 will shape up for you!

Image from Pexels

Weekend Breaks

We were lucky enough to go away on quite a few weekend breaks in 2017, mostly to London. We went three times in 2017 which is so much more than I ever expected and altogether we've been 6 times now which is insane but I'm definitely hoping to go back again at least once in 2018. I will honestly never get bored of it and everytime it feels fresh and new. It really is like home to me so a weekend there is just the best. We didn't get chance to go to Manchester last year for our usual Christmas trip so I would love to go again in 2018. It was our little tradition and it's always so amazing at Christmas so that would be lovely to go back. We had a little shopping trip to Leeds a few months ago and I would love to do something like that again. It was so nice to go somewhere else for the day and it really is something we need to do more of this year. One other place I'd really like to go in 2018 is York. We found a hotel months ago that we want to stay in so as soon as it's possible we're going to book it and I'm hoping that will be our first weekend break of the year, it looks so beautiful.

A Holiday

I desperately need a proper holiday! Either a week by the pool or some sort of city break abroad, it's just a must for 2018. We haven't been abroad in almost 7 years of being together so a proper holiday away would be incredible. We keep going back and forth over where to go, part of me just wants a relaxing beach holiday where I can just sit by the pool all week and have unlimited ice cream, the other part of me wants to go exploring somewhere like Rome or Venice. In fact there are far more places I'd love to go on a little city break but there are just too many to list. We have some serious thinking to do but this year has to be the year for holidays, it's been far too long.

Finding A Part Time Job

I ideally wanted to get back into work in 2017 after leaving my last job, I even mentioned in one of my goals posts for last year that I had given myself until March before I had to start looking for something, and unfortunately that didn't go to plan. Not for want of trying though. I'd not been well on and off throughout the year, being a girl is hard sometimes, and it's meant everything has been up and down. I've not felt mentally or physically okay enough to go back into work and luckily I've had the support from George to just be able to take this time to get better. I feel I'm finally on a good path now and my anxiety is slowly getting better so I would love this year to be the one where I go back into work. I think part time will be perfect for me as it means I can still work on my blog and will give me plenty of freedom with hopefully going back to university too. I actually found a job a few days ago which I think I'd be perfect for which I can't get out of my head, so hopefully it won't be too long before I tick this one off my list.

Working On My Blog More

Following on from my last point, I can't wait to work on my blog more this year. I am so incredibly proud of how it's grown recently, how many posts I've produced and also the brands I've worked with. It was very difficult at times and there was a few missed days but overall I posted the majority of last year and I like to think I posted some good content. I've said it before but my blog really is the best thing I ever did and I'll be forever grateful for it. I'm not sure yet whether I'll stick with 5 posts a week this year, all year, but I'll definitely still be blogging and hopefully it will only get better and bigger as the years go on.

So that's just about everything I can think of for 2018! I know things don't always go to plan so who knows what I'll actually achieve out of this year but after 2017 being such a tough year, surely next year has to be better?!

Have you read my Honeymoon Destination Wishlist?

What are you looking forward to in 2018?

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Valentines Gifting With Printiki*

Finding unique and special gifts for Valentines Day can be tricky sometimes. Most shops selling the usual chocolates, wine and teddy bears, it can be hard to find something a little bit different that your partner will love. Well now with the help of Printiki, you don't have to worry anymore. Printiki are an online printing service so you can get a whole range of photos printed in a variety of formats and you can just about create anything with them!

I had the chance to try out the service so I went for 30 square prints. With the square prints you have the option of adding borders, or you can go for the polaroid version which leaves space for you to add text. Aswell as square prints you can also go for rectangle photographs, specific photo wall templates, photo books and posters. So much choice meaning you are bound to find something special for your other half. What I loved about ordering my prints was just how easy it was. You can print directly from your Instagram account, Facebook account, Dropbox account or your computer and it's literally no fuss at all. Just click which photos you would like and then it's pretty much done! Once my prints arrived, I laid them out on a table to see how I would like to position them on the wall and work out some sort of order for them. Doing this meant I could really picture how I wanted it before just going straight in and sticking them up.

As I had Valentines in mind when ordering these prints I went for a variety of pictures of special times George and I have had. There is the first picture I took when we got engaged, several from our trips to London, our time living in Leicester, date nights, our first west end show, and much more. I just picked the ones I thought were quite memorable. The living room is one room in our flat that I feel is now finally done, and really had been for quite a while. It's where we spend most of our time so when we moved in, that was the one we knew we wanted to get sorted first and make homely. After adding new furniture, prints and photos to the wall, we were left with one big wall with nothing on it, and it wasn't until I ordered these that I realised what I wanted to do with it. I'd never been able to work out before what would look right there but when these prints arrived, I put them up and they looked amazing! I'd done something similar to this in the bedroom but had never really thought of it for the living room too but these are just the perfect fit and I love how different it is to everything else we have up on the walls. Putting them on the wall was very simple, I just used a little bit of blu tack in the centre of each photo and that stuck them on fine. I tried to position them the same length apart and as I had 30 photos I managed to get 6 rows out of them. It really does fill the wall and I can't stop looking at it!

I am so impressed with Printiki, after having such a bare wall for a long time, these were such a perfect thing to receive, it really has completed the room. As I've already said there are such a range of prints available on their website and one idea I love in particular is their Heart Photo Wall. For this you just order 53 prints and it comes with a heart template making the process so easy for you. I'd love to create something like in one of the other rooms. I think this is such a lovely idea for Valentines as you could surprise your partner while they're out, and it's just so different to many other gifts.

Source

If you would like to order some prints for yourself, check out the website here, and you can also get free shipping with my code - 7STEZV67. I highly recommend it!

Also if you would like some more inspiration, have a look on their Instagram for many wonderful ideas!

Have you ever tried anything from Printiki before?

*Prints sent for the purpose of this post. I only work with brands relevant to me and my blog

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My Current Homeware Wishlist - I Want It All

Over the last few weeks I've been in such a spending mood which really isn't good because my bank balance can not cope with that. I'm just seeing so many lovely bits everywhere. At the moment my real focus for the flat is the spare room which as I've mentioned recently is now finally becoming an office. Yes, after talking about it on my blog for years, we are finally getting somewhere. I'm writing the majority of my blog posts in there now which is making me so much more productive. The main priority now is getting the desk from Ikea which I've been lusting over for ages, but obviously I keep seeing lots of decorative pieces which I think would go so well with it. The main place I've been looking is actually Asda, their homeware section is on point at the moment, so I thought I might as well share the stuff I'm hoping to order very soon.

The first few bits I saw aren't for the office but I feel like I kind of need them anyway. First of all this Sketch London Duvet is right up my street and for only £12 for a double, I think it's a bit of a bargain! It's been ages since I last bought a new bedding set so I think this might be the one I go for. I love that it is London all over but is very subtle and not too out there. A few bits for the bathroom I really like are the Wire Wash Sign and the Wire Basket. I think once the spare room is finished we need to move onto the bathroom, just painting the walls would make a huge difference and little bits like this would really complete it I think. I currently have a little box from Lush which I use for my bath bombs but I'd really like a basket like this one and the sign matches it so well and I think it would look really nice on top of the bathroom cabinet. Something for the kitchen I'd like is this Heart Chopping Board, though I think it would make a great blog prop! Blog props don't need to be expensive, and I've been after something like this for a while, this is £5 and would really change my photos up I think. I'd love this for my foodie blog photos and I have a collaboration coming up soon which I think this would fit really well with. Something for the living room which is just perfect is these Bear Tealight Holders! £6 for two isn't too bad I don't think and I already know that they could go on either side of our TV stand. 

A few other bits I saw which I'd love to go on the top of my desk are two bear ornaments, I have a problem I know. I just like little quirky things like this and I've got to have something bear in my office haven't I? I wasn't originally looking for a mirror for the office but then I spotted this Hexaganol one and I thought it would be perfect for one of the back walls. I currently just have a calendar up where I think this could go, but I think it would look really classy and add something extra to the mainly white room. Something I'd like because it would look pretty on my desk but also make a good blog prop is this vase with peonies in. I love using fake flowers as a blog prop but I definitely need some different ones so this would be perfect.

Another thing I think would be great for blog photos, especially for any beauty products is this Copper Leaf Plate. It looks huge but I don't currently have anything else like it and it matches well with the rest of my props. The last bits for the office that I love are this Shelving Unit and the Bronze Lampshade. The shelving unit would be perfect to go next to my desk and I'd love to fill it with photo frames, flowers and things like that, and the lampshade is a bit of a necessity. I'd like a really nice one and this is £12 which I think is quite reasonable. A few extras which definitely aren't a must are this Peach and Honey Reed Diffuser because I just love having these around the flat, and this scent sounds like an absolute dream! and the Grey Camera Ornament would be something I could put on the shelving unit, and for a blogger, I think it's an ideal fit!

When I added all of these to my basket a few days ago, as you can imagine, it cost a bomb so we definitely won't be getting them all, but I'd definitely love to pick up a few bits. Now we've properly started with the office, I just want it finished and all of these bits would just go so well. I think my current priority is the mirror, bedding set, chopping board, tealights and flowers so if I manage to get any I'm sure you'll see them in a blog post soon.

Is any homeware currently on your wishlist?

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Planning A Small Wedding - How We Did It, Costs & More

Yep, another wedding post, I'm sorry! I will shut up about it one day. When I first posted about George and I getting married I mentioned that as it was a small wedding, if anyone would like a post all about how we went about it, the booking process, costs involved etc, then I was more than happy to do that and a few people said it was something they would love to read. When it came to researching for a small wedding and the things we needed to do and pay for, it actually wasn't that easy to find some proper information and a post like this would have been so useful at the time. Obviously I don't know everything but if you are engaged or planning a wedding, and just want a few tips then hopefully I can help in some way.

1. Think About Exactly What You Want

We both knew for a long time that we didn't want a fuss. No big church wedding with lots of people there, that just isn't us. For us the only options were either going abroad and getting married and having the honeymoon at the same time or just go for a registry office wedding. Obviously when I was working the first option seemed like the best one because we had the money to think about going somewhere really nice for it, but once I left my job that became a bit more difficult. It can be done but when you add everything up it doesn't work out the cheapest so for us a registry office wedding was the only option and really it worked out for the better. With a registry office wedding you have the option to just get married with 2 witnesses there which is what we did or you can book rooms out with more guests if you wish. There's no pressure to invite the whole family and all your friends, it really can be a straightforward thing if you want it to be and there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing it that way. Whatever you choose, just make sure it's exactly what you want because it's YOUR day.

2. Get In Touch With The Venue & Think About Wedding Rings

If you decide on a registry office wedding, it's a good idea to pop them an email or give them a ring so you can be clear on all the details and what exactly you need to do. As I said I struggled to find out much information online so I sent an email to my local registry office explaining what we wanted, asked for the prices and also the dates available that year. This was when we were told they only do weddings on the third wednesday of each month so that's something to consider when planning a registry office wedding. I'm not sure if this is the same in every single one, it all depends on your location but I imagine they stick to some sort of schedule like that. They get booked up fast so you might need to book a good while in advance. We booked in June 2017 and the only dates available left were one morning in November or 3 times available on the 20th December which is the one we went for, at 3.30pm. We were also told at the time that if we didn't want either of those, they were booked up pretty much from February for a few months because of Valentines so that's something else to think about. Once we booked the wedding, we started to look at wedding rings as we knew it was likely they would have to be ordered in. Within a week of George picking and trying one on, it arrived in store but mine ended up taking about 6 weeks. Obviously the sooner you can get these the better just in case they do need to be ordered in or be resized.

3. Deposits and Costs

Though a wedding is always going to cost money, it can be done on the cheaper side and a registry office wedding like ours really doesn't have to cost much. I think in the end it cost £25 to secure the room, £50 for the ceremony which includes £4 for the certificate and then £35 each for notice of marriage. Obviously if you want a bigger room with more guests then the prices go up. If we had gone for that option we would have been looking anywhere between £100 and £180 for the room and then the things I mentioned above, on top of that. As we just wanted it to be us, in the end the actual ceremony came to roughly £150.

4. Notice Of Marriage

 Before your wedding day, you and your partner will have to go and give notice of your marriage. This can be done up to a year before your wedding day and really doesn't take much time at all. I was definitely a little nervous beforehand because I had no idea what to expect but it was all quite simple. A registrar will talk to you and your partner individually first, checking your ID, asking you each basic questions about one another, so their birthday, occupation etc, and then they'll talk to you both and that's just to go over the details of the day and this is when they'll ask you what sorts of vows you want reading. It really is quite straightforward and nothing to worry about, and after that we were just on a bit of a high because it all finally felt real.

5. Outfits, Cake, Family Etc

 I wasn't sure how to round up this post but I felt like everything else could sort of go into one point. So if you're going down the same route as us, you're probably not going to be inviting everyone you know. If that's the case it's totally up to you when you tell everyone. If you feel comfortable tell them beforehand and I'm sure they'll be more than happy to celebrate with you afterwards. At the end of the day it's about you and your partner, nobody else, don't fall into the pressure of doing what everyone else wants you to do, if you want to go off and get married, telling people afterwards, go for it. As we really wanted it to be a very fuss free wedding, we both had quite casual outfits, no suits and dresses here! but again it's completely up to you. In the end George went for smart black jeans, smart boots and a white shirt, and I went for black skinny jeans, a lacy long sleeved top and some sparkly flats. It probably wasn't a very conventional wedding outfit but the most important thing was that we felt comfortable. When I think back now I can be happy with what I wore because I felt good! As I said in my wedding blog post we didn't get a cake made or anything fancy, we walked over to Patisserie Valerie afterwards and got the 4 cakes for £10 deal. Their cakes are beautiful so this still felt really special and now every anniversary we can go back and have more! If you want to go all out with a cake, then go for it, just because the actual ceremony is small doesn't mean anything else needs to be, if you want to celebrate afterwards then that's completely your choice, everyone is different!

I'm not sure just how helpful this post will be, I do feel I've rambled quite a bit but I just wanted to explain the process for us and how we went about it. In the end if you just want to be married, then a simple registry office is perfect and is just as special as any other wedding. It's all about what you and your partner want and feel comfortable with, and for us this was the perfect option! 

If you have any questions or need any more information, feel free to get in touch, I might not be the most help but I can try.

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23 Things I Love

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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My Tips For Improving Your DA

If you're a blogger then it's very likely you've heard of DA, whether you properly understand it or not is another matter. It wasn't really until 2017 that I really started to take my blog seriously and read up on it and what it meant for my blog. In that time I've managed to up my DA to 27 which I'm pretty proud of given that in summer 2016 it was only 3. I'm not an expert by any means and I've read lots of other fabulous posts on DA which I'll leave a link to at the end of this post but I thought I would share a few of my tips and explain how I did it.

First of all if you're reading this thinking, what the hell is she on about, your DA is your Domain Authority. This is a score that estimates how well your blog/wesbite ranks on search engines like Google and as far as I know, the higher your score (up to 100) the better. You can check your DA here on MOZ. So when I first checked my DA in the summer of 2016 I saw it was only 3 but given that I hadn't really worked on improving it or had even considered what SEO was, I couldn't really complain. Since then I've been making several changes to my blog to try and up it and gradually it's gone up, and even though I know it could still be better and I'm sure there are many bloggers with higher DA's than me, I'm proud of what it's at. There are lots of things that affect your DA which I've listed below but sometimes even things that can't helped like how long ago you started your blog can affect it, building it up does take time and it's not something that can be fixed overnight unfortunately so be prepared to work at it for a while. 

Check For Broken Links

I think this is the thing that has really helped with my DA over the last year or so. It wasn't until reading a post from the lovely Emmy once, that I realised I had never checked my broken links. As I started my blog in 2014 and didn't see this post until 2017, you can imagine I had a load of links to go through and change. I remember it literally took me days and it was something I had to keep going back to because it drove me mad. There were so many links to clothing items and beauty bits that were no longer available so those links were going nowhere, therefore affecting my DA. I now make sure I check my broken links AT LEAST once a month just so I can properly keep on top of it and get any links changed before MOZ (the site where you can check your DA) updates.

Guest Posting

I haven't done this quite as much as I would have liked but over the last year or so I've been making more of an effort to put myself forward for guest posts on other peoples blogs. Doing this and having a link to your blog within the post, means a whole new audience may come over to read more of your blog posts, and having that link from another blog really helps with DA. I think I've done about 3 or 4 guest posts, and not only does help towards your DA, it's a great way of interacting with other bloggers.

Quality Content

I suppose this is an obvious one but your content really is so important if you want to improve your DA. When I first started my blog I did quite short blog posts and looking back now, it's no wonder my DA never went up. I found out last year that most bloggers tend to go for at least 300 words per post, though there isn't really a proper recommended amount. Some do around 300, some 500, some 1000+. I'm a bit of a talker so a lot of my posts now end up being quite long but I have no doubt that has helped. It's also quite important to have some sort of routine with it, because if you only post once a month or so, your score is going to be much lower than someone that posts everyday. Also of course spelling and grammar are very important so always go over your posts before publishing.

Link Back To Older Posts 

Again something else I only started really doing last year but something that I am so conscious of now. I used to unintentionally link to older posts every so often whereas now I really try to get at least one link to an older post in each blog post. I link posts that I think are relevant or similar, and for example if I'm mentioning a foundation I love in a post, I'll include a link to my review of that product. Doing this keeps people on your blog for longer and the more posts they read, the better. It will show your consistent and have relevant content so this is a big must I think.

Comment On Other Blogs

 I absolutely love commenting on other blogs and it's something I've done really since I started blogging. Now I know the importance of it though because not only is it just a really nice thing to do, leaving a link to your blog helps improve your score. Don't just link drop, leave a genuine comment that shows you've read the post and then end it with your link. I tend to end my comments with 'Tiffany x www.foodandotherloves.co.uk'.

Share Your Content

I know it's a bit of a pain to schedule tweets, in fact I've said several times it's the bane of my life because it can take so much time but sharing your content really does help for many reasons. With all of my blog posts now after I've pressed publish, I share on Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Bloglovin and then sometimes Instagram and Insta Stories. This gets your posts out there to so many other people and it may also mean they share it on their platforms too and this all helps to build your DA.

I hope these tips help you if you're wanting to increase your DA score. These are really the only basic things I've done over the last year to up it to something I'm proud of but there are other things you can do too like optimising images and formatting your posts (things I need to work on next). All of these things really do work so definitely give them a try if you haven't yet! For more advice these are a few blog posts from other bloggers that I think are really helpful!

Chloe // Jordanne

Do you have any tips for increasing DA? Anything particular you have done that's worked?

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2017 Film Watch List Continued

In May last year I did a post all about the films I'd seen at the cinema during the first five months or so of 2017. It's now time for me to talk about the rest of the films I've watched since then as we're into 2018 already and I want to start again and do the same thing this year. As me and George have unlimited cards we go to the cinema quite a lot and end up seeing so many different things! I definitely think we saw more in the second half of the year, and the majority of them were actually really good too so I'd been really looking forward to writing this up.

Colossal - ⭐⭐⭐

This was a bit of a strange one and really didn't end how I expected it too! It stars Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis who I'm a really big fan of and the story is actually really interesting as it's so out there. There is a giant creature of some sort that is destroying Seoul, South Korea and over time we see that Gloria (Anne Hathaway's character) is somehow connected to it and she ends up sort of going to war a little bit with someone she thinks is a really good friend. It was definitely a weird one and I'm not sure I'd be in a hurry to watch it again but I'm glad I saw it as it's not usually my sort of film.

Baywatch - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I went into this film not really expecting much but I ended up absolutely loving it! Most people I imagine will know of Baywatch so I'm sure you can guess it wasn't a serious film but just a really lighthearted comedy that was really easy to watch. It stars The Rock who I kind of love a little bit and also Zac Efron and I actually really liked all of the characters. It's definitely one I'd watch again and would buy on DVD at some point. I kind of hope they make another.

My Cousin Rachel - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was definitely more of a serious film and nothing like most of the others. I was so intrigued by this for months. After first seeing the trailer I knew I had to go and see it and it didn't let me down. It stars Sam Claflin who plays a young Englishman plotting revenge against his late cousin's wife. He believes she is responsible for his death and I have to admit it does look like that throughout the film, but we're never really told whether he was right or not. Even though he's convinced she's evil and a murderer, he also kind of falls for her in a weird way and is under her spell, only making things even more complicated. In the end we're left to make our own decision, was she evil or just misunderstood? I go back and forth on the answer a lot but I highly recommend watching it.

The House - ⭐⭐⭐

Will Ferrell is just my favourite so any film with him in, I tend to like. For our 6 year anniversary we went for a meal and then went to see this and it was a really funny film. Definitely not the best thing ever but I didn't expect it to be. Aswell as Will Ferrell, it also stars Amy Poehler who plays his wife, and together their characters decide to open an underground casino with a neighbour so they can raise money for their daughters scholarship. Of course plenty of things go wrong and nothing is straightforward but it's definitely a funny, lighthearted film, perfect for a Friday night.

Spiderman Homecoming - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Action sort of films like this aren't usually my sort of thing but I really wanted to see the new Spiderman one and it didn't disappoint. Tom Holland was brilliant and I think he was brilliant for the role. It had a great story, great characters and had me hooked all the way through. I can't wait for more in the future.

Annabelle Creation - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I love a good horror film. There have been quite a few come out recently but we've not managed to see many which is so annoying as I usually really enjoy them! I find with some horrors though they just don't stay in the cinema for long so it can be tricky trying to find a time to go. I've been a fan of The Conjuring films for a while, I think they are so good and the first Annabelle film which is part of that series was so creepy and had such a good storyline, so I really couldn't wait for this one. Like the first, it was genuinely really creepy and scary and I was definitely a little terrified that night going to sleep! I think the whole series of films is great and I already can't wait for the next one which I think is all about the nun from the second conjuring film.

IT - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Another horror and one that has kind of stuck in my mind a little ever since! I'm not the biggest fan of clowns anyway but this reminded me just how scary they can be. I loved the group of kids in the film because they were genuinely hilarious. So many little jokes and one liners and they were all really great actors, especially Finn Wolfhard who is also in Stranger Things. I'd never seen the original IT so I had no expectations really but I was really impressed and I'm looking forward to seeing what they do in the next one.

Kingsman The Golden Circle - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I never expected to like the first Kingsman film, I'm not sure why, I just didn't think it was my sort of movie but I've watched it a few times and everytime I've loved it! It was nothing like I had watched before and I loved each of the characters, especially Colin Firths so I was eager to see the second one a few months ago. I was actually quite sad watching his character in the second one but overall I loved the whole film and it was an amazing sequel. It's not often you find a sequel to be as good as the first film but this really was and wasn't a let down in any sort of way. I always worry a little when a film is so good and they reveal they'll be doing more, because you don't want it to be ruined but hopefully if they do another, it will be just as good as the second one was.

Murder On The Orient Express - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I've read mixed reviews of this but it was one I really, really enjoyed! I remember seeing the trailer for this a long time ago and thinking then it had to be one I went to see, and I think we ended up going opening night. It's full of so many big names so I thought it would be pretty good and I went into it not really knowing much about the story. In the end I loved how it was done and I really didn't expect the twist! All the way through I kept changing my mind over who had committed the crime but the way it ended, totally surprised me!

Paddington 2 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Aww I just loved this film. I don't need to go on about Paddington that much as I've mentioned it several times on my blog over the last few months but it's just the best. The first film is one of my favourites and I really hoped the second one would live up to my expectations but it exceeded them! The second film sees Paddington wrongly get into a bit of bother, ending up in prison and planning his escape! He's just adorable and everything about it is brilliant. I'm always wanting things to work out for him and it actually breaks my heart a little when he's sad! The story, the characters, the location, the effects, I love it all and I can't wait for a third film!

Daddys Home 2 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was so looking forward to seeing this! I absolutely love the first Daddy's Home film, though it's definitely one that some people hate. It's another starring Will Ferrell who I've already mentioned and he again teamed up with Mark Wahlberg to play two dads trying to get along and play happy families with their children, stepchildren and wives. It's one of those films you'll either really enjoy or really cringe at but I just found it so funny. I thought it was just as good as the first film, and I really hoped it would be, as at first I really couldn't work out how they were going to do a sequel. I definitely don't think they should do anymore but both the first and second are films I'd be able to watch again and again. They are the sorts of films that just make me laugh on a down day and are great to watch with family.

Pitch Perfect 3 - ⭐⭐⭐

I kind of went into this film expecting to be disappointed so I suppose it's not a surprise that that's how I felt afterwards. I love the first Pitch Perfect, and even the second one, though it did take some time to grow on me, but I just felt like there was no need for a third and I really didn't know what they were going to do with it. It wasn't the worst film of the year and I'm sure I'll watch it again but overall I didn't think the songs were as good, I didn't feel like some of the story made sense (why get rid of jesse and benji?!) and I just didn't find it as funny as the previous ones.

So that's the rest of the films I managed to see in the cinema in 2017! I've really enjoyed writing this and the first one early last year so I'm really looking forward to doing it again in 2018. There have been so many brilliant films out recently but I think my favourites have to be Paddington 2, Baywatch and Daddys Home 2. I'd love to know if you've seen any of the films on this list and what you thought of them?

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6 Places I Would Love To Go On Honeymoon

I really hope my posts aren't annoying you too much, I feel like since we got married last month I haven't shut up about it on my blog, but I'm still just so excited about it all and in a very happy bubble. As we had a very small wedding and it was around Christmas time we knew we weren't going to get a honeymoon in straight away, but for us it really didn't matter. Even though it would have been nice to hop on a plane straight away, we knew it was never going to happen like that as it just costs too much money but with a bit of saving, I'm hoping this year is the year we can finally get away and have a proper honeymoon. I've got a few places in mind that I would love to consider, that I think would all make an amazing holiday.

New York

New York has been on my travel bucket list for so so long. A few years ago when we first got engaged, it was a place we were considering even then as a honeymoon destination. It's probably one of the most expensive places on this list and would require a lot of saving as we would want to go all out and experience everything, but it would be incredible if we one day got to go. There is so much to do there, walks around Central Park, Times Square, skating at the Rockefeller Centre at Christmas, and of course so many other attractions like the Statue of Liberty, I know it would just be the best.

Italy

For a short city break, I think somewhere in Italy would be perfect. I'm so torn between Rome and Italy as both look so beautiful and picturesque and both have been on our list for ages. Whenever I see a picture from someone that has been to either on holiday, I always think that's somewhere we have to go soon. I'd love to visit the Colosseum in Rome and if we went to Venice, we'd have to go on a gondola. I think it would be such a romantic honeymoon if we went to either of these.

San Francisco

Of all the places in America, this isn't somewhere I've really thought of much until recently. It's a place I've seen on films loads and always thought it looked nice and would be somewhere to maybe visit one day if possible, but at the moment I'm warming to the idea more and more. This might sound quite strange but I think it's because you can visit Alcatraz Island there which was home to some of America's most notorious criminals. I've got such a strange fascination with prisons and what they're really like inside and have done for a long time so this would be an incredible one to tick off the bucket list.

Paris

 I suppose Paris is a classic honeymoon destination isn't it? The city of love. From what I've seen online it's actually not too expensive to get there and relatively easy so I think in that sense, this is quite high on our list of options at the moment. I'd love to see the Eiffel Tower lit up at night, go to The Louvre and make a visit to Disney Land Paris. I imagine it would be a very romantic place to go to and for our first holiday abroad, I think it would be really special. Also I'm all about croissants and pastries, so it's kind of the perfect place for me.

Amsterdam

I've seen more and more bloggers recently head to Amsterdam for a few days and even though it's somewhere that's always looked interesting, I've now realised how beautiful it is and what sorts of things there are to do there. It's another one that doesn't seem too expensive which is good for us and I just think it would be a really interesting one to visit. I'd love to visit the Anne Frank House while we're there, that's something that has been on my list for a while.

Florida

 Disneyworld Florida would be the ultimate! We were looking only last year for holidays there this year and while they actually weren't priced as high as we expected, it was still a bit risky so this might be one for in a few years time. I've never been to Disneyworld so this would be a dream come true, and I'd love to go just me and George before we hopefully have kids and take them one day. I already feel emotional at the thought of walking in and seeing the castle, and getting to meet my favourites like Winnie The Pooh and Olaf. It would be such a special honeymoon but I know whenever we go it will be just as incredible.

At the moment I have no idea really where we'll end up but if I had to guess, I'd say it would probably be a city break to either somewhere in Italy, Paris or Amsterdam. Though I do quite like the idea of just a classic beach holiday where we can just sit by the pool all week. Anything would be nice at the moment. I think for a first proper holiday as a couple, all of these would be lovely, but obviously if win the lottery in the next few months I'm jumping on a plane to Florida 😉

Have you visited any of the places on this list? or do you have any other recommendations?

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