How I Take and Edit My Blog Photos

Happy Saturday! I hope you're having a fab weekend. I must admit, I've not really been up to that much today. I did pop on Netflix though and watch some more episodes of Friends! I decided to start watching it from the beginning. This time in the correct order. I don't think I've ever really watched Friends episodes in the right order. It's also been a while since I've watched most of the episodes so it's nice being able to watch them again. I was so sad when channel 4 stopped showing them.

For today's blog post I thought I would share with you how I take and edit my blog photos. I know that there are already lots of tips and tricks all around the blogosphere, but I thought that I would share with you how I personally take and edit mine. I love reading these types of posts myself as it really inspires me with my photography and I'm always looking to find new tips and tricks for taking photos. If you're interested in seeing what my photos looked like when I first started blogging, check out this blog post from 2012, and this one too! I love looking through my old blog posts and seeing how much my photos have changed since then.

The majority of my photos on my blog have been taken with my iPhone 6 and my more recent ones are taken with my Canon 700D. You can take amazing photos with your phone camera. I absolutely love the camera on my iPhone 6. These photos were took using it and these ones too. For taking photos with my phone camera, I love having the grid mode on as it really helps, especially when taking product photos. With my Canon 700D, I also make sure that I have grid mode set on it too.

Some Thoughts On The Future Of Blogging

Hey there lovelies! It's another beautiful Spring morning. I'm just looking forward to that warm weather again. I've been seeing a few posts recently on the future of blogging. I wanted to share with you my own personal thoughts and opinions on it. I know that recently there have been a few dramas going on within the blogging community, but then this happens everywhere. Which is why I want to try and spread a bit of positivity. I absolutely love the blogging community and whenever I see a drama happening, I always stay well away and let things settle down. If I feel I need to say something then I will, especially if someone has been hurt by actions. But from these, so many negative things can come from it. And being honest, the blogging community I know, is still very much full of kind, honest, beautiful and amazing people.

Whilst there are so many more bloggers than ever before, this may be considered not such a good thing, as surely this then means that there will be fewer opportunities for bloggers and less recognition for what someone does. But to be honest I feel that yes, there are thousands and thousands of bloggers, millions all over the world even, but I also think that it's a good time for having your own blog. There are so many more brand new opportunities out there. There are more and more brands working with bloggers. There are also different platforms to link your blog to, for example, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. We have Instagram Stories, Instagram Live and Instagram in general, Facebook pages, Facebook Live, Snapchat, Pinterest, Youtube Live, Periscope, Vero and so many more. I've also just started using Linkedin and Stumbleupon for my blog too. I can't wait to see what other new social media platforms come in the future. I definitely see lots more people are using Instagram to share their stories, what they have been up to and post photos to show this. When I go to their profile, I see that they haven't got a blog on blogger or WordPress etc, but they are using Instagram as one for microblogging.

Blogging has also opened up a whole new world for owning and running your own business. I can see that by, yes, more people doing the same thing can make it more difficult for new bloggers, but at the same time, people are not really doing the same thing. Everyone has their own personal, unique blog. Everyone is writing about what they want to write about. I love that so many people are doing what they love, like myself, taking photos and writing, and if that turns in to a career, then that's amazing. I have met online some wonderful people over the years and have made lots of new blogger friends. The blogging community is huge, but there are so many lovely and supportive people in the community and people helping each other.

What's In My April Birchbox!

Happy Saturday! How amazing has the weather been this past couple of days! I mean wow, I really didn't expect lovely warm weather like this. I'm so ready for it. Fingers crossed that it's going to be nice next week, as my boyfriend said about having a BBQ. It feels like forever since I've had a BBQ. What's your favourite BBQ food? I'm thinking of having some vegetable skewers, burgers, maybe a hot dog. I can't wait! It feels so good to not have to go outside wearing a thick coat and jumper, even though I absolutely love jumpers, it's nice to wear something a little lighter and I'm definitely getting the jelly shoes out too. I'm looking forward to long days on the beach, picnics, going to the fair and just relaxing in the nice warm sunshine. What are you looking forward to doing as the weather gets warmer?

Ok, so before I get into this post, I will say this now, I've never had a subscription beauty box before, I've always looked at getting one, but there's just so many to choose from and I just thought would it actually be worth getting one. And to be completely honest with you, even though I have looked at getting a Birchbox subscription box before, this time what made me even more tempted to get one, was the collaboration between Birchbox and Cath Kidston! I mean, just look at the box! (Scroll down to the bottom of this post to check it out). I also watched a couple of videos on YouTube to make my decision too though, it wasn't purely just because of the box! 😏

I already knew that with the subscription box you don't get all of the products as full sized amount products, but after watching video reviews, it was obvious that you still get a generous amount and your money worth in products. Also, I like to make products last me as long as possible anyway. But even though you do get smaller sized ones, you do still get maybe one or two full-sized products within the box. But adding up the value of each, it's still good value for money. Also just to put it out there, this post is in no way sponsored, I got this box with my own money as a birthday treat and thought that I would also feature it on my blog, to help you decide if you are looking at getting one. Also if your like me and have spent months and months deciding if to get one or not. If you want to get your very own Birchbox, click here.

Old English Company | Product Review

It's the weekend at last! But it kind of doesn't seem that long ago since it was last weekend! But whatever you are doing, I hope you have a good one. If you are wondering what my weekend is going to be spent doing, this weekend I'm working, but you will also most likely find me binge-watching on Netflix, eating cookies and playing on Animal Crossing! Ok, so I may have eaten most of my cookies last night! They are just so good! It's also about time I did a little Spring cleaning in my room. I really need to sort out my draws. I've literally just stuffed everything into them, oops! I've got a few bits too that I need to make room for. If you are looking for some more weekend reading, check out this brilliant book by Author Alice Blanchard. Or maybe you are looking for some new beauty products, head on over to my beauty section to find out more.

I'm very excited to share with you, these beautiful products* in the photos above and below by Old English Company. I absolutely adore all of their products. As soon as I received the parcel I was straight into it! I have a huge love for stationary and all things pink and cute. The products I chose, was the Blush Pink and Gold Planner, You Can enamel pin, Pizza Lover enamel pin, She Believed She Could Print, You Look Scrumptious pocket mirror, I Like You Alot card and the You Rock card. Each product came safely packaged in a box. I found the website easy to use and navigate around and each section is listed clearly. There's an Instagram slide at the bottom, so if you are looking for some inspiration on what to purchase, there are some very beautiful photos of products which other people have ordered.

I am so so happy with every single item here. If you are looking for your next new planner, or maybe a new pin, or maybe you are looking for your next print to hang on your wall, head on over to their website to check out all of their products. FYI, I think the stationary section has to be my favourite. Filled with planners, notebooks, notepads, calendars, gift wrap and tape, there is so much to choose from. But if you're looking for some new items for your home, the homeware section has a great selection of coasters and placemats, mugs, pillowcases, (definitely recommend checking out the pillowcase section), tea towels and aprons.

I highly recommend checking the website out, as I just know you are going to love it. Filled with prints, cards, homeware, accessories and stationery, there something for everyone at very affordable prices. Old English Company produces beautiful hand-lettered products. They were first established in London and their studios are now located in Stamford. If you haven't been to Stamford before, then I highly recommend adding it to your list of places to visit. Stamford is one of my favourite towns to go to, you definitely need to go and Google it. As I am only about half an hour away from Stamford, I love going there to look around the shops. There are also some wonderful little villages on the way and also Burghley House, which is incredible and so amazing.

A Breath After Drowning by Alice Blanchard | Blog Tour

Hey there! I hope you are having a lovely week. It's almost the weekend! Today my boyfriend and I had a little look around Peterborough, as he had to take his car to be serviced. You just have to have a look at the shops if you're going to Peterborough! It's only about half an hour drive, so it's just up the road. Anyway, we decided to have a look at Queensgate shopping centre. So it was only right that I went to have a quick look in Primark! I went straight to the homeware section, as I've been looking for the Marie collection for a while now. They only had the Marie trinket dish, so I just had to get it! I will definitely be adding it to some of my blog photos! I also found another little trinket dish too. We had a little look at a few other shops and then went home.

Today I'm back with a brand new book review. I'm very honoured to be apart of the A Breath After Drowning* blog tour. This book is by Alice Blanchard and came out on the 10th April and is published by Titan Books. I've also added the blog tour poster at the bottom of this post, where you can find all of the other bloggers who are taking part on this blog tour too. As you can see from the photos, the copy which I was kindly sent was an advanced review copy. Firstly, here's a little bit about the author. Alice Blanchard won the Katherine Anne Porter Prize for Fiction for her book of stories, The Stuntman's Daughter. Her first novel, Darkness Peering was also named one of the New York Times Book Review's Notable Books. Alice's second novel is called The Breathtaker and was an official selection of the NBC Today Book Club. Having previously not read any novels by Alice before, I was very excited to read this one.