Photo Diary: The July Round Up

My grandma has a saweeeeeet view from her back garden @ Elmstead Market

Salmon and prawn salad served with garlic bread? Interesting mix, but one I can totally roll with @ The Black Boy Pub, Weeley

These freshly picked organic cherries from our local farm shop didn't last long @ Secretts Farm Shop, Milford

Celebrating my university results with not one, but three beautiful bouquets of flowers

Witnessing the Windsor Castle Guards doing their thang @ High Street, Windsor

The architecture in Windsor is all kinds of goals *heart eye emoji* @ Market Street, Windsor

Sipping a rather pricey latte and enjoying the fact I was wearing a skirt @ Peascod Street, Windsor

Well, it would've been rude to make my sister holiday shop alone... @ Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth

Sunflowers are bae. And then some. And then some more. God I love sunflowers.

Wasn't so keen on the addition of pumpkin seeds but everything else was top notch @ Bill's Restaurant, Guildford

Leveling up on skincare (it's possible I've been reading too many beauty blogs)

I'm convinced that "July" means "the muggiest month in existence" in Swahili because goodness me it has been unhappily warm. My make up has taken on the accidental aesthetic of what I can only describe as the "melted face" look, and this whole 'switching from trousers to shorts, to trousers' thing is really quite difficult to maneuver. Am I dancing the hokey-cokey? Is this really what it's all about?! Knowing my luck, probably.

Still, there were brief interludes of sunshine where the world and his wife catapulted outside, fired up barbecues and drank Pimms until they could no longer work out if they were sucking a slice of cucumber or a slice of lemon; and it was all very joyful. My dad and I even threw together our own take on paella, basing it loosely on this Jamie Oliver recipe -- we are far too rebellious to follow the rules!

All the British schools broke up for summer, which meant helping my sister move her current classroom into storage ready for her new start in September. While I am very proud of her for not only got a new job, but also an amazing promotion, the most exciting part was how much of a Pretty Little Liar I felt carting things through a huge, eerie storage facility. No dead bodies in barrels unfortunately, but it was fun to fantasize about nonetheless. That sounded creepier than I intended... Soz.

Oh Autumn, please come quickly.
~ Sweaty Eleanor xo

NOT FORGETTING:

I found myself getting ever more frustrated with Pretty Little Liars; fangirled over the new Mockingjay Part 2 trailer (and loudly wished it was November already); started a new series on the blog, and I finalllllly said goodbye to my split ends!

21 Things I've Learnt in Twenty-One Years

My twenty-first birthday is rapidly approaching (in seven days, to be precise) but I kind of don't feel old enough to be carrying around that burden. It was only a few months ago that a lady in Sainsbury's informed me that I couldn't purchase the cold and flu tablets I was trying to buy because "you have to be a certain age". She looked positively aghast when I informed her that actually, I'm twenty. She was mortified. I told her it happens all the time. It does happen all the time. But I think it'll be more ego-wounding if it happens when I'm twenty-one.

So apart from the important lesson of always carrying a piece of ID with me, here are twenty-one of the biggest life lessons I've acquired so far...

1. NEVER LOSE YOUR INTEGRITY

The word 'bitch' is tossed around waaay too much these days; you voice your opinion, you're a bitch, you make a suggestion, you're a bitch, you make out with your friend's boyfriend, you're a bitch. I'm kidding about that last one, if you have done that... well you aren't a very nice person. But, if you know who you are, trust in your abilities and what you can achieve, honesty and perseverance will get you there.

2. NEVER EVER HAVE A PLAN B
If there's one thing I want my children to learn from me, it's to never have a backup plan. If you have a plan B then you might as well not bother with plan A.

3. FALL DOWN SEVEN TIMES, STAND UP EIGHT
Potentially the most cliché proverb (is it a proverb?... I feel like it's not...) but it is something I absolutely and whole-heartedly believe in. So life's got you down? Get up. Move on. Keep going. The world will keep turning whether you sit in bed all day and cry or not.

4. SOCIAL MEDIA WILL FOREVER BE THE MOST ADDICTIVE BANE OF MY LIFE

Who doesn't suffer from FOMO these days? It's insane. Pretty much every morning I look down at my soggy cereal and pout because my breakfast does not look like this. My time in restaurants is doubled because I spend so long trying to photograph my dish perfectly. Why?! Why must I do this, and why can't I stop!?

5. LOOKING OUT FOR NUMBER ONE DOESN'T MAKE YOU SELFISH
It makes you smart. When we were cavemen, back in the day, all hairy and grunting at one another, if you saw a mammoth and you didn't have a spear in your hand ready to gut it to death, then my god did you up and leg it as fast as possible. It's survival of the fittest out there, that much I know for sure.

6. YOU WILL NEVER PLEASE EVERYONE
And telling yourself otherwise is kind of silly. Someone's always going to have something to say, and if everyone liked everyone, then the world would be a pretty boring place.

7. LOSING PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT SUCKS
Nobody stays with you forever, either you drift apart or something drastically bad happens, it is what it is. There isn't a cure for the hole a person leaves in your life, but you get used to the fact they're no longer around.

8. TRUST EXACTLY WHAT YOUR GUT IS TELLING YOU
'Gut' could also be substituted for 'heart', whatever makes you feel more comfortable. In my experience, it will not steer you wrong.

9. "NEVER TELL ALL YOU KNOW - NOT EVEN TO THE PERSON YOU KNOW BEST" ― AGATHA CHRISTIE
It's like if you're playing a game of poker, do you show everyone you're playing with the cards you have? No, because that'd be stupid.

10. FLOWERS DON'T FIX EVERYTHING, BUT THEY'RE A GOOD START
We all know that my life's dream is to run off to Holland and have my own tulip farm. However, right now I'll settle for simply filling my surroundings with beautiful, fresh scentful flowers.

11. ANYONE WHO SAYS THEY AREN'T EVEN A LITTLE BIT MOTIVATED BY MONEY IS LYING
And avoid anyone who says they're solely motivated by love or something equally strange. They could be dangerous.

12. EMBRACE THE FACT YOU SPENT YOUR TEENAGE YEARS TAKING AWFUL SELFIES AND DOING WEIRD POSEY PHOTOSHOOTS FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON
The days of Bebo are long past, but we will always remember them. God I wish we wouldn't always remember them.

13. DON'T RUSH
One day you're standing in Woolworths (yes, that's how old I am) looking at Barbie dolls and thinking to yourself "oh I can't wait until I'm a grown up and I can buy Barbies whenever I want!" and the next you're crippling under the pressure of having to figure out your own finances. Just ride the wave and enjoy the journey!

14. FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT
Or simply 'dress for the life you want to have'. It's impossible to believe in yourself all the time, but if you act like you do, someone else certainly will.

15. TAKE CARE OF YOUR SKIN
You will not be young and beautiful forever, your looks will fade and your skin will sag, that's just a fact of life. It's so important to treat your skin with genuine, nurturing care. Not concealer. I don't believe money can ever be wasted on good skincare.

16. BEING A BITCH DOESN'T MAKE YOU COOL, IT JUST MAKES YOU A BITCH
I feel like this would be the one liner I'd use in the titles of a Real Housewives show. Being a teenager is hard. Really hard. Anyone who says differently is kidding themselves. By all means don your armour, but don't be the person to raise their sword.

17. BE PREPARED TO FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU WANT
Giving up is not an option; good things come to those who get up, kick ass and refuse to take crap from anyone else.

18. ALWAYS BE TOO LEGIT TO QUIT
Keep it real, girl. No one can deny you that.

19. LAUGH ABOUT YOUR QUIRKS
That should probably say 'love', not 'laugh', but it's not always possible to love them, even though they are part of who you are. So what, I say dumb things like "swaggy", "ghetto", "yolo" and a bunch of other ridiculous youth slang words, but I like that, it's funny, it's me. If Justin Bieber can do it, why can't I?

20. YOU DON'T NEED SOMEONE ELSE TO COMPLETE YOU
So often I see people totally unable to live their lives without another individual beside them. It's not sexy, it's not romantic, it's unhealthy and I find it a little creepy. You are not broken, you do not need to be saved, you're doing just fine.

21. BE GRATEFUL
Always, always, always. On good days and on bad days. Be grateful for what you learnt, what you gained and what you lost. No matter what happens, someone out there is fighting for the life you have. I hope I never lose sight of that.

~ Eleanor xo

July Favourites

This month's proudest accomplishment is a toss up between:
A) Getting totally addicted to watching Millionaire Matchmaker re-runs on ITV (oh my gosh I could binge watch this show all day) or
B) Becoming the proud (self-proclaimed and totally unofficial) adoptive parent of a wild hedgehog.
As you can tell, it's a close call, so I'll let you decide.

July has been a whirlwind month and time seems to be flying by (is this what life is like when you're old?), next thing you know, it'll be Christmas *internal happy dance*. Anyhoo, this month I've been loving:

1. Gaining graduate status!
   I woke up bleary eyed on the 13th day of July, pulled open my laptop and, partaking in what I presume to be an out-of-body experience, witnessed myself burst into full on tears after reading "graduating with first class honours" written after my name. Yes, after three crazy years, I am an advertising graduate! Three bouquets of flowers, one helium balloon and a selection of congratulatory cards arrived just for me that week and even now, it is the best feeling ever.


2. The Waterlogged iPhone app
   This month I decided to challenge myself to see if I could drink the recommended two litres of water each day. As I am not usually a huge water drinker (I know, I'm a disgrace), I wasn't so sure I'd be able to stick to it. However, thanks to my trusty iPhone, I found a free app (my fave) that I could use to log how much water I consumed each day and chart how it changed over a period of time. It's easy to use, it's a beautiful interface and most importantly, it actually kept me motivated to drink as much water as I could. Genius!


3. Rituals Hamman Hot Scrub
   People who dislike salt scrubs are the eighth wonder of the world - I mean, what's not to love!? This Rituals scrub was a new find for me this month and I really like the results; I use it every Sunday and I find it totally takes the week off and sets me up for what's to come. My skin feels so smooth and completely exfoliated after using it and the scent lasts for such a long time afterwards, which is of course, in my opinion, a very important bonus.


4. Looking after our resident garden hedgehog
   Having spent the last three years living in a city where the closest thing you get to wildlife is an oversized rat in the local park, I am loving being back in suburbia. A few years ago we spotted a tiny round hedgehog nosing around our garden and this month we discovered that he's a) still here and b) a long running resident. How could we not rush out and purchase these adorable vitamin and mineral filled hedgehog bites? French too, no less. #ImsoFancy #YouAlreadyKnowwwww


5. Homemade Apricot and Almond Bread
   My parent's new Panasonic bread maker is my new favourite thing and even better, its instruction booklet came with a bunch of fun and tasty recipes to try out. Muchas excitement por moi. I was one very happy camper curling up on a Sunday evening watching the new series of Dragons' Den, munching on slices of fresh, warm white bread with pieces of apricot and almonds baked inside, topped with Bonne Maman blackcurrant jam. Delish!


6. Zara Organic Cotton - basic striped shirt
   I am obsessed with Zara's organic cotton range and even though I already own three shirts (one in white, one in grey and this striped one), I feel I need more. They are so unbelievably comfortable to wear and because they're not fitted, they compliment your figure and hang really well (score!). They are amazing to just throw on over some skinny jeans and I think I'll just continue live in these forever.

This next month, August (duh), is in my opinion, the best of the year (December is a close second) and it's totally not because it's the month of my birth. All my fellow Leo's put your hands up! I'm looking forward to all the fun in store... and to some exciting changes!

~ Eleanor xo

Bonus: Favourite Track: War Paint by Fletcher