Riches to Rags?

 

Hi Dolls,

Who remembers this little guy?!

As it was Xmas only a a few weeks ago, and Home Alone was rife on our television screens again, I couldn't help but remember the shocking pictures of Macaulay Culkin I saw a few months ago. And how sad it is that a much loved child star has ended up looking so frail, disshevelled, and absurdly skinny. He's best known for being Kevin Mcallister, in two home alone movies, and also Richie Rich, definitely two of my fave films growing up!

So I breathed a sigh of relief at the latest snap of him below, looking much healthier. Still looks like he needs a few good home cooked meals down him, but no doubt a million times healthier than he looked in the above pic!!

 

 

Whatever issues the magazines say he has, drugs, depression, alcoholism, or all of the above, lets hope he can overcome these, and doesn't end up being yet another classic example of 'too much, too young' and he can get back on track! :)



                                                   

Why Are We Cray Cray For Social Media?!

Hi guys,

A bit of a different post today, so please excuse my rambling. Firstly I would just like to point out that I use Twitter/Facebook/Pinterest/Email on an almost daily basis, and I think they are great tools for blogging and keeping in touch with people etc. This is just a thought I was having earlier today about the not so great side of social networking, and decided to share it with you all :)                                                        

I was sitting on the train on my morning commute earlier, staring absent mindedly into space, when I happened to glance around the carriage and was greeted by the sight of literally every single passenger on some sort of technology device.

Whether it be a phone, Ipad, Kindle, or some other form of tablet, you name it and they were on it. Then because I was extra aware of it, I started noticing it everywhere. People walking on the streets bumping into each other because they're too busy looking down at their mobiles, others with the phones attached to their ears. Not that I can talk,  I am totally guilty of all this too. I constantly walk with my phone in hand, even when i'm carrying a bag, I still have to have my phone in my hand. If I think i've lost it, within a few seconds i've gone into a blind panic, heart thumping, only to realise I am actually holding the bloody thing in my hand! (I've been known to do this on quite a few occasions i'm shamed to say) .

So it got me to thinking, why ARE we so hooked to these little pieces of plastic? Would the world end if we left our phones at home for the day? Would twitter/facebook go into meltdown if we hadn't signed in for one day? The answer is obviously, no. It would all still be there. What is it that has made our generation and generations to come so dependant on technology?

Like I said earlier, I totally get that Facebook is good for keeping in touch with people and also getting back in touch with old friends/family. And twitter is entertaining to find out the latest goss with your fave celeb, and especially to keep up to date with the blogging world! That's what I use it for anyway. But we have gone way past that now. People, including myself, refreshing twitter and facebook for updates every few minutes, giving our poor thumbs and fingers repetitive strain from texting and tweeting all day long. Often, and i'm sure i'm not the only one that does this, but when I'm already out with friends, I still check my phone all the time. How bad is that?! It's like we've lost touch with the real world and are more focused on virtual relationships.

After doing some research, I think a few of the main reasons is, the power it gives people to communicate instantly. And it allows people to express themselves freely, which alot of people don't feel comfortable doing in person.  For example, you would be classed as obnoxious and annoying if you spoke loudly in a quiet waiting room or on public transport, etc. You are expected to sit and be quiet. The objective being to avoid negative attention which could lead to embarrassment/shame, which obviously no one wants to feel. But social media allows people to freely voice their 100% honest opinions without physically being judged by it. There's also a 'showing off' element to this as well. I've noticed people, again including myself, have a tendency to use social media as a way of outlining the positive aspects of of themselves and to publicize how amazing their lives are. It gives us a sense of self-satisfaction.

Call me old fashioned, but sometimes I feel almost nostalgic for the days when having a phone was still a novelty. When friends had to call your house phone to speak to you, or going out without a phone was considered perfectly normal. When people used actual words and not abbreviations for everything.

While I obviously enjoy social networking most of the time, it can get a bit overwhelming when you are overloaded with it, hence why I felt I wanted to post this. I would love to know what others think about it too.

What are your views? Do you think we are a society with an unhealthy dependancy on social networking or do you think it has been a good development?

January Blues...and some resolutions!

Hi Ladies,

Even though i've had a lovely refreshing break, can you believe how quickly the festive season comes and goes?! I can't help but feel sad it's over. I don't know about you but I in no way feel ready to get back to early mornings/commuting/gym, etc. Think it will definitely come as a shock waking up at 6am everyday, for the past week and a half I've been getting up no earlier than 10!

I've long since given up making New Years Reso's, I can NEVER stick to them. But this year I decided to give it another go. There's so many things I need to do this year so if I write them down in a post i'm hoping it will give me more motivation to stick with them.

My Resolutions:

Beauty:

1. To get back into a proper skincare routine of cleansing, toning, moisturising every night. There's been too many nights i've come home late and fallen asleep with make up still on-yuck! Panda eye is not a good look in the morning!
2. To try my best to go for regular facials, I have very combination skin, so it would be good to speak with a specialist that could recommend what's best for me.
3.  To embrace my pale skin!. I'm always trying new fake tan products as I feel quite self concious without them. Everyone looks better with a tan right?! Well, I was thinking about this the other day and even though natural tans look lovely and do give a nice healthy glow, There's nothing wrong with being pale either, especially as I don't live in a particularly hot country! I think it's more the magazines and television programmes that make people feel under pressure to always be tanned. But it's all about confidence really. Anyway, obviously on special occasions I will still put some form of tan on. But not nearly every day as I have been doing lately. Plus it clogs up the pores on your skin which isn't great!

Health and Lifestyle:

1. To actually use my gym membership and go at least 3 times a week. I mean, I pay £60 a month and I haven't been in about 6 months! But I've definitely put on at least a stone this Christmas so I actually really want to go. I don't think this reso will be too hard...I hope!
2. To cut down on takeaways. I was looking through my bank statement the other day and I spend so much money on takeaways and eating out! I need to massively cut down, and eat more fruit and vegetables. I think 2 takeaways/eating out a month is fair, and the rest of the time only healthy food. This is going to be a hard one!
3. Make sure I get a good 8 hours of sleep per night during the week. I've realised I don't function properly at all with any less!
4. I'm a natural worrier. I get anxious about minor things and analyze everything too much. This year I want to be more laidback and not let things get to me too much.
5. To eat breakfast everyday. I've never really been a breakfast person, granted this is mainly because I snooze my alarm so much in the mornings I am late and rush out the door without giving breakfast a second thought. But by 10am my stomach is growling like a monster and I hugely regret not eating, so from today I am going to make sure I at least eat some toast or cereal before leaving the house.

General:

1. To open a savings account, and start saving as much as I possibly can each month. I'm going to be 25 in March and would love my own house/mortgage in the next two years. I realise this is a totally high expectation but I'm hoping if I stick to saving every month, I might just do it.
2. I've always been quite an organised person, I have a filofax that I couldn't do anything without! so this reso is just to keep it up and make sure i'm on top of things.
3. To visit my Nan more often. She lives quite a long drive away so we don't see her nearly as much as I'd like. But I want to make at least a monthly trip to see and spend time with her.
4. To go to Paris! I must be the only person who has never been and I'm desperate to go! I would love to go for a long weekend there at some point soon.
5. To be more adventurous, especially with food! I love food, but then I can be quite a fussy eater sometimes. I won't eat something if it looks weird or I just think I won't like. So I am definitely going to try and be more open minded.

I will keep you  updated on my progress with these!

What are your New Years Resolutions? Would love to hear them :)

                                                          

***HAPPY NEW YEAR!***

Hi Dolls!

 

 

I hope you all had a fab New Years Eve!

 

I find New Years Eve in London to be a rather expensive affair. Clubs double their already high entry prices, Normal pubs and bars even charge you a ridiculous amount to get in just because its NYE. And then there's  the queing outside venues in gale force winds, and the inevitable downpour of rain.

 

So I decided there's no way i'm heading into London this year. Instead I went to a friends party at her house and we drunk endless amounts of Champagne, played on the wii, played a drunken, clumsy game of twister and watched the fireworks on the telly. Maybe I'm just getting old lol, but we had such a brilliant night and for me, beats being sardined in a club with thousands of random people!

 

I meant to take a few pics but after a few glasses the camera unfortunately lay forgotten on the sofa!

 

Would love to know what you guys got up to? :)