The million dollar question, will 2021 be better than 2020? I wish I knew the answer. If I could write this and have a crystal ball looking into the future I would. I’d first look at if this stupid virus was gone. Because let’s face it, thats the one thing thats really screwed us over this year. I’d then look to see (and hope and pray) that all of the businesses and people who lost their jobs and homes have got all of it back. I really do feel for those people. And then I’d probably look to see if the world has any sort of hope that equality and injustice are resolved. Thats one thing I really wish for in 2021.
Looking back at 2020, I admit we have had it pretty rough. It’s been anything but normal for us. When I turned 25 this year I swore it would be the best year of my life. My favourite number is 25, so I always said that year would be a year I wouldn’t forget. And I wasn’t wrong, but its unforgettable for all of the wrong reasons.
Without fail towards the end of December, we always hear the words ‘New Year’s resolutions’ being thrown around in conversations. It’s something thats talked about alot, and I’d really love to know where and who started this mess. When I was younger my resolutions was always to lose weight and get healthy, and always without fail I’d give up after a few weeks.
Perhaps thats why I’m not a fan of them. Because every time I have tried, I have failed. So really I don’t see the point because I know I will just fail it again. Why do we love to set ourselves up for failure? Why do we wait for a new year to make changes. It’s the same as “I’ll start on Monday” , which never works. I have never really been a fan of New Years resolutions, just purely for the fact that a new year doesn’t just wipe the slate clean. If you want to make changes then do it now rather than later.
I think we can all agree that Holiday stress is a real thing. The Holidays can be so stressful, there’s so much to do and buy and make and you only have a limited amount of time. So many people put pressure on themselves at Christmas, they think they have to go big or go home, and thats just not true. Its always good to remember the reason for the season, and remind yourselves that not everything has to be perfect.
Not only is there stress at Christmas but I think there’s alot of expectation too. We put this expectation on ourselves and sometimes without even knowing it, we put it on others too. Today I will be sharing some tips on how you can create yourself a stress free Christmas! I hope you leave this post feeling more positive and relaxed about the festive season! So Let’s get into the tips!
We have all used the beloved unfollow button at some point in our lives, and don’t lie to me and tell me you haven’t. There is a reason why the unfriend button is there on every single social media platform.
Personally I utilise the unfollow button on almost every social media platform I own. I am always clearing out my online friend lists. Just like in offline life, we don’t hang around or be-friend people who are bad people, so I am a firm believer in not inviting them into my online space either. If I wouldn’t be friends with them in life then I won’t be friends with them online. We really need to normalise removing people from our social media platforms. So many people get upset and offended if they find out that you unfollow them. But alot of the time it’s just because of the content they post. If I don’t like it, I’ll unfollow you. It doesn’t mean anything other than that.
Today I’ll be sharing some reasons as to why the unfollow button should be used more and how it can help filter out that bad stuff!
It’s not often that I talk about me on my blog, not in detail anyway. As many of you know, I prefer to keep my private life private when it comes to blogging. But I really enjoy reading posts about the person behind the blog, which is why I did the face behind the blog tag recently. That post mainly focused on blogger topics, so thought I would share some facts with you today which you wont have known about me. I really enjoy getting to know you all, so what better way to do that than to first share some things about myself!
It will be interesting to find out which of the facts you are surprised about and which you would have guessed.
With December around the corner what better time than to share some of my favourite subscription boxes, perfect for Christmas gifts. Subscription boxes are a great and inexpensive gift to give at Christmas or any time of the year really. Alot of subscription box companies create bespoke boxes around Christmas, which I love. And today I’ll be sharing some of my favourites. If you aren’t familiar with what a subscription box is, its a curated box that usually has around 5-10+ items in them. They can be one off boxes or you can subscribe and recieve new boxes every month.
I thought this would be a great time to put out some Christmas content before Blogmas in order to give you a little teaser at what’s to come in the month of December. I’m so excited to be sharing these companies with you today, and hope you consider putting them on your Christmas list or gifting them to someone else.
A simply beautiful life is a new bespoke subscription box service. Their Christmas boxes are available from the 20th November – 22nd November and if you decide to order one, they will be shipped December 1st. They kindly gifted me a box so I could try their products! Everything arrived packaged beautifully and I was so impressed with the quality of the products in the box. The box comes with so many different items which is why I think it will make a perfect Christmas gift!
Each Christmas box includes: – 1 Customised Starbucks cup (first 20 people get free personalisation) – DIY Ornament (Multiple ornaments can be ordered where required) – Sageandclaydesigns pair of earrings (each month they feature a small business) – Several other surprises!
Prices: – $35 for one time purchases (Only $31.50 with my discount code *see below*) – $30 each month if you sign up for subscription (discount already included in $30 price) All prices include shipping (US only)
[GIFTED]
Here is their Instagram so you can keep up to date when they launch!
A Simply Beautiful Life have kindly offered my readers an exclusive discount on their Christmas one time subscription box. Use code ‘December10‘ to get 10% off.
The Degusta Subscription box is a snack box that arrives at your door every month. They fill the boxes with up to 15 products each month, and they’re all new products that are new on the market here in the UK. Not only do they include food items but new drinks too! The great thing about Degusta is that they have a gifting option, which is perfect for Christmas. It allows you to pay in advance for boxes for other people! How cool is that?
The Degusta box is £12.99 a month, which is such a steal considering shipping is included in that price too.
Degusta has kindly given me a discount code for you to use to get £3 off your first order. Use code ‘QZSK0‘ at checkout to save some ££!
If you’re a beauty fanatic like me then you will love this box. The great thing about their boxes is that you can look at previous months they have done, that way you get a feel for what the products included are like. What I really like about their boxes is that they include full sized items. So many companies try to get away with only sending mini versions of products, which sometimes make the boxes not value for money.
Glossy box have various different payment plan options:
Have you ever had a subscription box? If so what kind are your favourite?
Subscription boxes are really good value for money and such a great idea for those people in your life who are hard to buy for. I hope you liked this little blogmas teaser! Can’t wait to share the rest of my Christmas content in December.
Were are back for open discussion Saturdays, and this week I want to know what brought you joy this week. I don’t know how your week went, only you know that, but often when I have a bad week or something didn’t go to plan, I like to do alot of reflection. I like looking back to see what went well instead of what didn’t.
Its important to do this on a regular basis as it can help you to re-focus and re-centre yourself. Even if its something small and something you’d consider ‘stupid’ then please still share it. If it made you happy, then it makes me happy too! Sometimes it’s good to have these moments to reflect and to really get some positive energy going in your life. For a moment say goodbye to the stress and negativity that might be surrounding you and just be in the moment. Think about some things that brought you joy this week, this morning or today even!
As always, I’ll start off by sharing mine and then you can share yours in the comments. I want this post to be a hub of happiness and positivity!
I’ve been journaling for two years now, but writing I’ve been doing it all my life. Journaling has helped me tremendously since the time I decided to be consistent with it. As a blogger, I feel that journaling is an important and beneficial habit. Let’s look at five benefits of journaling. But first, a little introduction to me!
Hello, my name is Heidy, and I’m guest blogging for Olivia today. My blog is called Into My Thoughts. I share personal experiences, encouraging faith-based posts and poetry. Feel free to read some of my posts after you have read this one.
To me a private life is a happy life. There are only a select few people I truly let in and know me fully. I have learnt the hard way on this subject because I was the person who was too trusting. I would let anyone in and share everything with them and I’d suffer the consequences afterwards when they’d share information about me to other people. It’s sad when it happens, because when you’re young you are very naive into thinking you could trust everyone, but thats not the case and you figure that out as you get older.
Having a balance between sharing things online and keeping things private is where I have got to, and I’m happy here. Being a blogger I have come to realise that its important even more to have this balance. I have spoken previously about why I decided to separate my private instagram from my blog instagram, and thats because I want to safeguard and protect myself and the people I know.
olivialucieblake.com 