Gratitude Tag

I was tagged by the simply wonderful Vivian over at Day-Dreamer, Night-Thinker so you guys should definitely go and check her out because her blog always makes me smile.

This tag fell perfectly into my blogmas endeavor as I feel like gratitude is one of the most important feeling at this time of year.

What is yout favourite quote or verse that reminds you to be greatful?
Funnily enough my favourite verse about being thankful is the same as Vivian's! It's 1 Thessalonians 5:8 and it reads "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ". It's a beautifully poetic quote that reminds me that everything I have to be grateful for is because of His love for me.

Who are you grateful for?
Obviously I'm thankful for my family, all 16349832 of them, and my friends (I have a considerably lower number of those).

What life events are you grateful for?
I'm grateful for each passing day in my life with my family and friends, but the event I am most grateful for was on August 2nd 2013 when I opened my heart to God and my whole life changed.

What am I grateful for but often don't think about?
It has to be having food on my table and clothes on my back and a roof over my head. The simple things.

What are you going to do to show people you gratitude towards them?
I'm not a great lover of physical contact, but the people who I love the most always know that when I am truly happy and content to be in their presence I kiss their foreheads. I always get strange looks for this, but I couldn't care less because it means they know I love them.

I guess at this stage I am supposed to tag someone, but if you feel like you want to do it, I tag you because it's late and I'm lazy.

Nx

Christmas Traditions

Everyone has their own little quirks and traditions at Christmas time, and each one is special in their own unique way. I love it! So I've decided to share some of my Christmas traditions with you guys and let you have a peak into my Christmas Day!

In my house the traditions begin on Christmas Eve when my parents, brother and I go to my grandparent's church for a Christingle service where we give thanks for all our health and happiness to be able to share another Christmas together. This is a really important part of our Christmas.

On Christmas day, after opening our presents from my parents, we go to my other Gran's church with the substantially larger side of the family. Again, being a Christian, this is truly important for me. Next, all 20+ of us head up to my aunt and uncle's house for a few hours before going home to get the dinner started.

My grandparents will usually arrive at about 4 with my aunt and uncle from my Mum's side with my littlest cousins (6 & 4) and we'll have dinner together.

 My next tradition is usually one of the strangest traditions I have, and my friends always laugh at me because of it; I only open my presents from under the tree after dinner. It's totally bizarre and people always ask me how I'm able to wait that long, but for me it's completely normal. I've always been brought up to never be greedy, and spreading my gifts throughout the day always allowed me to appreciate everything that little bit more.

I'd love to hear what some of your Christmas traditions are, so leave a comment below if you fancy! See ya'll tomorrow.

N x

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Christmas Gift Ideas - Blogmas Day 1

Let me just start this off with an explanation to my absence over what has been essentially a month. School's been shit, work experience has been draining and I haven't been feeling great. That, coupled with a serious slump in wanting to write. Simple.

But I've decided to get this month off to a running start and undertake Blogmas! Exciting I know, but I think this something that I need to do more than I want to because writing has yet to dampen my mood and I'm hoping this is going to be something that helps keep my head about the water (or snow, or piles of homework / exam revision / stress in general). 

So I'm currently sitting on my bed with my 8tracks plugged into my headphones with a hot chocolate and no job to go to tonight and I'm feeling pumped.

This is going to be an easy one to start off with - Christmas Gift Ideas. So simple yet so freaking hard to think of when you have as many people to buy for as I do.

1. Lush

You can never go wrong with a little bit o' Lush. All that vegan-y goodness that smells divine and is pretty much a must when it comes to buying for someone who loves pampering themselves, or even just loves a good bath! And a bathbomb or two will definitely not break the bank at just under £4 a bomb, and with the variety that Lush offers, there's almost certainly something for everyone!

2. Jewellery

I absolutely adore buying people jewellery for Christmas, and will spend hours scouring Etsy to find something that's just right. This year I decided to buy a few of my friends presents from some of the shops in this vast online market place. I especially love the individuality from each of the stores that people have put time into create something so perfectly unique! There's always something fro a good price if you know where to look.

3. Socks

Socks are, in my not so humble opinion, the most underrated present that you can receive on Christmas, and last year for me came and went without a single funky sock in my stocking. I was gutted. To quote one Albus Dumbledore, "One can never have enough socks.". So grab a snazzy pair or two from any high street store and boom, instant prezzie. I'm loving these socks from New Look, and they're on offer too!

4. A Book

Whenever I'm asked by my parents what I want for Christmas, I love to give them a list of book titles that I've been craving but have been too poor to afford over the previous year. I know that not everyone likes books, but really, they just haven't found the right one yet. I'm a firm believer that everyone is a reader, some just haven't discovered the joy yet. So buy a book from Amazon that you think will tickle your friend or family member's fancy and give them a whole other world this year.

5. An Item That Relates To A Hobby 

My dad recently told me that he wanted to get back into art this year so 3 guesses what I'm getting him this year. Sometimes it can just be as simple as listening to see what they need!

TTYL,
Nx

Blurry

Everything's been very blurry recently. 

Names and faces and people and places have swirled together into a mass of fast paced wildness that is messing with my head. 

I don't know where this has come from, and I don't know when it will leave, but the one thing I do know is that I'm starting to doubt myself again and that's the last thing I want to do.

I want to be calm and collected and coherent, and right now I'm not.

I don't want to slip into any weird funk or confused daze, I'm not even 100% sure why I'm writing this down.

I hope this helps. 

I hope it goes away.

An Open Letter To Him

When I saw you today something changed.

You sat across the room from me, completely oblivious and absorbed in your own little world. You smiled to yourself and laughed quietly. You were afraid that someone saw you when you looked both ways and turned crimson, shying away from your own happiness. But I saw.

You didn't see me as I looked to you, as I smiled along with you. You didn't notice as the sun glanced through the window and landed on you, making you shine. You didn't notice you were not alone. But I did.

You don't realise that when I smile at you, I want you to do more than smile back on instinct. You don't understand that I like you more and more each time I see you. You don't even know my name. But I know.

You don't see me as anything more than a girl in the year below. You don't believe that you could create such an lingering sensation without even a touch. You don't know me.

But I'd like you to.