PISTACHIO ICE CREAM*

I am ashamed to admit that I wasn't always a fan of ice cream. Then after tasting different flavours, joining Peyton and Byrne and working with quality products and brands, and falling in love with things I once hated, I developed a love for Pistachio Ice Cream. So when Savisto contacted me and offered me an ice cream maker - how could I turn such an opportunity down?

SOCIAL CHANGE.

I have a hard time believing in social change. There's uprising and people getting together every day around the world, talking about these social issues, reminding everyone that the third world is still poor, and that women are still being raped, and that people are still being murdered senselessly by the police. But nothing is being done about it. And that's the problem I have, it's just issues thrown up in the air and people are waiting for an answer to be given, but most queries are easily solved.

Now I'm not talking about everyone fighting for change. For example, Vegans have made very clear that if you stop eating animals, less will be harmed, your body will be healthier - therefore you'll live longer and you won't harm the planet as badly. Pretty straight forward right? And they're constantly campaigning - even in small ways - for change. As far as I'm concerned that's their job done. They're highlighting an issue, and solving it. And it's easily done in other areas.

But people are still just "talking". I hate myself a little bit for even posting this, because I have ideas but I'm not acting on them. I still think I'm not enough by myself to implement social change, but I need to remind myself I have a voice and my voice matters. I guess I wrote this to remind you that you do too.


Christina

20 Lessons In 20 Years.

Sitting down and thinking about this last year - dissertation open in another tab - it has actually been so much more challenging than I could have ever imagined. My confidence has been tested, my mental health, my physical health, my emotional health - I guess being on the way of coming out of it all likely means I'll be a stronger person when I do, but at the moment I don't think so, (trying ridiculously hard to build up my confidence) I don't think I'm there yet. But I have learnt a few lessons along the way. I won't be sharing all key 20 lessons, but here's a few.

And I hope you can learn from them so you don't have to go through things like this yourself.

Put yourself first.
As much as your care about other people and their opinions of you, as important as going out with your friends might be, as important as being in a relationship might be, as challenging as your job or education might be, to you, don't forget yourself in it all. Remember to take some time out for yourself. Unwind after a long day at work/school, actually use some of your time off as REST days, go and see your friends, and always remember to spend time alone. 


Leave your stress at work. Don't take it home.

Learn to walk away from destructive people.
If you keep pouring into someone and they're not giving anything back, you'll end up an empty being. Find a friend or partner that pours back into you, one that helps you grow, and makes you a better person. Otherwise, cut them off. You have places to go and people to see.

Don't ever let people walk all over you.

“If you are silent about your pain, they’ll kill you and say you enjoyed it.”

                                                                                                  ― Zora Neale Hurston

You're allowed to be upset.
Don't let people put you down for having "down days". Sometimes when things get a bit 'too much', I take time out to think, and if that leads to crying, I cry. I don't think there's any shame in that and neither should you. But don't allow yourself to dwell in that state of sadness, it will mess you up. Get up out of it afterwards, I find going on walks help.

STOP waiting for Friday.
This summer has consisted of me wishing away the weekdays so I could go out on Saturday to spend time with my boy, or hating work so much I wished away the weekdays then never enjoyed the weekend, because I knew I had to go back on Monday. I'm making a conscious effort to stop doing that. It does NOT make me happy.

Go get what you want.
Anything you want. But no stealing pls.

Be happy by yourself before you involve someone else.
Otherwise, you're just being selfish. Grow up.

Your body is a temple.
And don't you forget it.

I hope you found this insightful, and surprisingly, I wish I knew this all ten years ago.

Christina x

BREAKFAST IN BED X THE BEST SCRAMBLED EGGS EVER.

Breakfast in bed is usually associated with birthdays, lazy mornings, a really chilled way of saying I love you - the list goes on. Recently for me, it's been a way to escape. Over the past two years, I've learnt to enjoy my own company, especially with being in halls at university, then this year being away from my family a lot of the day and half interacting with new people and half working by myself. So when I get the chance to have some alone time, I take full advantage because I really do enjoy it so much.

GETTING BACK INTO BLOGGING

I wasn't really much of a "go-getter". When the 'going got tough' I was the type of person to run away and hide in a corner than to stand up and fight. In recent years I've had to change that attitude and really fight for what I wanted. Growing up has meant that I've needed to become a stronger person, one that sticks up for herself and isn't such a pushover, and one that literally goes and gets what she wants.

And in turn, the world has rewarded me for it. My friendships changed, my dating life has changed, even where and how I lived has changed (- not entirely by choice, lol). When I decided to start this blog last year, I did it with the intention of sharing what I wanted to talk about, but my resources were limited in what I could actually create. I had a "fairly good" point and shoot, a laptop, a kitchen and my imagination, and originally those factors were enough for a first time blogger. Now as I want to grow and "compete" in the "bloggersphere", a lot of things have to change.

For one thing, I need to get excited about this all again. I need to be able to dedicate time to the website, without falling short in other areas of my life, and I need to challenge myself to become "me" again. This "happy, shiny little girl with a big smile and a dream" - yes, that is actually how I've been described before. And yeah, I may be 20, but I really don't feel it.

I am going to actively try and change "things". I look forward to your feedback - good and bad.

Christina x

P.S. Guys... Do you love the new camera?!