Hello 2013!

Happy new year everyone! I hope you all had a good time last night no matter what you got up to. Not to be a total Debbie Downer already but I'm a bit apprehensive about it being 2013. I'm very superstitious & I normally run a mile from anything featuring the number 13. Whilst 2012 started out as quite a promising year for me it all went to shit over the past few months. As I'm sure you all know by now my engagement came to an end after four years and I was left to be a single mum. This is a situation I never saw myself being in so its been quite a dark & depressing time. It is better not being with someone who treated me like crap anymore but it is also very lonely. I guess one good thing that's come out of it all is that I finally went to the doctor about my anxiety issues. I've been having cognitive behavioral therapy for the past couple of months and I already feel a lot better. Plus my relationship with Chloe is stronger than ever. We spend pretty much 24/7 together & we have such close bond. So I really hope that 2013 treats me a bit better & isn't actually unlucky at all. To try and make the best of it I have of course made some resolutions:

Be healthier
I'm only a size 10 but recently I've found myself hating the way my body looks. As soon as I gain a single pound of weight my face bloats up like a big balloon. I've spent the last few weeks stuffing myself silly on chocolate & junk. My clothes do feel a little tighter and I'm fed up of being flabby & out of shape so I'm doing something about it. I've taken inspiration from the Tone It Up diet for a while but I finally ordered the full plan when they had an offer on Cyber Monday. I really like the idea of this diet & it seems like the healthiest way to slim down. It consists of eating five small meals & doing one hour of exercise a day. Its actually not too difficult to follow as they have their own versions of treats such as protein pancakes & doughnuts. I'm gonna give it a proper go from now on so I'll let you know my progress.

Stop wasting money
Now I'm a single mum its down to me to pay for everything by myself. I've always been a spender rather than a saver but I'm trying my hardest to save up just incase I have to move house. I waste so much money on makeup and clothes when I already have so much. It might make for a more boring blog but I really can't afford to keep on buying new things all the time. This time last year I was over £1000 into my overdraft & now my account finally has a positive amount in it! So saving up & selling old stuff really does pay off. I've been monitoring my personal finances using an iPhone app called Spending Tracker and its definitely helped me to be more restrained. Seeing a + sign each month is definitely more rewarding than buying lots of stuff.

Do more with Chloe
This was one of my aims last year and I have started going to more toddler groups & classes. We've been going to baby ballet & swimming & shes gotten really good at both of them. In September Chloe will be starting pre-school so its only a matter of time before she goes off to school & I have to get a proper full-time job. She might even be going earlier than that as we get might get some free hours now. So I definitely have to make the most of the time we have left together. Shes such a clever girl so I try to teach her as many things as possible. Going to more groups will only help to improve her speech & social skills.

Blog more often
I'm such a slacker and on average I only manage to post about 10 times a month. I really want to change that this year because I love blogging so much. I'm really proud of my blog and only want it to grow. I'm gonna aim to post at least every other day & do some more YouTube videos too. I don't get to make many because my ex can never be bothered to take Chloe to his parents anymore so the house is never empty. But if she does go to nursery soon then I can spend my time being productive, doing freelance & blog work. I'm also gonna make a real effort to reply to all my comments & talk to more people on twitter.

Be happier
This is hard one as I naturally am quite pessimistic but I really just want to be happy this year. I've had so many hardships in 2012 and I've had bad anxiety & anger issues. Hopefully therapy will help me get through these further. I need to be more positive & spend my time doing things that I really enjoy. I'm tired of being negative all the time so I'm gonna try to stop moaning about everything & appreciate all the good things in my life.

Finally I'd just like to thank you all for your support over the past few years. Blogging is such a positive influence in my life & knowing that people read the things I post is so encouraging. I still do a little internal *squee* whenever I get a notification on my phone that someone has posted a comment. I've met some amazing people & had some fantastic opportunities through doing this. Going to another Leeds blogger meetup & being featured in Company magazine were definitely the biggest blogging highlights of my year. I can only hope I get to go to some more events this year and meet some more of you lovely ladies. So heres to 2013! I hope you all have a bloody brilliant year and I really hope I do too!

Red Velvet Fudge

Its New Year's Eve and as usual I'm staying in. Time for one final pig out on junk food and booze before those pesky New Year's resolutions to lose weight start all over again. I came across this recipe on Pinterest (feel free to add me!) and it sounded so easy & delicious that I just had to make it immediately. Theres only four ingredients and it only takes two minutes to cook. The longest part is waiting for it to set. Or you could just eat it straight from the bowl as fresh cake batter without the risk of getting Salmonella. Either way it makes for a fast scrummy snack. The recipe I found was for plain vanilla cake batter fudge but the only cake mix I had in my cupboards was this Duncan Hines Red Velvet one. Even better! Instant red velvet fudge. It tastes just like the cake & smells incredible. Its definitely not fudge in the traditional sense of the word. The recipe is quite similar to how you would make buttercream icing but rather than adding a bit of vanilla extract or cocoa powder you add in powdered cake mix. Its like one epic combo of cake, fudge & icing!

Original recipe found here.

Ingredients
1 cup cake mix of your choice
1 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup milk

Method
1) Put the cake mix & icing sugar into a microwavable bowl. Mix together.

2) Add the butter and milk but don't mix it up.

3) Put in the microwave on high for 2 minutes.

4) Take it out and mix it all together. Inhale the cakey goodness.

5) Line a cake tin and pour in the mixture. Top with sprinkles if you like. Put it in the fridge to set for at least an hour before cutting into chunks. Don't forget to lick the bowl!

Let me know if you decide to try this out. I love making easy confectionery like this. This is great quick sweet treat for when theres no other food left in the house! I'll be chowing down on these whilst watching the Hootenanny and downing Snowballs. Anyways I hope you all have a lovely time tonight no matter what you're up to and I'll see you all next year!

What I Wore In 2012

Here's a quick roundup of my favourite outfit posts from this year. To be honest I didn't actually post many more than these which is something I'm hoping to rectify in 2013. I guess its because I only really post if its an outfit that I consider to be 'blogworthy' rather than what I wear on a day to day basis. I doubt anyone would want to see me in a Primark onesie though! Basically I'm fed up of being a lazy slob haha. So expect some more outfit posts in the new year. I feel like blogging has helped me to be more adventurous in what I wear, even if I stick to wearing black 90% of the time. I've always had a ton of clothes but its only been recently that my wardrobe has started to feel more complete. I guess its just as my style has evolved but I definitely feel more confident wearing the clothes I like even though my body is nowhere near how I want it to be.

My favourite outfits are the coral Missguided dress I wore to an Illamasqua event in March & the black dress from H&M I wore for my 24th birthday in August. Both feature floral headbands from Crown & Glory which are quite possibly my favourite accessories. 2012 was also the year where I finally re-dyed my hair pink. I used to dye my hair every colour under the sun so it was nice to do something different with it again. If I don't end up just buying loads of wigs I'm definitely going with minty green for 2013!