A look back at 2016

So another year over eh? The picture above is probably my favourite one of the year. I get such a huge grin on my face every time I spot it and it reminds me of some of the best two weeks of my life. I remember feeling so carefree. We'd been at a Hungarian festival all day, drunk £6 bottles of 'champagne', sat in the sunshine, made paper windmills in the art tent and were just about to watch Rihanna who just so happened to mine her way through the entire set. Sometimes the best moments in life aren't Instagram perfect or follow a careful script. Real life shouldn't have a filter.

I came into 2016 reeling from the shock of being made redundant, undertaking the uncertainty of being freelance and quite frankly at a loss at how to move forward. It's not until I look back at the period in my life that I realise just how unhappy I was during 2015. I feel like a different person now.

Luckily 2016 has been has been an improvement. It's been a year of extreme lows but also a year of extreme highs. Both in my personal and in my professional life.  Sometimes I just can't quite believe how much I have packed into 12 months. A year that feels like it has flown by but also a year that has moved at a snail pace.

In March I was made permanent at my current job after freelancing for a few months. I was and am still over the moon to be working with such a great team and for such a fab publication. I genuinely enjoy getting up in the morning and commuting to London. I absolutely love being back in the city and embracing the London lifestyle. I fully committed to seeing the big wide world with an incredible five new countries crossed off my list and six new European cities. It's made me realise just how much I thrive from going to to new places. It's only increased my desire to see everything out there! We have hopefully bought a house too which came out of nowhere! We wasn't really looking but one came up that we loved the look of. After a few tense weeks we finally had our offer accepted and are now just waiting for the whole process to go through. It's not completely set in stone but I'm quietly confident that it will all go through. I just hope it doesn't come back and bite me in the bum!

As a family we've taken a fair few knocks this year and at times things have been tough. Tougher than they have ever been. But if one thing they have taught me is that you knock us down, we get back up again. We will get through it as a unit. The rollercoaster is something that will probably carry on until 2017.

Despite that I'm looking forward to 2017. I'm seeing in the New Year in Glasgow with three of my favourite people, a city that I've never visited. Hopefully March sees me finally move out into my first home with my boyfriend - still working on a move date! I have a few weddings to attend and a holiday traveling around Poland to plan. Plans have slightly changed with Warsaw, Krakow and Gdansk on the list now but that's the beauty of planning a holiday!

Thank you so much for everyone who has read my little piece of the internet - sometimes I can't quite believe that I've been writing it so long. I honestly can't imagine it not being part of my life. I haven't quite nurtured it as much as I wanted to in 2016 but hoping to invest more time next year. I've got some big plans! This will be my last post of 2016 so I'll see you on the flip side!
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Three ways to style your shelves


If you're anything like me, you spend hours lusting over Pinterest at the interiors. Dream of perfecting the perfect shelves and having a room worthy of taking pride of place in a interiors magazines. But sometimes they can look a little too sterile. Like no one lives there, they simply exist to take pictures of. Here are my tips on how to add a little personality to yourself without giving into clutter!

Trinkets
Too much tat on a shelf can look untidy and cluttered. But adding a few trinkets can help give your selves personality. Pick a few things from your adventures, things that represent you and mean a lot to you. I have a collection of Russian Dolls from Budapest to remind me of my holiday. I have a Peaky Blinders pin badge that I was given in a secret Santa from Hannah.


Wall art
A few years ago I made a pact to pick up a different print from every city I visited. I'm missing a few as sometimes they can be hard to track down but now have a pretty healthy collection. Eventually I'd love to have a gallery wall above my sofa in my future house. But, for now I'm displaying them on shelves. They make a great talking point and bring back memories every time you catch them.

Books
Despite owning a Kindle, I still have a love affair with books. At the moment my obsession is with travel books. I think I might actually be keeping Lonely Planet in business... I spend hours reading them, making notes and dreaming about places I've yet to visit. I like to scatter a few of my favourites on my shelves and change them whenever I fancy a change. Coffee tables books look great too. I'm slowing building up my collection of Hygge inspired books!

How do you style your shelves?

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How to wear statement boots






Outfit:
Purple and grey ombre coat: ASOS (similar)
Grey distressed skinny jeans: New Look
White long line tailored shirt: H&M (similar)
Silver ankle boots: H&M (similar)

As soon as the cold weather hits, I'm all over ankle boots. I like to buy a few new pairs each winter to add to my collection. The more unusual and lairy the better as far as I'm concerned. This year I added these silver ones to my collection. I feel a little bit like David Bowie which is always a good thing. The cold weather brings with it bundles of layers so often an outfit is all covered up. This is where a statement pair of ankle boots come in handy as you'll always see them. They're a great way to jazz up a outfit.

See some of my favourite ankle boots below.


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A Essex based lifestyle blogger who lives a champagne life on a lemonade purse!

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sophie.warner89@yahoo.co.uk.

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