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Wednesday, 5 March 2014
a little facelift
Do you get as restless with your blog design as I do?
The more blogs I follow, fonts I find and designs I see, the more confused I get about the direction I want the aesthetics to go in. I love all things art, graphics, photography and design so I positively enjoy spending hours scrolling through webpages and pinterest for ideas. But that means my mind is a bit of a melting pot of ideas.
Should I go more sleek and minimal. Or focus on the expat life and culture thing. And then there is lots of super cute designs with spots, banners and stripes but would they fit with my blog? I just don't know.
For now, I decided that with a change in focus, environment and transient nature of my life, my blog needed something a little more sleek and compatible with my changing life. Im sure I will get restless with this new look soon and want to make tweaks and changes here and there. The beauty of this template, other than the fact it was super cheap, is that designerblogs.com offer various designer services too so you can add all the elements your heart desires, at very reasonable prices.
As such there will probably be some more changes popping up here and there over the coming days as there lovely designers give my blog a little va va voom.
Please bear with me.
As such there will probably be some more changes popping up here and there over the coming days as there lovely designers give my blog a little va va voom.
Please bear with me.
Tuesday, 4 March 2014
Benefit She's So Jetset!
The sign of a well loved palette; empty spaces, barely there powder and missing miniature tubes. The Benefit She's So Jetset Palette has been my favourite, ever owned. My brother usually gifts me with a Benefit palette for christmas each year for two reasons; he knows I love Benefit and can't get my hands on it in Cyprus and he knows the miniature nature of the contents make travelling with your favourite beauty bits so much easier.
The selection of eyeshadows offers a great range of colours, but they are a little shimmery for my liking; not really an everyday look for me. I don't tend to put anything on my lips, so the lipgloss has gone a bit unused, although im starting to realise it would be a great colour once my face has a bit of a tan since it is a pinky peachy tone that would complement perfectly bronzed skin.
The First-Class Face Powder has been my favourite since it has a peachy, stronger hue and a lighter, pink toned highlighter than complements my hair and skin tone.
And there is the They're Real Mascara. I have to admit I am a devoted fan of the Badgal Lash mascara; I love its formula the thick rounded brush. They're Real Mascara has the sort of plastic brush that I am not such a fan of and as such I have only used it a handful of times so I cannot comment on the formula or the results.
Monday, 3 March 2014
expat life: a trail of friends
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Sometimes I wonder if being an expat is all worth it. Everything in life comes at a price right.
As one little adventure comes to end, I am getting ready to return home to England and pick up another expat adventure in another country. The experiences I have had have made my time in Cyprus totally worthwhile but enough is enough. I have lived on in this country, on my own, for nearly a whole year and I don't have the strength to do it anymore. Sure I have some amazing friends here. The people I have met have become life long friends. But that's exactly where this post is coming from.
Friends. How do they put up with us expats huh? All this coming and going. Saving for new adventures abroad. Uncertain locations and indefinite periods of time. Expat life is a little complex.
And the problem is my heart is kind of split in two; whilst I cannot contain my excitement at being reunited with some of my favourite girls in London town, I am leaving behind two very special ladies who have made my life in Cyprus a million times better, easier and funnier than it could have been. They have kept me sane especially over the past year and while they joke that I wont miss them and my departure signals the end of our friendship, in reality it is quite the opposite.
And the problem is my heart is kind of split in two; whilst I cannot contain my excitement at being reunited with some of my favourite girls in London town, I am leaving behind two very special ladies who have made my life in Cyprus a million times better, easier and funnier than it could have been. They have kept me sane especially over the past year and while they joke that I wont miss them and my departure signals the end of our friendship, in reality it is quite the opposite.
I remember when we left London. I thought it would be easy. But it wasn't. You quickly realise the importance of those little coffee dates, catch ups and regular dinners, all starting at the standard Picadilly Circus tube station meeting spot. And somehow, I have managed to maintain most of my friendships back home, which make me even more excited to swap whatsapp and skype dates with real life, in the flesh interaction. Because I clung on for those friendships because I believe a little effort goes a long way and fingers crossed they will let me walk back into their lives like I never walked out. There isn't anything a large mojito and several hours of talking can't fix.
Many people really didn't understand why we were leaving London for Cyprus. And I guess to be honest we didn't either. But we knew there was more to life than London and at that point London was not the place for us. While Cyprus may have been an obscure choice, I think it brought us a lifestyle, a slower pace and a change of scenery we both needed. I haven't ruled out London from my life completely; the boyfriend is rather adamant we will never return but who knows where in the world will end up. Really, if living abroad has taught me one thing it is that your life doesnt have to be confined to where you were born and raised. If you dont want it to be. I mean not everyone has to take the same journey right.
One thing that I always found tough, is sharing plans. When you share your plans with someone, you are letting them into the inner workings of your brain. If they are your friends you will be sharing said plans because your either seeking support, reassurance or in the essence of friendship, just need to share all the thoughts and plans whirling around your brain. But it seems quite common that friends who you want reassurance from, question your motives. I am not going to lie, coming up against criticism concerning your life choices can definitely break you down a little. It can make you question yourself and we all know that is dangerous territory.
But at the end of the day, you are in this for you. Your journey is just that, yours. True, friends are a very important part of life, but so are experiences. And as such you have to make the decisions in life that are going to bring you happiness and offer the best results for you. If your friends are really friends, they will support you, maintain contact and savour you that much more when you return to them.
Many people really didn't understand why we were leaving London for Cyprus. And I guess to be honest we didn't either. But we knew there was more to life than London and at that point London was not the place for us. While Cyprus may have been an obscure choice, I think it brought us a lifestyle, a slower pace and a change of scenery we both needed. I haven't ruled out London from my life completely; the boyfriend is rather adamant we will never return but who knows where in the world will end up. Really, if living abroad has taught me one thing it is that your life doesnt have to be confined to where you were born and raised. If you dont want it to be. I mean not everyone has to take the same journey right.
One thing that I always found tough, is sharing plans. When you share your plans with someone, you are letting them into the inner workings of your brain. If they are your friends you will be sharing said plans because your either seeking support, reassurance or in the essence of friendship, just need to share all the thoughts and plans whirling around your brain. But it seems quite common that friends who you want reassurance from, question your motives. I am not going to lie, coming up against criticism concerning your life choices can definitely break you down a little. It can make you question yourself and we all know that is dangerous territory.
But at the end of the day, you are in this for you. Your journey is just that, yours. True, friends are a very important part of life, but so are experiences. And as such you have to make the decisions in life that are going to bring you happiness and offer the best results for you. If your friends are really friends, they will support you, maintain contact and savour you that much more when you return to them.
Shortly (I say shortly but departure is still more than a month away) I will swap Cyprus for London, I am feeling the same unease, anxiety and emotion as before because I am leaving behind more friends. Part of me feels bad leaving this little trail of fantastic friends around Europe. But you have to do what you have to do right. You cant stay because you dont want to leave the people you love when all the time the one person you love is far away. You cant stay because someone thinks it's a bad idea. You cant do stay to keep people happy. And you cant stay because you will always wonder what could have been. In pursuit of happiness it seems you have to be a little selfish.
Ganted it would be a lot easier if you could pick up all the people and take them with me. But if the past three years living in Cyprus have taught me anything, it's that i'm pretty good at holding down long distance friendships.
Ganted it would be a lot easier if you could pick up all the people and take them with me. But if the past three years living in Cyprus have taught me anything, it's that i'm pretty good at holding down long distance friendships.
