BLOG GOALS FOR 2017

It’s nearly been a year since I started my blog and I love it. I’m happy with my content, I’ve been able to go to blogger events and meet some really lovely people.

So, in 2017, I want to step things up a gear and put even more time and energy into my little blog.

I’ve made a list of the goals I want to achieve throughout the year and hopefully I can look back in 2018 and feel proud of how far I have come.

So here are my goals:

1. Stick to a blog schedule of at least 1 post a week

I’ve always aimed to do this but sometimes life gets in the way. From now on, I am going to have a few posts written in advance so that I always have a blog post to launch. My upload day will be a Wednesday.

2. Collab with other bloggers for the first time

This is something I wanted to do last year but never really knew how to go about it. Over the past few months though, I’ve got to know a lot more bloggers so hopefully I can come up with some fun collab ideas. This includes finally meeting my fellow Mcfly fan, Karina , and cracking out some exciting posts for you all. I’ve known Karina for over 10 years now so it’s crazy we are yet to meet each other in person.

3. Increase my social media following

Social media, I feel, plays a very important part in the running of a successful blog. You can have the best written content ever but if no one knows about your blog your posts won’t be read. So, I aim to increase my following on Instagram to 2000 followers and Twitter to 1500 followers by the end of the year. My links will be below if you fancy helping me out!

4. Hit 15,000 views on my blog

This is quite a large goal for me and one I’m not sure if I can reach but I will give it my best shot!

5. Reach 1000 blog followers 

I know it’s not all about numbers but I do feel a sense of achievement when I reach certain milestones and to reach 1000 would be incredible.

6. Go to more blogger events

I went to a few blogger events in 2016 and they are some of my favourite memories from the year. Hopefully, I get to go to many more this year and get to know the bloggers in my city even better. It would also be great to go to some events outwith Aberdeen and get to meet even more wonderful people.

7. Comment and interact with other bloggers more often

This is something I find myself pretty bad at. I plan to take more time out to read others’ posts and actually leave comments rather than just liking them.

8. Improve my photography

I do feel I have made some improvement already with my blog photography. I now have a softbox to help me with lighting which helps a huge deal, but I definitely have work to do on the arrangement of flatlays and figuring out how to actually work my DSLR. With more practice, I will get there.

I’m very motivated this year to achieve great things with my blog and I’m so happy I took the plunge almost a year ago. If you are on the fence about beginning one like I was, I say just go for it! I can almost guarantee you will not regret it.

If you are also a blogger, what are your blog goals for 2017?

Thanks for reading,

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2017 BUCKET LIST

The majority of us will have a list of activities that we want to do before we pass and mine is probably longer than most.

One of my New Year’s resolutions this year is to say yes to more (Read my New Year’s Resolution post here) so I thought I would split my bucket list up each year and try to get as much as I can done to make the mammoth, but exciting, task of completing my bucket list a lot more doable.

In a year’s time, I will come back to this post and see how much I manage to tick off!

ABERDEEN CHRISTMAS VILLAGE

From 25th November, Aberdeen saw the return of our Christmas Village, so of course, to get into the Christmas spirit myself and Blair went along to see what this year had to offer.

We started off at Jäger Haus, a wooden crafted hut, situated outside Union Square shopping centre.  Here you can treat yourself to a hot apple cider or German beer while sitting in either a heated seating area or in one of their wooden huts cuddled up in a blanket. It had a warm, inviting atmosphere.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

Around this time of year, we all begin to start thinking about what we are going to do differently in the year ahead. For 2017, I have thought of a few things I am aiming to do to make the year a good one and I’ve decided to share them with you.

GET BACK INTO MY FITNESS

By this, I mean both completing in regular exercise again as I have recently fallen off the bandwagon and also eating healthier. This year, I started Kayla Itsine’s workout guide and was the fittest I have ever been. I then went on holiday and found it very tough to get back into the swing of things when I came home. Through eating healthier and starting the workout programme again, I aim to get back to that level of fitness. I still want to have fun though, I am allowed treats.

PRINCESS FOR THE DAY | A Day at Drum Castle

The other week, before my friend Willum jet set off to London and Edinburgh for his new job, the two of us decided it would be nice to spend a day together at Drum Castle.

Drum Castle is situated in Drumoak, Aberdeenshire which is about 10 miles out of Aberdeen city. For over 650 years, this castle was occupied by the Irvine family after it was granted to them by King Robert the Bruce.

May Favourites

How can it be the end of May already? 2016 is passing too quickly. Saying that though, there is nothing I enjoy more than reading what everyone’s favourites are for the month.

I don’t have many favourites this month as I haven’t mixed up my routine too much but I do have a few beauty and hair products I have been loving, with some random products thrown in too.

MAKE UP

Makeup Revolution Affirmation Eyeshadow Palette £8. This little gem is such a bargain. It has a mix of shimmers and mattes in neutral colours which is perfect for that every day look, especially with their staying power. The colours are also build-able which means you can create a more striking look if that is what you are after. I will definitely be going back to Superdrug to pick up some more Make Up Revolution palettes.

MAC Lipstick – Stone £15.50. If you are after a matte lipstick in a dark brown/grey colour then this is perfect. I really like this brown lipstick trend at the moment and have so many shades but this is my favourite. I find it very easy to apply, even without lipliner. This is a pretty dark shade, which I love, but for a more natural look I will also apply a layer of concealer under this to lighten the colour so it is wearable any time of the day or when I’m feeling less brave.

NYX Liquid Suede Cream Lipstick – Soft-spoken £6.50. If I had to choose one favourite for the whole month, this would be it. It is a dark pinky-nude shade and it is gorgeous. If you are after a great ‘your lips but better’ shade then snap this up. It is incredibly creamy, easy to apply and lasts a long time. Mine lasted through a barbecue and a lot of alcohol.

HAIR

Invisibobble Hair Bands £3.75 for three. These have been my saviour recently. I have to have my hair tied up for 9 hours a day at work so whenever I had plans, I would always have silly kinks that were near impossible to get rid of with my straighteners. This was also very time consuming. But with these, all I have to do is pull them out, brush my hair and I’m good to go. No annoying kinks, what’s better than that?

Tangle Teezer £10.99. Ever since I started highlighting my hair, it has been unmanageable to the point where I can’t get a brush through my hair so when I discovered the Tangle Teezer brush I was surprised at how much difference it made. Ever though I’ve used my Tangle Teezer for over a year now, I haven’t mentioned it yet and it definitely deserves some recognition. I don’t know what I would do without it.

Batiste Dry Shampoo – Tropical  £4.99. I used to wash my hair every day and I felt it was necessary as my hair gets greasy very quickly. I had tried dry shampoo in the past but never really felt like it was working for my hair. In the past, I had also tried Batiste in the original scent, however I always thought it left my hair looking white and the smell was too much for me. I decided to give Batiste another go but opted for the Tropical flavour this time. I love it! I’ve gone through so many cans now. The smell is subtle so you aren’t left feeling choked up and my hair doesn’t become coated in a white film. Using this, I’ve now gone from washing my hair every day to about every three days which I thought was impossible for me.

RANDOM

Walkers Thai Sweet Chilli Sensations. I am and will always be a chocolate lover but these are my downfall. I can eat a whole share bag to myself in one sitting. I’m addicted. They are quite spicy, so if you don’t like spicy food I’d give these a miss. If you don’t like sweet chilli, don’t be put off. I dislike sweet chilli sauce but my goodness, sweet chilli crisps are amazing. I might just nip to the shops and buy a packet now…

Pure Gym Membership £19.99 a month.  This has been one of my better spends this year. I’ve always loved keeping myself fit and now I can do so with a whole range of equipment I had no access to before. Pure Gyms are open 24/7 which is perfect for my job and the membership is much cheaper than competitors.

Well there we go. Here’s to June!

Thanks for reading,

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