365 Blog Topic Ideas by Dana Fox

As a blogger sometimes it can be difficult to always be creative and think of new and innovative blog post ideas. Sometimes this can leave you feeling uninspired about your blog which is something I know a lot of bloggers hate. Your blog is yours, it's something you have made and therefore want to keep going (hopefully). I'm pretty sure all bloggers go through this feeling at some point or other, hence why this wonderful book by Dana Fox comes in super handy. Dana Fox writes her own blog, Wonder Forest, which I have actually been reading for a long time now. If you haven't checked her blog out already then I would definitely recommend doing so.

This book is such a simple concept but on the other hand is such an amazing idea. There are 365 ideas over 365 pages, simple. An idea per page which is such a simple idea but so great. There is no other writing included just a wide range of ideas which can be adapted to your own style or add in your own niche. This book is aimed at lifestyle bloggers initially but I definitely think all bloggers would benefit from this book in one way or another. Like I said many of the ideas can be twisted to put your own stamp on things therefore could be aimed at all bloggers.

You can see from my photographs a few of the ideas included within this book and obviously they are literally only a few. There are so many other great ideas which you can instantly get inspiration from. If you're lacking motivation or inspiration then I 100% recommend this book, it will honestly give you such an insight into the various blog posts you can write.

Overall I'm so pleased I purchased this book as it's already given me ideas of posts just from the first couple of pages. Also from those pages I've linked to other new posts I can write therefore giving me even more ideas for my blog posts. Hopefully in the near future you will see some of the ideas from this book on my blog! There are definitely some in progress already, wink wink. You can buy this book from Amazon here for £10.80. Which I think is such a bargain considering what you're getting out of the book as a blogger. Let me know if you've purchased this book and your thoughts :-)

Rimmel Lasting Finish Foundation

C'mon Rimmel... 25 hour wear foundation? Firstly who on earth wears their make up for over 25 hours? The answer is not me! I picked this foundation up quite a while back and was drawn to it's claim of having full coverage. There aren't too many high street foundations which are full coverage so when I heard about this one I definitely wanted to give it a go.

It's kind of obvious but this foundation is a very thick consistency with it being full coverage and all. Although when applied onto my skin it doesn't feel all that thick, yes you can tell you are wearing make up but it's definitely not too heavy. This foundation does have SPF 20 which is perfect for the upcoming summer months if you need to wear something with a full coverage all year round, you're covered. The lasting power, however silly the 25 hour claim is, is actually very good. I have an oily t zone and this foundation really packs a punch when I start to get oily. It definitely stays in place a lot longer than many of my other foundations. I assumed this foundation would be fully matte but it's actually not, I would say around semi-matte. I still use a powder when using this foundation just to set it all in place and also get rid of some slight shine.

Onto the coverage of this foundation, well it is pretty darn full like it claims to be. I suffer with spots/blemishes therefore having something that helps cover those is always up my street. This foundation doesn't fault that, it definitely covers. If I'm feeling confident then I don't think I would bother with concealer on the rest of my face. But if I'm honest then I would probably still use it just to ensure that it stays in place. As we spot prone skin guys know then make up tends to slip off those bad boys so I like the completely cover to try and keep it in place for slightly longer. I have been using my Real Techniques Sponge to apply this product which does help if you're like me and do have slightly drier skin. Although saying that I don't find this foundation to be great for my dry patches, therefore if you have dry skin you may want to stay away. I find it clings badly and patchy on my dry patches however well it may cover it just doesn't look that great.

Overall this is a good foundation although it just doesn't work so well on my dry patches which I am slightly disappointed about. But I am pleased with the results on my oily t zone, it's just a shame this foundation doesn't work on both skin types. Although I kind of feel like I should have known a full coverage foundation would not work as well on dry skin. Therefore if you're looking for a full coverage foundation then I would definitely check out this offering from Rimmel. Let me know your favourite full coverage foundations below :-)

Currently Lusting: Asos

Olivia Burton Watch

Gingham Shirt

Floral Lace Shorts

Eye Choker Necklace

Snake Print Ballet Shoes

Cami Top

 

Seriously why do Asos get me every time? They seem to always have something (normally more than one) that catches my eye and seems to make me feel that I need it, when I probably actually don't. Everything included in this wish list, for one reason or another, I feel that I need it. Also, why is it when something is out of stock in your size that you need it even more?! It's super annoying and I feel needy that I keep checking back on the website, hoping and praying that it's back in stock. Surprisingly half the time, it's not. I do find that when things go out of stock on Asos that it does take a long time to come back into stock, maybe that's just me or the items I'm waiting for.

 

I love pretty much everything about Asos, the quality, website, endless styles and the saved items section. I've rambled about Asos many a time before on my blog so I won't go into it again. If you are a newbie to Asos then I definitely recommend checking it out, I can assure you you will probably, definitely find something you will love. Not only do they have their own branded stuff but they also sell a lot of other brands too which I like. As you can tell by the Olivia Burton watch which I only found around an hour ago and is exactly what I've been looking for. I'm just not sure right now is the perfect time for me to be spending that much money however tempting it may be.

 

Be sure to check out Asos if you haven't before although I'm pretty sure all you reading this definitely will of. Share your personal favourites below in the comments for me to check out :-)





Porridge Oat Cookies Recipe

With summer coming it's a time when all those diets and healthy eating starts in order to obtain the "summer body". I can say that although I may not be aiming for this, I have been trying to eat a lot healthier recently. This basically means cutting out the crap, although still treating myself on occasions, and just watching what I eat. I have an app on my phone which I use daily (a post on this will be coming soon, watch this space) which helps me track my eating. With all of this in mind I went hunting for healthy baking recipes which consisted of porridge oats. This is because currently in my house we have two huge bag fulls which need to be used up hence this recipe. I actually found it online but I wanted to share it with you guys as they really are delicious!

You will need:

75g (3 oz) self raising flour

75g (3 oz) porridge oats

75g (3 oz) sugar

75g (3 oz) butter

1 tablespoon golden syrup

1 tablespoon milk

 

First things first you need to turn your oven on to 180C/Gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with some greaseproof paper so there's no sticking.

Then sift the flour into a bowl and mix in both the porridge oats and sugar.



Once you've mixed this you need to melt together the butter, syrup and milk in a saucepan until it's all melted and heated.

You then add this to the dry ingredients and mix them all together until they are combined.

Next you need to spoon the mixture onto a baking tray, placing them quite far apart as they do expand quite a lot.

They are then ready to put into the oven for around 12 minutes but this can depend on your oven. You basically want to cook them until they are golden brown.

When they are finished, leave them for 5 minutes to cool before removing from the tray.

You can then eat!

 

This is such a simple recipe and makes around 8-10 cookies. I absolutely love the taste of these and could easily eat 3 in a row! They are perfect as snacks and a healthier alternative to many other snack items. Let me know if you try out this recipe and whether or not you enjoy them! Happy baking :-)

The Mindfulness Colouring Book

I've seen a few of these books floating around the blogging world recently and I was really intrigued. I instantly headed to Amazon to have a look and there were so many different colouring books for adults. I never knew, before seeing them pop up, how many different ones there are out there let alone that they even existed. As soon as I saw these I knew I wanted to get my hands on one and I wanted one which consisted of many different patterns so it wasn't the same throughout.

After spending ages looking through the pages I settled for this one called 'The Mindfulness Colouring Book' which claims it's 'anti-stress art therapy for busy people'. This sounded great for me, I really do like to wind down in the evenings and occasionally at the weekends. I would normally read a book, which I do still do, but I thought this would be a great alternative for when I maybe don't feel like reading.

This book offers so many different patterns from abstract, Aztec, floral and animals, there really is something for everyone in this book which is what I love. I also love the size of the book as it's not too big therefore keeping the patterns on a smaller scale, meaning I might actually complete one. When I picked up this book I also purchased the Berol fine coloured pens to complete the book. I really like the fine ones as they make it easy to get into the smaller parts of the patterns more precisely. You get a wide range of colours and all the ones you would need pretty much to complete the book however you wish too.

Honestly I am in love with this book since purchasing it and really enjoy having some chilled time. I was pretty arty and creative in high school through to sixth form so it's nice to get that back in a small way now as I don't do anything like that anymore really. You can purchase this book from Amazon here and the pens also from Amazon here. This book is priced at only £3.99 currently which is such a bargain and worth trying out. If you like chilling, de-stressing and having some down time then I would 100% recommend this. But if this one is not for you then there really are so many others out there, you will definitely find one to suit you! Have you tried one of these grown up colouring books? What are your thoughts? :-)