Collaboration with Case App

This is a super exciting post to write because this is the first time I have EVER collaborated with a brand for content.

As you can tell by the title I have been working with Case App for this collab where I received a personalised iPhone case and a personalised laptop skin.

I was so pleased when Caseapp reached out to me to create and review a custom phone case and laptop skin. I recently got a Mac so this was perfect timing.

The process for this is really simple and customisation is easy. Once you are on the Caseapp website, you just select whether you want to design a laptop skin or phone case then select the model of the item then use the drag and drop tool.

Phone cases start at £19 for a glossy case or £22 for a matte case, laptop skins are also £22. For me I thought this was a little bit pricey but when the products arrived I was SO impressed by the quality. I opted for the matte phone case and it is a really tough hard plastic. You can tell the Case is sturdy and well made but also has a really nice feel to it too. I am also really impressed with the quality of the laptop sticker too. It was a thicker type of sticker which is goods it made it easier to put on.

Here are the patterns I picked for my case and skin. I have to say the phone case is my favourite of the two, I love it so much and am so impressed by it.

I absolutely love this sticker as well. The colours from the photo came out so well and have resulted in such a nice summery pattern.

If you are interested in ordering your own phone case or laptop skin, go to caseapp.co.uk and use the code FOREVERSIOBHAN20 for a nice 20% discount.

Siobhan x

*disclaimer: these products were sent to me for the purpose of reviewing but all opinions are honest and my own.

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New Years Resolutions 2018

I make new years resolutions every year, most of the time they don’t stick but it’s worth a shot right?

I made another post about this last year for my 2017 resolutions which you can read here if you’re interested. I mentioned in this post that I wanted to be able to look back on this year and be proud of things I have accomplished and I really am proud of myself. Super cringey, I know.

I think this year I’ve really grown up a lot as a person and I’m a lot more sure of myself than I was at the beginning of 2017. I’m not gonna talk crap and say how I’m a totally different person because I’m not. I’m a lot more confident and happier with myself which is a good achievement.

Find a new hobby:

I know blogging counts as a hobby but I want to do something else with my time too. I’m leaning towards starting scrap booking or photography because I think I would have a lot of fun with that and be creative with it. I’m less inclined to attempt to take up a sport or musical instrument as a hobby because I just don’t think I will enjoy it a lot.

Travel as much as possible:

I think I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post about my trips to Bali and Sri Lanka this year so that is some pretty big travel plans. There are loads of little road trips I want to do at home in the Highlands as well, so when I say travel I don’t mean it necessarily has to be across the globe. I would like to explore my own country a bit more too.

Join the gym:

I think that is the famous last words of many people coming into the new year. I’ve been determined to join the gym at my uni but I was too poor for a good few months. When I did have the money, it was December and I was about to go on a 6 week holiday from the uni so it seemed pointless to start paying for it then. I really want to find a type of exercise I really enjoy and don’t totally hate. Also want to get into a better shape by the time my holidays come around.

Save as much money as possible:

Not gonna lie I have been pretty careless with my money at uni – always spending too much on going out for food and doing far too much shopping. I’m gonna create a budget plan for myself to try and stick to and also hopefully find a job down in Glasgow too. Nobody likes being skint so I’m going to try and be a bit more sensible this year.

Read a book per month:

Towards the end of 2017 I was getting into a better habit of this by reading a little bit of one of my books every day. I have shelves full of unread books in my room and I want to start making my way through them. I think setting myself this target of one book per month will be a really helpful way of getting back into reading and enjoying it more. I feel like when you get reading that you hate at uni it really puts you off reading for fun too.

Eat my 5 a day:

I used to be really good at this and eating super healthy. However now I’m definitely not. This year I really want to take better care of myself through exercising and eating better. Having 5 different fruits/veggies a day is a good little goal to encourage myself to eat better.

So these are my new year resolutions for 2018 and I hope I can stick to them. I’ve tried to keep them quite basic and vague so they are achievable rather than have some ridiculous goal. What’s your new years resolutions? Hope you enjoyed reading this post.

Siobhan x

Time for a catch up..

Hi everyone, it has been over a month since I wrote my last blog post which is crazy considering in the summer I had finally gotten into a good habit of posting weekly-ish. Who knew I’d have more free time working two jobs than I would as a student with no job? Since I haven’t been posting much this post is basically to explain why and give a little insight on what I have been up too.

So, I have just started my 5th week in university which is crazy because now all those deadlines are starting to seem close instead of a million miles away. Overall, since starting university there isn’t any words for how much happier I am than I was before. It’s amazing seeing such a positive difference in myself, going from a job I hated to a studying a course that I love surrounded by the best people. I do hate the 9am lectures and what feels like endless hours of practising shorthand but in general I really do love it.

I thought I would struggle with moving to Glasgow since it is such a big difference from living in the Highlands but I am totally loving it. City life is so different to living in the Highlands but I’m definitely used to it.  I’m not homesick yet but that’s probably because I’ve been home twice and had my boyfriend and my parents visiting me here on separate occasions too. This weekend I was home for just under a week and it was because my Dad was getting married. How exciting is that?? It was literally the nicest ceremony surrounded by all our close family and friends which is lovely.

I’m determined to get more organised with how I spend my time because I really want to get back into blogging and start going to the gym. I really miss having proper hobbies and things I enjoy doing. I think I’m either going to make Wednesday’s or Sunday’s my blogging days as at the moment I have nothing on on those days. When I get my next SAAS payment, I’m gonna get my gym membership and force my butt to the treadmill and some metafit classes.

There isn’t a huge amount going on in my life right now, but I’m really really happy with the way everything seems to be going and that is the most important thing.

Siobhan x

 

July reflections & August Goals

Hi there everyone, welcome to a new month.

This is a weird August for me. The past few Augusts I was in school waiting on the dreaded letters from the SQA for exam results and it feels so relieving to not be dealing with that at all this year. I shouldn’t be too relieved as it is only another 5 weeks until I move away to university and then I have even more exams to deal with.

I have felt so, so drained this month – I think the constant working all day every day for the past few months has finally caught up on me and I feel ready to collapse all the time. I’m a waitress so I’m standing, running about on my feet for 10 hours every day and it is so beyond tiring. The tiredness I have been experiencing from work has affected my mood, obviously making it a lot worse than normal but I try to be as upbeat as I can.

Tiredness has also affected my productivity in terms of my goals. I failed more or less all my blogging goals. This is mainly because I don’t have enough free time at the minute to spend considerable amount of time working on my blog which is frustrating. I succeeded in a lot of small goals such as practising flat-lays, editing photos and budgeting my money better. I’m not too annoyed at myself for not completing my goals as I know how  busy and tired I am, and I really did try my best. There is no point in stressing about it right now because in just over a month I will have moved away and plan to spend plenty time working on my blog.

In last month’s post I also spent some time talking about cruelty free beauty and how I was making errors in my purchases. I have now given away all of my make up (except gifts and already opened/used products) to my mum and friends which feels good. I felt so incredibly guilty once I realised I had been buying and endorsing brands that test on animals. The most annoying thing about it was that I was making those purchases due to my own ignorance as the information is so easy to find. However, now I can look at all my make up with a clear conscience and be glad I am rid of my old make up.

A lot of my goals are going to be carried on from last month, so hopefully this month I will be working a little bit less and have some more time to focus on them.

Blogging Goals:

1. Reach 1,000 monthly page views.
2. Reach 200 blog followers.
3. Join more blogging chats on twitter.
4. Be more active on Facebook pages.
5. Continue to promote my blog more often.

Personal Goals:

1. Relax more – take baths, read books, use my colouring in book, meditate, yoga ect.
2. Eat healthier and eat my 5 a day every day.
3. Take more Polaroid photos.
4. Spend more time with my family before I move away.

Social Media Goals:

1. Schedule tweets.
2. Schedule Instagram posts.
3. Reach 900 followers on twitter.
4. 1,300 followers on Instagram.
5. 75 followers on Bloglovin.

So now you have heard the juicy info of how exciting my July was, I can’t wait for the end of being constantly exhausted. Here’s to a month of hopefully successfully meeting goals and investing more time into self care. I hope you all enjoyed reading this post and if you have any hints or tips about anything to help me meet my goals please let me know in the comments.

Siobhan x

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June Reflection & July Goals

Hi there everyone, you may or may not have noticed that last month I did not make a list of goals for June. This is mainly because I failed at competing everything I put on my list in my May Goals post. However, one month later I’m back and about 10000x more prepared and dedicated than I have been the past 4 weeks.

June has been a really lazy month for me in terms of blogging so this month’s goals are gonna be really blog focused. I’ve mentioned in previous posts that I work two jobs which results in me working about 50 hours a week, so I’m obviously not lazy in that aspect. Work is so draining as I waitress in both of my jobs so I am tired more or less all the time. Although I’m tired, grumpy and have hardly any free time I am thinking of the positives of working so much. In two months I move away to Glasgow for university and will have a decent amount saved up to support me and I will have money leftover to do some travelling with my boyfriend next summer.

One thing I realised last month was that a considerable amount of my products are not cruelty free and that I have been supporting brands that test on animals. When I first started a vegan diet I threw away all my make up that was tested on animals and over the years I have become lazy and negligent in terms of researching make-up brands. However, this is going to stop. I am going to finish the products that I have already purchased and began using but I refuse to give anymore money to brands testing on animals. The reason this has all come about is because Nars have begun to sell in China which means they are no longer a cruelty free brand. I don’t own any Nars products but I had some in an online basket ready to purchase, but didn’t once I found out they are now selling in China.  So, no more laziness from me in terms of researching cosmetic brands so if any of you have any great cruelty free brands to suggest hit me up.

I mentioned that I failed most of the goals I set in May which is a bit embarrassing but this month I am determined to complete some. This is definitely gonna involve a lot more effort going into it on my part and setting some more realistic goals. I’m gonna be setting myself goals for every part of my life.

Blogging Goals: 

1. Reach 1,000 monthly page views.
2. Reach 200 followers.
3. Practise making good flatlays.
4. Practise editing my photos to look more professional.
5. Promote my blog more on social media platforms.
6. Write a list of all my potential blog post ideas.

Personal Goals:

1. Create a better work/life balance.
2. Limit the amount of money from my wages I am allowed to spend.
3. Do yoga at least 5 times this month.
4. Go to one exercise class per week.

Social/Social Media Goals:

1. Do more activities with Finley.
2. Spend more time with friends.
3. Take more photos with friends.
4. 900 followers on Twitter.
5. 1,300 on Instagram.
6. 50 followers on Bloglovin.

So there’s the summary of how “exciting” my June was, hopefully in July I will get up to some more fun things. I really, really hope this month I won’t totally flop at all my goals although I already feel like I’ve made some far too ambitious. Also, in these photos I am repping my new notebooks from Coconut Lane and I am IN LOVE. Anything to do with Blair Waldorf is amazing. Anyway, hope you all enjoyed reading this post. I would love to hear your thoughts on anything I’ve spoken about.

Siobhan x

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May Goals

As if it’s time to write my May Goals post when it feels it was a week ago I was writing my New Years resolutions. Although now it’s actually starting to feel a bit like summer, temperatures have been reaching a tropical 12 degrees in the Highlands. Saying that, as I write this I’m looking out the window to see dark, grey skies. 

Personal Goals 

1) Race For Life 10k, I’ve already signed up for this and am super excited to take part. I am pretty unfit so I am gonna struggle with this race but all that matters is that it’s a fun day and I will be raising money for a good charity. 

2) Spend more time with friends and family. I love my own company but sometimes I think I spend too much time alone. I don’t want to feel isolated and it’s important to make the effort with the people who mean the most. 

3) Finish reading Eat, Pray, Love and read two other books. 

4) Create a solid work-out routine. I’ve gained over half a stone since coming back from Aus and now my clothes don’t fit so serious action needs to be taken. 

5 Save money. I need to save money for going to uni in September and for the travelling I want to do next year. 

Blog Goals 
1) Create a blogging schedule and stick to it. I did create one with a list of future posts up until the middle of June but I haven’t been able to stick to that as I am working two jobs at the moment. I need to get into a routine with work, then work my blog around that. 

2) Engage more on twitter and Instagram. My Instagram is not very blog related at the moment, so I need to try and fix that without making it too cringey for the time being. 

3) Reach 150 followers. At the moment I have 92 followers, so if by the end of the month I am up to 150 I will be happy. 

4) Better blog photography. At the moment all my photos are taken on my iPhone and it is soooo obvious. I have my eye on a nice wee Nikon camera at the minute so when I have a little bit more money that will be getting purchased. 

Okay, these are all my goals for this month that I will hopefully complete. I would love to know what everyone else’s monthly goals are too 😊 

Hope you all enjoyed reading, 

Siobhan x