Thought of the day – 1st ‘Sick’ Day

Hello Creatives!

Today I write this post from my bed whilst sick as a bug with the flu!

With starting my first proper full time job comes a lot of new experiences. I love my job, I love my team and on days like this where it is physically impossible for me to work, I still can’t help but feel guilty that I’ve phoned in sick. I’ve not been sick since 2016 (don’t ask me how…) so this illness has hit me like a truck! I just feel like I’m ‘skiving’ work.

I was sent home from work early yesterday when I was coming down with this flu and under strict instructions to not log in from home, and I totally appreciate that my team care about me that much, but I honestly struggle to lay here in bed on a Wednesday without doing something productive towards my job!

Ah well, there’s a first time for everything though I guess. Fingers crossed this passes quickly because I can’t cope with sitting still for another few days!

Do any of you feel the same?

Until next time,

Lana xxx

2018 Health Kick?

Hello Creatives!

Twenty Eighteen has finally arrived and I can’t help but want to make it a reason to start new and make some changes in my life – beginning with my health. 

I go through these phases where im super unhappy with my body, so drastically change my lifestyle for a short period of time, then once im feeling better about myself again i let myself go and its a vicious cycle! I just cant seem to maintain the motivation! Anyone else feel this way?

I would love some tips and tricks about how to stay motivated. I will be starting full time work on the 22nd of this month, and im hoping that it will push me into a routine that ill be able to keep up with (really hoping that without being able to have ‘lazy days’ on weekdays, ill be able to stay focused).

I dont currently have a gym close to me, or the money to pay membership for one, so im really hoping ill be able to find a home work out program of some sort that ill be able to follow! Any suggestions?

Ive had a go at a few free apps, but so far the Nike Training Club app is my favourite! You can create a plan and it will give you different work outs to complete in order to reach your goals. Theres options to complete work outs with out without equiptment, and from beginner to advanced and low intensity to high.

I pretty much need some motivation so if anyone wants to give me a kick up the arse, go ahead! Haha!

Until next time,

Lana xxx

Beautiful Bath

Hello Creatives,

Are you ready for the next part of the travel blog post series!?

So this one will be in two parts, and the reason for this is because two main events happened over the few days that we stayed in Bristol!

We travelled down to Bristol as George had a Military Simulation Airsoft event he was attending (more about that in the second half to this post), but whilst we were down there i caught up with one of my close friends from Uni and her daughter in Bath! If you don’t know much about Bath i reckon you should have a little google as it is beautiful and filled with history.

The first time i met Sophia’s little girl was when she was only 3 weeks old! The second time i caught up with Sophia, her daughter was then 4 months old, and this time she was 8 and a half months! Time flies way too fast, and babies grow way too quickly! Although, little Tabytha is at a very fun age, and i could have just sat with her, watched her absorb the world around her and play with her for hours – she’s the happiest baby you’ll ever meet.

We went for lunch, walked around the city, and took in its beauty all whilst catching up on each others lives! Her partners mum also joined us for the day as she had never been to Bath before! She was such a lovely lady, and we all had the best girly day!

I loved every minute of this day, and i can’t wait till we get to meet up again!

Until next time (the second half of the Bristol series),

Lana xxx

I Tried Rug Punching!

Hello Creatives!

So I've heard many names (I believe latch hooking may be one?) and seen different techniques but I've given it a go with what I have, and I have found that I love Rug Punching! I've also found it's a great way to use old scraps of yarn that are too short to crochet!

So don't go getting all excited and expect some wonderful creation, I've simply spelt out LOVE on a piece of burlap/hessian and forgotten to take photos of my progress…

Or maybe I'm saving that for another post

I used a crochet hook as I am yet to purchase a rug punching tool (which looks totally cool, in a really nerdy way)

Here we go:

I did this completely free hand, as apparently I don't own pencils anymore! However I managed to get myself some and then proceeded to add some floral decoration to the outside by drawing outlines to follow!

I haven't decided if I want to fill the background in yet as I love the way it looks currently and I may end up turning it into a wall hanging or frame it!

I'll post an update once I've decided what I'll do next… or if I can't decide and need some opinions!

Rug punching seems to be growing in popularity lately, and I want to make a stool cover/topper at some point! But unfortunately my Masters Thesis deadline is fast approaching and I have some serious writing to do – I reaaaaaally don't want to!!!

Have any of you tried it before?

Until next time,
Love Lana xxx

My First Crochet Pillowcase

Hello Creatives!

On the 2nd of July it was my 22nd birthday so George and I decided to jump on a plane to Spain to spend it with my family! I really wanted to bring a gift along with me, but had been so busy that I hadn’t been able to pick anything up, so naturally I decided to crochet something! 

I started the night before we flew off, and realised I wouldn’t be able to finish my project before we had to leave, so I decided to bring it with me!

I decided to crochet a pillowcase that matched the houses ‘theme’. 

Here was my view whilst I crocheted away on the plane:

They loved it! I’ve found that I’m not the best at joining squares together. It seems to be even whilst I do it, then once I’ve joined it all together I just don’t think it looks right!

Above is my pillow case on the sofa in our Spanish home!

Any improvements I could make? I should have taken a photo of the back, but the pillow is fully removable so that the case can be washed if needed!

Love lana xxx 

Heartache

I lost my warrior. 

My grandmother was the cheekiest, purest soul. 

She left this world with me by her side at 4.05am on the 2nd of March 2017 in a very peaceful manner. 

She put up such a fight, but unfortunately, it was a battle she wasn’t going to win at the beautiful age of 86. 

In her last days I told her everything I wanted to, told her all my stories, kissed her, and hopefully made her proud with my studies as she’d always asked me to do (I got 3 grades back for my masters whilst ny her side and, without boasting, they were preeeeetty damn good by my standards). 

This last week has been tough. Sleepless nights, feeling helpless as she went through hundreds of seizures, and emotionally drained. 

She was and still is my everything.

I would like to thanks the NHS staff for everything they did for my family and myself. From blankets and pillows, to tea and toast, to even cake and coffee, they did everything possible to make the tough days slightly easier. Most of all, they respected my grans wishes and went above and beyond to help us organise a Muslim funeral (no one in my family has been through the process before, we were all clueless). 

I wasn’t ready for my Umi (as I called her) to leave me, or this world, however she left peacefully and pain free, after an adventurous 86 wonderful years of life, and that brings me peace during this hard time. 

I’ll forever hope her cheeky smile and memories will be passed down through generations to come. 

RIP Jamilah Robertson 1930-2017

P.s. I’m clueless as to how the photos will show on a computer as I have simply just uploaded them from my phone. 

Snack On Life!

In order to be able to open up on this blog, i realise the more you know about me and this blog itself, the eaiser it is to relate. So lets start with this blog. I previously posted about my struggles with finding my feet with this blog (and i guess the fact that im still figuring it all out).  You can have a read here if you fancy!

The name of this blog was originally (and still in the URL) BlueHillSpace. You’re probably wondering whyyyyyy?  Well, honestly, picking a name for a blog is super duper difficult as youre stuck with it FOREVER (kind of..). I wanted something with meaning, something that would catch on, and something that i wouldn’t regret. It originated from the street that myself and my other half lived on in Wales when we started this blog up. It was called Brynglas Road, “bryn” meaning blue, and “glas” meaning hill. Pretty straight forward right? I guess it had meaning, and will always tie this blog to its birth location, and “space” highlighting the blog as a space for creativity.

Honestly, i guess i grew out of it in a way, especially when the clothing line ‘Zero Space’ came to an end. And i changed (the header name, as the URL is unchangeable) to Snack On Life, Freshie. I thought “freshie” sounded ‘cool’ and connected the blog to university life more, urgh such a bad idea, and as you can see i got rid of that preeeeeeetty quick. I also added the tag line of ‘what do you do when everything’s new?’ quite simply because it rhymed, nothing was new, i was in a very familiar place doing the same old familiar things…

“Snack On Life!”

Snacking is probably one of my favourite things, and although the message behind the slogan “Binge on life” would have been a lot more meaningful, i like snacking, it means you can take a break and when you feel like it, snack again.

“What do you do when everything’s new?”

Only recently coming back to this blog have i found my tag line VERY fitting. I will be moving to a new city, a new university, and a new living situation (although having lived with George for the past two years, we are now in our own apartment rather than shared accommodation!). Everything will be new, even down to having my first new car!

So what DO you do when everything’s new? Well, what im going to do is blog about it! Take it all in and blog about the experience.

Are you starting something new? Let me know! I really want to engage more!

Here’s to NEW,

Love Lana xxx

 

About my blog content..

I’ve come to the realisation that blogging isn’t as easy as it seems (or at least as easy as some bloggers make it seem!)

This blog is still very new and although two years old, has very little content. My blog began as a base to advertise George and I’s upcoming T-shirt line, however although highly successful, was very time-consuming. If it weren’t for university getting in the way, you would have seen our line being sold at all the music festivals across the UK during summer 2014. As amazing as the offer was to us, creating 600 units of our product wasnt manageable in the time frame of two weeks with a busy timetable. We were gutted.

A reflection of recent events…

So i don’t really know how to begin this post.. I’ve been away from this blog for over a year now, and i feel like now is a good time to return. I’ve recently graduated from Aberystwyth University with honours, and been accepted onto a MSc (Master of Science) course at Nottingham Trent University. George and i will be moving into a little apartment together, and i guess the first stage of adult life will begin, and boy am i excited! But my time since graduation hasn’t been that easy.

InstaNatural Products!

So for the past two weeks i have been away travelling Ireland with a best friend of mine, and away from my laptop and internet – probably why i havent posted in ages!

During the time i was away, i was sent two awesome products from InstaNatural and here they are!!