Wednesday 26 September 2012

BAD BAD BLOGGER + A MASSIVE THANK YOU!

Hello!

I've been a Sh*t blogger this week, as in, I have not posted at ALL since last Thursday. That my friends, is because I've had a bit of a crazy week!
For starters, the day after I last posted was Hannah's (my twin sister) last day at home before we took her off to Uni on Saturday!
This is us on her last night, you can see just some of the stuff she was taking with her in the background of this photo! So that was all rather exciting/ emotional. I miss having her at home so so much but her Uni is lovely and it's great to know that she's having fun!
My beauty course is going really really well, we've been doing waxing this week which was terrifying.  It's a lot easier than I thought though and you get do used to seeing (and removing the hair from) ladies private parts after a short while!
And along with that I have been working non stop this week, both on beauty school stuff and actual work work as even though I am a beauty therapist in training, I have to remain in the real world and earn money too! So that brings us to today, after a few hours at work, a few arguments with my bank (LONG story) and a trip to the oh so thrilling tescos, here we are. I have missed blogging - and, while I've been MIA Chloe's Way hit 200 followers! It's not a massive milestone but I was thrilled none-the-less! So I will have a lovely giveaway for you all very very soon so look forward to that.

PS PS PS! Happy Birthday to Maria from http://simplychicxox.blogspot.co.uk/ send her some love!!

Ciao for now lovelies! xoxox

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Thursday 20 September 2012

MY FIRST TATTOO


I finally got a tattoo!! I've been wanting one for the longest time now and I was convinced I'd get one as soon as I turned 18 but I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted and I think it's definitely something you need to be sure about.
Anyway I thought I'd do a post on my experience as I've had a lot of questions from people after tweeting constantly about getting it done! So I thought I'd answer them all in one big post.

MEANING/ DECIDING
I always wanted a little tattoo, I've never wanted anything too big or crazy and I knew I wanted a quote/ word, it was just a matter of deciding what and where.
At first, I considered getting one on my wrist, just a single word, but I thought that would probably be a bad place to get my first one as it's supposed to be one of the most painful! So I thought I'd go for my upper inner/ side arm, as I wanted it to be somewhere that could be both easily seen and easily covered. The time between deciding what I wanted and making the appointment was incredibly short, I literally messaged my artist the day after I decided, and made an appointment for one weeks time and that was it. The reason I decided to get it so quickly and didn't need much time to think is because when I decided what I wanted, I just knew it was perfect.
I wanted 'this too shall pass' because when something bad/ boring/ sad is happening in my life, I tend to get really caught up in it. So I wanted something to remind me that no matter how bad something is, it will eventually be over. It also works the other way. Good times come to an end too, you might be having a fab time doing something as simple as going to a party with friends, but that party will end, that night will come to an end. So this tattoo is a reminder to cherish the good times and get through the bad.

GETTING IT DONE/ PAIN
I didn't want to go to get it done on my own so I bought my boyfriend Darren along for support, I'd definitely recommend bring someone along with you, even better if they have tattoos (Which Darren luckily does!) as they will reassure you and help to calm your nerves. I was ridiculously nervous before getting it done, but I told my artist that and he reassured me saying that it wouldn't take long and it's not a particularly painful place. How right he was!
I had two main worries, the pain - and what if I moved?! He put the stencil on and I filled out the form while it was drying. He had me stand up and have my arm straight down while he put the stencil on, which I'd definitely recommend instead of having the stencil on with your arm outstretched for tattoos like this as it ensures that the quote will go straight down rather than off to the side when your arm is down. He then sat me down and got started! He did a tiny bit to start with to make sure I could deal with the pain. As soon as he did I felt this huuuge sense of relief, it hardly hurt at all! We did the rest and in less than 2 minutes it was all done!
Of course, everyone's experience will be different and as I said, I was told this wasn't a particularly painful place, but I honestly feel like I was worried about nothing. I think getting my ears pierced hurt more than this. It's hard to compare the pain to anything, but to me it's a little like getting an injection by a doctor, then having it dragged along your skin. Sounds worse than it is, think vibrating cat scratch! I think it hit a nerve a couple times, which was a little sharp, but it was really no big deal and I really want another one now! I'd say it's more of a strange/ irritating feeling than actual pain and though mine was very quick I definitely could have gone longer. I found it so fascinating watching him do it, some people say they find it easier to not look but I literally couldn't look away!

AND NOW...
I'm following the aftercare instructions and will keep you all updated, but the area on my skin doesn't hurt at all anymore, it feels a little like after you get an injection and your arm feels a tiny bit numb/ bruised, but no big deal.

My advice to anyone that wants to get a tattoo, but is worried about the pain would be just go for it! The pain was not even close to what I was expecting, I've honestly had more painful paper cuts. As I said though, everyone's experience will be different so talk to your artist and get as much advice as you can and don't worry!

What do you think? Do you have any tattoos?
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Wednesday 19 September 2012

PRAIRIE CHARMS



Just over a week ago, I was contacted on Twitter by Prairie Charms, which is a lovely lovely little online jewellery store. I chose the 'Blog of a Cosmetics Junkie by Holly, featuring Sweet Candy Couture' pearlized heart bracelet and the 'Limes and Smiles by Ina' bracelet. The quality of these is fab, the beads feel quite heavy (but not uncomfortably!) and not at all cheap and 'kiddie'.
To give you a little bit of background, Prairie Charms has an adorable range of their own jewellery as well as a few gorgeous pieces, where they have teamed up with bloggers (like us!!) to create some beautiful bracelets.
The best part about Prairie Charms is 10% of their proceeds go to Great Ormond Street Hospital's 'Kiss It Better' Campaign. They offered me a 50% blogger discount on their jewellery and when part of the money goes to such a worthy cause there was no way I could turn it down! I think it's such a lovely charity to donate to, which is why I loved Prairie Charms so much.

I hope you love these bracelets as much as I do! If you want to check Prairie Charms out, the link is here.
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Tuesday 18 September 2012

SONGS

Autumn Leaves - Ed Sheeran
This is my favourite song right now and my favourite song of all time. I just love Ed Sheeran's music, it's so sweet and easy to listen to, what I love about this song is that I can listen to it whatever mood I'm in! (Fun fact, this is the song I start playing on mine and hannah's twin tag video on youtube!)

You - The Pretty Reckless
This is such a beautiful song, it's not really what you'd expect from TPR either, which is what I love about it. It's quite sad really, but I love the way it's sung and the music so it makes me happy anyway!

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together - Taylor Swift
I hate that I love this song! It's so cheesy and if I'm honest, I don't think it's very 'Taylor' in some ways, it feels a little  false. A bit like Call Me Maybe, it's annoying and I don't want to love it but I really, really do!

Hope you enjoyed this quick little post, thought it would be fun to do something a bit different!

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Saturday 15 September 2012

BACK TO BLACK

 top - guess
jeans - forever 21
bracelet - dorothy perkins
bag - new look
shoes - matalan
bow - matalan

This is an outfit I wore out to the pub the other night, it's really simple but I actually really like outfits like this, sometimes I get a bit scared of all black but I think it's okay to go out in the evening!
I have been a bad, bad blogger lately and the photo below will explain why.


Yep, I've gone back to school! Not really though of course, i've started a short intensive course in beauty therapy, so I will be a fully trained and qualified beautician by Christmas! Yay! I've had lots and lots of questions to answer and practicing to do so that's why I've been a little MIA lately. I'll keep you all updated on this!

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Monday 10 September 2012

Sunday 9 September 2012

RONAN


I came across this beautiful and incredibly sad song on Youtube today and as I was listening to it I just had to know more about it.
This song was written by Taylor alongside Maya Thompson, the mother of Ronan Thompson who this song is written about. 3 year old Ronan died of Neuroblastoma, a form of childhood cancer, just a few days before his 4th birthday in 2011. You can read Ronan's story here. I think people sometimes forget that children can get cancer too, but they do. It's sad and it's tragic, but it's very very real. The Ronan Thompson foundation was started to raise money for children like Ronan, so that other Mothers won't have to go through what Maya had to go through. Though I've only just heard this story myself, I have been so touched by it. I think Maya is such an incredibly inspiring woman and to have the strength to stand up and do something about this after something so tragic has happened is truly incredible.
Maya's blog http://rockstarronan.com/ is one of the most touching things I've ever come across, I've been sitting here reading it for hours tonight. The way Maya writes to Ronan on her blog is beautiful, it's made me smile, it's made me cry and most importantly, it's mad me think.
Things like this really do make me think about how short life can be. It makes me appreciate every moment, every single thing and every single person that I love in my life. So the message I want to get across here is appreciate everything, don't sweat the small things and when you're feeling down, try to think about just how lucky you really are.
This single is available on the US itunes now, you can click here to purchase it. All proceeds go to Stand Up 2 Cancer.
You can also donate to The Ronan Thompson Foundation by clicking here.
Give what you can even if all you can do is share this blog post, or this song or the website, just raising awareness is something. If you can make just one person aware of this cause, it'll be one more person than yesterday - and that can really make such a difference.
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Friday 7 September 2012

PARALYMPICS

I was lucky enough to go to the Paralympics yesterday with my Dad and sister Hannah (http://life-sparkles.blogspot.co.uk/)
It was such a great day, I saw team GB win a couple of times which is seriously the most amazing feeling! I was originally going to do a photo post, but it would've been huuuge so I made this video instead, enjoy!

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Wednesday 5 September 2012

BACK TO SCHOOL? A MESSAGE TO A 15 YEAR OLD ME.


I'm not actually going back to School or College (or not as such, more on that later) this September, which
is precisely the reason for this post. I kind of wanted to do a bit of a chatty post for you all today!
As I've been through high school and college now -which in the UK, for those who are confused, goes 11 - 16 at high school, then 16 - 18 at college or sixth form, then you can go onto Uni, which I'm not doing, but as I said, more on that later! - I thought I'd do a post just with some of my thoughts and reflections on my time at school and some advice or whatever you wanna call it!
I definitely can't really complain about my time at school, I never had a hard time with anyone or anything in particular at school, but I definitely wish I could've gone back in time and told myself a few things that I know now. So, that's what I'm going to do! I don't have a time machine, but if I did, here's what I'd say.


Dear 15 year old Chloe.

You’re about to go back to school and you’re probably stressing
about a million little things that you definitely shouldn’t be stressing about. It’s your final year at School and you’re worried about what you’re going to do with your hair, how much make up you can get away with and the fact that you really should’ve remembered to take your nail polish off by now.
You’ve got a boyfriend right now and that seems like the coolest thing ever, but it’s not. High school boyfriends rarely last and this one is no exception. But you knew that all along really, didn’t you?
Don’t worry about who you’re talking to and not talking to right now, in the long run, it doesn’t really matter, some people are shit and others aren’t and eventually, you’ll figure out the difference.
You will somehow get good grades even though you don’t revise, ever, but you probably wouldn’t stress so much if you did revise a bit. Also, get that IT work done, the extra classes really aren’t worth it.
Basically, grades are important, what you look like, who your friends are, really aren’t. Don’t give so much of a shit about what people think and keep trying hard (could try harder!) It all works out for the best it’ll just take a while!

From, You, 3 Years on.

So basically, the message I'm trying to get across is, what seems important in School really probably isn't. If all you want is to go out with boys and have as many friends as possible, remember that in the long run, that's not what will get you into College or get you a great job! Boys and friends are fun and all a huge part of growing up and you should by no means ignore your friends and never ever go on a date because you wan an A in Maths, but just be aware that it's not the end of the world if you spend the odd Saturday night revising for a test!
Another thing I want to say is that it's okay to change your mind, about anything. School, Career choices, Subject choices, boys (do NOT make that mistake!)Always said you wanted to be a Doctor, but you've now decided that Art is your passion? Go for it! Do what makes you happy, don't let anything or anyone hold you back. 
I've been stuck in a rut and been downright miserable on more than one occasion due to the fact that I don't speak up when I change my mind! In school, I studied textiles, art and german alongside my compulsary topics as I wanted to be a Fashion Designer. I then did Art at College and during college, I changed my mind. Art and design wasn't what I wanted anymore. College was very useful and I've learnt so much, but it's taken me until now to decide that I really want to get into Beauty. So I'm doing a short intensive Beauty Therapy course to be a qualified Beautician! It may not seem as ambitious and may not get me famous, but it'll make me so much happier!
I won't go into this one too much, but I also stayed with my high school boyfriend far too long because I didn't really think about myself when I realised I'd changed my mind. I thought about him, our friends, our families, but not me. I stayed a good year or more longer than I should've and I feel bad for that. Being single  during school isn't the end of the world - I may only be 18 and far from a love expert but trust me, if you're not happy in a relationship, get out. It's not fair on you or him.

I hope you all have a great time back at School if you're going, let me know what you think of my *ahem* expert advice ;)


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Sunday 2 September 2012

WIDE AWAKE



top - local store
disco pants (dupes) - tk maxx
shoes - sports direct
necklace - matalan
ring - oasap *

Another rather simple outfit today, nothing too fancy as I've just got work today, woo! Probably going to go shopping for a bit with the boyfriend afterwards, returned the new look jeans I mentioned yesterday, sob.
In other news, disco pants!! These are only a cheapy copy that I found in TK Maxx but I actually really like them, they're very very comfy and quite thick, which is great because it means I can wear them with shorter tops like this with minimum bum exposure. Thin leggings and short tops will never ever ever be a good look (sorry if you're into that, but it's the truth really).
I love love love the galaxy print on this top, full on galaxy print scares me a bit, particularly in leggings, but I think this was just the right amount for me.
The weather is being particularly bi-polar these days, I was in a jumper yesterday and vest today, if it could make up it's mind, that would be fab - I'm very much looking forward to wearing all my lovely fluffy jumpers and boots. I'll have changed my mind come November, just you wait and see!
Have a great sunday!

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Saturday 1 September 2012

DO YOU EVER WONDER IF THE STARS SHINE OUT FOR YOU?


jumper - primark
leggings - new look
shoes - red herring
necklace - primark
ring - topshop
braclets - dorothy perkins/ matalan
nails - sally hansen iced coffee

It was that lovely not too cold but not too hot weather today, the nice comfortable weather where you can wear a jumper or a summer dress and you wouldn't look insane either way. So I took this opportunity to break out one of my favourite new jumpers! I am going to wear this one to death this A/W I can tell. It was only £8 in Primark but I absolutely love the fit. It's fantastic quality for a Primarni piece too!
These are definitely my favourite kind of outfits, it's super casual and simple really, I'm just wearing a jumper, leggings and flats, but throw on some matching jewellery and ta-daaa! Love!
I've been having serious trouble finding things I like when going shopping lately, is anyone else having this problem? I went out today with the intention of buying lots of new Autumny things and only bought one thing! I got some gorgeous disco pant dupes which are fab! I did get some lovely tan coloured jeans, but they have to go back as the zip's broken on them. They were in the sale too so they were the last pair - sigh.
Hope you're having a good weekend!

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