MY THOUGHTS ON 'THAT ARTICLE'

So unless you've been living under a rock lately (and I must say, I envy you a little if you have!), you'll be aware of this article that Cosmo published, which is an interview with blogger, Sarah Ashcroft. Titled ' How Sarah Ashcroft turned her Instagram Account into a Money-Making Business', you'd be forgiven it's going to be packed full of tips and helpful advice on how you can potentially do the same should you so wish. This wasn't quite the case. It's linked if you want to read it, but if it's a little TLDR for you, I thought I'd pick out a few of what I think are some of the most wonderfully inspiring quotes and share my thoughts.

PSA: It's cringey to post outfit pictures at your own home wearing *shudder* High Street clothes. Good start here, I mean just last week I posted a photo on instagram page in a dress I got from Missguided for £6, I can't believe I didn't realise how cringey I was being. Thank you SO much Sarah for showing me the light.

In case you're thinking, 'I really do like this Primark dress and I feel great in it, I'm gonna share a blog post on it, because people might be interested in seeing this fab bargain I found', do consider that Sarah just has a knack of making something look expensive. There's a good chance you weren't born with that gene. It's scientific term is 'narcissism' and unfortunately, not all of us are blessed with it like Sarah is.

If you're on a budget right now, it's probably not a good idea to follow Sarah. because if she wears something, you will go and buy it, it's the weirdest thing, it's like an out of body experience. So, if you're saving for a house, a wedding, a holiday or you've got kids and you can't afford to waste any spare money, it's really dangerous to follow Sarah, please don't fall victim like so many already have.

Isn't it refreshed when someone is just so completely honest? This one actually goes for a lot of jobs, if you're an incredible singer and a natural at learning new instruments, it's probably best you still don't bother because there's not really any space for new music these days. It takes a really bold and real person to speak up and say 'Hey look, I've had all this success, but you know what? You probably can't do the same'. Hashtag real talk, hashtag just sayin.

Sarah Ashcroft, inventor of the bright white background, founder of sea views and light coloured furniture. If you use white bedding as a backdrop or like to take photos while you're on holiday, do be aware that you are completely copying Sarah and you're literally not gonna get anywhere.

Just as well, you conceited, self absorbed, sorry example of what the blogging community is all about.

Obviously, all points in this post (except the one above which I lovingly and whole-heartedly mean), are sarcastic. I honestly thought I was being punk'd reading this drivel. If you felt at all disheartened by Sarah's ridiculous Cosmo article, please remember that anyone can do anything, the blogging community is huge and diverse and that's what makes it great, whether you've got 10 followers or 10 thousand, if you enjoy doing what you're doing, then trash like this means absolutely nothing. Cosmo, you've f*cked it again.

HOW TO STAY CHILLED WHEN PLANNING A WEDDING

Hi lovelies! It feels like it's been forever! As those of you who follow me on  twitter or instagram will know, I've recently moved house so what with that and planning our wedding, my poor little blog has taken a bit of a back-seat lately! With that in mind though, I wanted to come back with a wedding themed blog post! Our big day is creeping up so fast and I wanted to get a few more posts

Make a plan as early as possible and get the big stuff done ASAP.
For me, the most important things were the venue, the dress, the bridesmaids, the photographer, the caterer, the flowers and the registrar. I got 6/7 of these done within the first 5 months of planning. We had the venue booked a year in advance, I chose the dress 11 months in advance, the bridesmaids were asked 13 months in advance and their dresses were bought 8 months in advance. The photographer was chosen around 10 months before and booked at the same time. The caterer, accommodation and DJ all came with the venue which was super easy and we made sure booking the registrar was the first thing we did after booking the venue. The flowers I left a little later but 6/7 ain't bad! We've now go around 2 and a half months to go and we're both really quite cam about how it's all going so far. Booking these bigger things before meant we had time to focus on the small details that will make our day truly ours.

Keep the Wedding Party simple.
By this I don't mean do an 'eeny, meeny, miny, mo' between your girlfriends to pick just the one Bridemaid, but instead, pick those who will help you keep things simple. Darren had two best men and I have six Bridemaids, so we weren't about keeping our numbers down in that sense, but instead, we picked people who we knew would be easy going and fun. To put it bluntly, if your old friend from school is a bit of a nightmare, don't pick her as Maid of Honour. While it can be difficult leaving people out, it is your day and you shouldn't feel pressured to have anybody in it that will take over or just be a general pain in the butt! My girls have been ridiculously helpful, but only when asked or required, no one's stepped on my toes or tried to make it about them and it's made my life so much easier!

Get the invites out and RSVPs back early.
We sent our invites back in January for our wedding this August and set the RSVP 'deadline' (loosely) for the end of March, along with menu selections, which meant we had a pretty much final list of everyone that was coming and what they were eating fairly early on. So now, with around two and half months to go, we're totally clear on who is and isn't coming and what to tell our caterer. Things like this are a big deal, so giving yourself plenty of time to sort this out and giving your guests plent of notice will save a lot of stress on the run up to your big day. Side note, it's also important to keep your invites as clear as possible, you definitely don't want dozens of 'so, where is your venue?' texts to respond to!

Have a budget and stick to it.
Cannot. Stress. Enough. This was probably one of the first things we though of when we started planning. It's a boring one and thinking about the money side of weddings is a bit daunting, but if you know where you stand with it in the beginning and keep to your budget. If you save on one aspect, you can perhaps spend more on another, but for me at least, keeping to our budget has been a big deal. Planning a wedding is a lot of fun and worrying about money would put a huge dampener on it for me. Whether your budget is very modest or super lavish, keeping to it will prevent any nasty surprises.

Don't be swayed by others opinions and don't get competitive.
It can be easy to compare your day to others, or get caught up in people telling you about this amazing thing at this incredible wedding they went to. It's important to remember that it's your day with the person you love and everything you do should be about the two of you and certainly not to compete with anyone else. Odds are,there'll be things at your amazing wedding that people will tell their friends about afterwards, so don't worry too much if your colleague's sister's best friend had an ice sculpture of her and her other half (not a genuine example might I add), your little touches are what makes your day your own, sometimes it's not the worst idea to step away from Pinterest and think about  you and your husband or wife to be and what suits the two of you.

Try not to let the Wedding take over your life!
It's so exciting planning a Wedding, but running up to ours, we've made sure not to make every day/ week/ month all about the wedding. Sure, we talk about it a lot, people regularly ask about it, but if I'd spent every second of this year leading up to the Wedding stressing about it, I feel as though the day will feel more like end game than the start of something even more exciting than the day itself! When it comes down to it, a Wedding is simply a celebration with all your favourite people of the beginning of the rest of your lives together, treating it like the last hurdle for me completely contradicts the meaning of the entire process. So, my best advice to Brides to be is to enjoy the planning, cherish every second, but don't lose sight of the reason you're getting married in the first place. The day itself is truly just the beginning and you'll have so much more to look forward to afterwards. Embrace it, enjoy it and have fun!

MAIN RULES OF THE FIRST CALL FOR ONLINE DATING

Main Rules of the First Phone Call for Online Dating

Do you actively exchange e-mails with one of your candidates? Would you like to go further? How can you understand when the right moment for the first phone call comes? Who should call first? What should you look at during the first telephone conversation?

The received e-mails tell you that you have an interesting and fascinating companion and you would not mind getting to know her better. There comes a time when it becomes important for you to hear the voice of this person. You are curious to know whether you will be comfortable and interested in a telephone conversation, as in those e-mails.

The moment has come.

There are no strict rules about how long it takes betweenexchanging the first messages and the first telephone call. Different couples deal with this question in different ways: some exchange telephone numbers in a couple of days, and other people exchange them in a couple of weeks.

A golden rule is a sense of comfort in a relationship. If you do not feel the need to go beyond the usual correspondence, then continue exchanging messages. If you like your partner by correspondence and you do not mind going further, you can offerher to exchange the phone numbers.

Who should call first?

More recently, the options for answering this question were as follows: a) man, b) no one. The classical idea of ​​the proactive man and the woman in anticipation is gradually changing in the modern world. The lady is free to choose and start communicating with the anyone she likes.

The first step by the man, however, is considered a sign of a good manner. If you are not sure whether the girl is ready for the first call, you can give her your phone number and ask her to call you. Use your chance to measure progress and development of the relationship.

Some rules of the first phone call.

Do you worry before the first call? Are you afraid of awkward pauses? These simple tips will help you make the conversation as comfortable and useful for you.

Do your palms sweat and the voice tremble at the first telephone conversation when you are very worried? This is more a sign that you have some feelings for your partner by correspondence. Do not be afraid that she will feel your emotions. She will be quite flattered.

If you want to calm down a strong excitement and avoid awkward pauses in the first phone conversation, you should prepare a list of topics or questions that you would like to discuss with the partner. At the same time, your letters can help you. Do not be surprised if, at the end of the conversation, you notice that you have not looked at this list at least once. It happens that you have the feeling that you are talking with a long-familiar person.

Do not delay the first phone call and pay attention to the fact that both of you should be involved in the conversation. Sometimespeople do not allow expressing themselves with excitement.

It does not matter what you are talking about, the main thing is that you have a complete impression of each other. Have you imagined your Internet-friend like this? Have you learnt something new? Is she as cute as in letters?

The first phone call does not necessarily end with an appointment. Before you decide whether you want to meet this person or not,take a break and agree on the second call. Listen to yourself: with what feeling do you expect the second call?

The first and the last phone call.

After the first phone call, it may become clear that despite the interesting letters, a person does not suit you. Do not worry, because the first phone call is intended to help you understand if you want to continue communicating with each other. Thanks to our friends from Contactbrides.com for providing this article.