InstaLately #11

Hey Guys!!

This week was a work, shopping and food filled week!! We went out for food for our Anniversary at the beginning of the week to the Harvester, you can see my post here, I did a bit of shopping in Primark and bought some new things which you can see here. As you can see in some of the pics you can see my Instagram game has gone up a level :) you can follow me here if you'd like to see what I get up to!!

Snapchat - I have really been loving Snapchat, I'm always updating my story, I haven't done video snapchat stories yet, I'm thinking about it though and easing myself back into the Youtube game. Follow me if you'd like!!

Blogging - I have been enjoying it so much lately, I seem to go on a little break and then have loads of ideas and things to blog about. I've actually got a proper editorial calendar now to!! 

Music - I have been listening to a lot of movie soundtracks the past few days, especially the Moulin Rouge and Fifty Shades of Grey ones. The Moulin Rouge one some of the songs make me want to go on Strictly Come Dancing, they need to open it up to non-celebrities!!

That's been my week!! This week I think is going to be quite chilled but we shall see!!

What Have You Been Up To?

Hope you enjoy todays post!!

See You Soon!!

Primark Haul

Hey Guys!!

I feel like all I do lately is shop, anyone else feel like that? I find Primark has been so good with clothes that I am finding so many new things to try!! I am also going to be starting the Gym so needed some stuff to wear that was appropriate.

Shall we dive in?

As I said above I am going to be going to the Gym to get fit and just generally be more healthy, so needed some proper Gym wear. I picked up a proper Sports top which also acts as a sports bra, I picked it up in grey with green trimming as I thought grey looked better for me. Also I got this in a size smaller than I normally would as I have to keep the 'girls' in somehow!! I also picked up gym leggings, they feel and look, wet look but fit perfectly and look really good on. I then also picked up a white vest top to wear on top of the sports bra for now, until I feel comfortable not wearing it. As you can see in the picture above, these were £4, £4 and £7.

  Next I picked up this denim shirt for £10. I have been looking for a decent looking shirt for ages and one that I liked the look of. This was perfect as it looks distressed and its not to dark. I liked the fact with this one that if you want to do it up, its poppers rather than buttons. I got this in a size 8 and it's still quite oversized.

Now I actually already own a jacket like this, but it is bright pink, as much as I love it I did want a generic coloured one. I didn't see this at first, it wasn't until I was towards the back of the store that I seen it. I like the colour of this as it will go with anything and I do prefer darker colours in my jackets than light ones. It is very light and will only hold up in a shower of rain rather than a downpour, the great thing as well is you can fold it up and put it in your bag. This was £9 and in a size small.

I know, it's Summer, why would I be buying a scarf you say? Well I was looking for one of these for god knows how long last year and couldn't find one. Then I found this one upstairs, although I did find it strange that they are selling scarves in Summer. This will be perfect for Autumn and going into Winter, this was £5.

I then picked up these aztec printed trainer socks as I don't actually own trainer socks and a pair of black leggings. You can't go wrong with a pair of black leggings as they are great to lounge around in. The leggings were £3 and the socks were £2.50.

Then of course me being me, couldn't leave without at least 2 pairs of shoes!! My name is Vikki and I am a shoeaohlic!! I already have a pair of the grey sandles but they are too big so seen they had a size 4 so picked them up. The material is suede and they come across your foot in an X shape to do up, these were £6. The ankle boots are a bit different to what I would normally wear as they are brown and not black, and have a bit of colour on them. I got these because I have the idea of pairing them with the leggings, denim shirt and a white top, also because they are different. These are a size 4 and were £15.

We also popped into B&M and I must say I love their homeware stuff, it's so cute and pretty. I picked up this little letter rack for £4.99 and it will be so much easier keeping each others mail separate. I also picked up these heart shape bowls, which were £1.99 each. These are just perfect for snacks, cereal and also for Instagram pictures ha ha.

That concludes what I bought on this shopping trip, I'm sure there will be more in the future.

Is there anything in particular you have been buying lately?

See You Soon!! 

Planet Vikki Recommends.....Harvester

Hey Guys!!

As you know it was our 2nd Anniversary on Monday and last year we had a big family BBQ so this year we wanted to do something just the two of us. We wasn't sure if we were going to go anywhere as I wasn't feeling to well in the morning.

I was fine though and we ended up going out for dinner and to the cinema to watch Spy. We were going to go to Cardiff Bay but decided to stay local and try somewhere that I'd never been to, Llewellyn has been there before but not for a long time.

We decided on the Harvester in Newport Retail Park as it is situated right by the cinema, which is handy if you are going for food before or after the film. It's not a huge building but it is a nice size, I love the inside as it feels quite home-y and has a really great atmosphere. If it is sunny you can also sit outside but it rained a little so we couldn't do that.

I didn't take photos of the menu or interior as it was quite busy and I didn't have a camera on me just my phone. You can see here what is on the menu though.

It took me a while what to have for food as I didn't know what to eat and when I decided our Waiter, Tom, was such a help.

As you can see I went for Chargrilled Chicken with Rice, Peas & Chilli, Ginger & Spring Onion sauce. The sauce was Toms' recommendation and I'm glad he did as it was gorgeous, I'm not one for trying new things I can be quite fussy but it was delicious. The whole meal was gorgeous, the chicken was just right, it wasn't to hard or chewy and I love rice and peas together. It was that nice I literally ate it all and I never usually eat all my food.

Of course we also had Cheesy Garlic Bread, I love it, especially with cheese.

Overall it is a gorgeous little restaurant and for what we had it wasn't badly priced either. I will definitely go again whether it be for breakfast or lunch next time. I will get better pictures next time as well.

Also if you would like to see what Llewellyn has let me know in the comments below as I usually only take pictures of my food.

Do you have a local Harvester that you enjoy?

Hope you enjoy todays post!!

See You Soon!!

Our 2nd Wedding Anniversary!!

Today I thought I would share an extra special post with you as it is a very special day for us today.

2 years ago today I married my best friend and I couldn't have been happier. I know every Bride says it was the best day of their lives but it really was and I wish I could do it all over again. He is an amazing person and can't wait for what the rest of our marriage holds.

So this post is dedicated to him & here are just some of the reasons why I love him so much.

-He makes me laugh everyday, without fail

-He supports me in everything I do, even if he doesn't quite get having to take photo's of everything

-He gives the best cuddles

-He is fantastic if I am having an anxiety attack

-He is the first person I want to tell anything to

-Love how we can just be so wierd together

-How he would drop anything for his family or mine

-I love the fact he gets on with my Dad so well, to well sometimes ha ha

-He sometimes surprises me with biscuits, he's knows me so well!!

-Overall he is just a gorgeous person inside and out

Happy Anniversary to my Husband & Best Friend!!

InstaLately #10

Hey Guys!!

As I was a little late with InstaLately last week you get an extra bunch of pictures today!! I must say I have been a little snap happy on Instagram lately and I'm trying to up my game a little bit. I do want to have a bit more of a consistent theme throughout my feed but don't really want to delete pictures, any ideas what I could do? 

Reading - If you are a new reader and didn't know I wrote a post back in January about my reading goal for 2015 here. Well I was slacking a little bit but I am on my 5th book now and it is a Stephen King book, still not sure if I'm going to like it!! I don't like watching horrors so this may end up in the freezer!! You can also find me on Goodreads

Me Time - I have been making the concious decision of having a little more 'Me Time' and just relaxing. Like last night for instance I lit some candles, ran a bath, created way to many bubbles ooppss!! and relaxed. Also I had the Moulin Rouge soundtrack playing!!

Food - Who doesn't love food? I have been a bad Blogger/Instagrammer though as I have been out for food quite a few times lately and was that hungry I forgot to take a picture. I have been loving food lately whether it be cooking myself, going out for dinner or even ordering take away. Dominos on speed dial, I think so!!

How has your week been?

I hope you have enjoyed todays post!!

See You Soon!!

Anxiety & Me!

Hey Guys!!

Looking back I don't think I ever noticed really that I had anxiety at the time, now I can see that when I was crying and feeling panicked that was due to anxiety. This was back when I was 15/16 and that was when I found out I had an Underactive Thyroid. 

Fast forward to when I was 19 and that's when I actually realised I had anxiety. This was due to the fact that 3 months after I moved out with Llewellyn for the very first time our flat got broken into. It was the one day I decided to go out and I came back to the flat trashed and a lot of our stuff was gone. After that I was so panicked and crying all the time, it took me ages to be able to actually leave the flat which affected my college course at the time. If we had to go out for a meal I would have a panic attack, if we were going to the cinema I would have a panic attack and that cycle continued for a long time.

In roughly 2012, I think I can't really remember to be honest, I finally got the courage to go to the Drs about it. It helped that my friend at the time came with me for a bit of support as I didn't really tell anyone other than Llewellyn and her how I felt. It was such a relief to get a sort of weight off my shoulder and know that I can now deal with it with help rather than on my own. This was when I went on to anti-depressants.

They helped a bit for a while but I found I was able to deal with it without medication as I was having support from family and friends. We then moved and for a little bit my anxiety got worse due to a creepy, alcoholic, neighbour and again I would get panicky leaving the flat, I would also shut off all the lights and lock myself away in the bedroom. It was ridiculous how bad it was so I made the decision of going back on anti-depressants and to look for a new place to live.

So fast forward to the present day!! I am in a new place which we have been in for over a year now and is so much better. I would like to say I am 'better' now in the sense of I don't take anti-depressants anymore and haven't for a long time. I still get anxious, as it never truly goes away, which is the same for all mental health issues. I can definitely deal with it better now as I know when it is 'coming', if that's the right word to use. It only tends to flare up now if I am going to a new place as I don't know where everything is and it's worse if Llewellyn isn't with me. Also it flares up when I don't know what to expect from a situation, if that makes sense, like I get really panicky/have a panic attack if I am going to the Dentist for the first time or to see a new Dr for the first time, basically the first time for everything is always scary to me.

And that is my Anxiety story, I thought I would share, even though it is quite rambly and long, as it is a lot more common than people think, and I don't think there is enough awareness raised for any Mental Health Issue.

I hope anybody that reads this can gain some awareness from it.

If you would like to see a post on the techniques I use to help with my Anxiety and Panic Attacks, let me know in the comments below!! 

Hope you are all having a good day!!

See You Soon!!

DIY: Polaroid Display

Hey Guys!!

I was trying to think of a post to write for this week and thought why not share with you how I have decided to display my Polaroids. Then I thought why not turn it into a DIY/How To as some of you lovely readers might want some ideas of what to do with your polaroids.

I have an Instax Mini 8 and when there's occasions or holidays I have been getting patterned films to display as I have an album for my normal films. I spent ages trying to figure out how to display them and came up with this idea.

All you need for this is:

String

Little Pegs

Hooks (that won't ruin your wall)

The first thing I did was lay out my pictures to see what order I wanted to put them in and also to see how long I would need to cut the string.

Once I knew how long to cut the string I stuck the hooks to the wall and tied each end of the string to the hooks. I then did another line of string underneath this one.

I then got my glittery silver pegs and pegged up all the pictures, the string did sink a little as they are heavier than the string of course.

This is the finished display, so far, I am going to add another 3 lines of string above it and possibly going to add fairy lights around them as a frame, maybe. I am also going to add photo's in between these so there will be 10 pictures on each line, but then knowing me I will probably leave it like that.

How do you display your polaroids?

Hope you enjoyed this post!!

See You Soon!!