#BEDM Day 31: My Blogging Journey

It's been 3 and a half years since I started this blog and I can't believe I have kept it up for so long. That really makes me proud. I don't really care how big this blog gets, it's just nice to have my little area to write down what I've been up to.

I have a seriously bad memory so having this blog has helped me remember all the good things that have happened to me these past few years. Like an online scrapbook. No matter what happens I want to carry this blog on for as long as I can.

I want to have adventures and new experiences and record them right here. I want to share my hopes and dreams and try and make them come true. And I want to do my best to spread a little bit of happiness that will make people smile. So if you want to come along for the ride, then you're welcome to stay. Here, have a cookie.

#BEDM Day 6: Blogger Love

It's time to share the blogger love! I've picked 4 of my favourite blogs that I love to read so without further delay here they are!

Becky Bedbug

      Becky's blog has a great mix of topics from fashion to book reviews, as well as interesting posts on mental health and blogging tips. I've found her recent posts on the election very helpful.

      Capture by Lucy

Superwoman with a camera. Lucy's blog is full of beautiful photos that I love to browse. 

Take Courage

On Take Courage, every post is a story in itself. I especially enjoyed Kat's recent travels to Japan So jealous!

The Laughing Medusa

      The Laughing Medusa is an awesome blog by Sarah. This gal takes self love seriously! I always read this for a pick me up. Simply inspiring.

      So what are your favourite blogs? Let me know in the comments - I love finding new blogs to read.

Bloggers' Market MCR 2015

This Saturday is an event I'm pretty excited about! I'm going to be selling my wardrobe along with 10 other local bloggers at The Bloggers Market Manchester. It's at Ziferblat in the Northen Quarter and is on April 11th from 11am - 2pm. 

Entry to Ziferblat costs 5p per minute and all food and refreshments are free. The market stalls will have bargains of pre-loved clothes, jewellery, accessories and books from £20 right down to £1. 

As you know, I lost 2 and a half stone over the last year so a lot of my lovely clothes no longer fit. They range from sizes 10 - 16 and are from a mix of vintage and high street retailers including ASOS, H&M, New Look, Next, Primark, Yumi, Sugarhill Boutique and Monsoon. As well as my clothes, I'm clearing a lot of accessories and also clearing out my vintage stock from my old shop I closed last year. 

Since I just want to get rid of as much as possible, I'm going to be selling at super low prices. Vintage shoes will be a fiver each and my suitcase of scarves below will probably be about £2 each. 

I read a lot and don't believe in hanging onto books - I prefer to send them back into the world so I'll be selling some of the books I've read in the last year for £1 each. Bargain!

Stop by and have a shop around, it's going to be a great day! Fingers crossed for sunshine and I hope to see you there!

Moving on up

Just a quick note to let you know that Nomad Seeks Home is going places. It's seeking more of a permanent home. I'm finally making the move from Blogspot to Wordpress. Not only that but I've now got my own domain. 

www.nomadseekshome.co.uk

Rather snazzy if I do say so myself. So while all the kinks are worked out on this side and I move all my photos to an actual storage location (I urge you to store your photos somewhere other than blogspot!) you will have to forgive the quietness. 

Rest assured Nomad Seeks Home will be back in a week or two - bright shiny and new. I didn't mean to make that rhyme. 

Wish me luck!

My Morning Routine

Ever since we moved back to Manchester, I have gotten into the habit of not cringing when the alarm goes off. For a start, it's two hours later than what it used to be in Peterborough. I will not miss that 5am beeping. The bags under my eyes are breathing a sigh of relief and are hopefully disappearing slowly but surely.

Waking up is now something I'm happy to do and I've been honing my morning routine over the last three months to give me the get up and go that I need to tackle the day. As I live so close to work I could actually get away with setting the alarm for 8, even 8.30 if I was feeling daring. This is what I used to do in London when I lived the same distance from my job. But there was something about that which was leaving me unsatisfied with the rest of the day.

Flashback to 2011 before I started this blog. I worked at New Look which was varying shifts starting from 7am to 5pm. This wreaked havoc with my body. It didn't help that I stayed up late and woke up just before I would need to leave for my shift, no matter what time it started - even 5pm. This is something I advise against as it leaves you feel like you're on the never ending treadmill of work, eat, sleep. Just horrible.

Even though I'm now on a schedule (9-5 baby) I cannot get away with that same attitude of just waking up to get ready for work and go. So from the week that I begun my new job, I started waking up at 7.30am. This gave me time to shower, have a leisurely breakfast and read some blogs for about 50 minutes before getting ready to leave for work. Nice. This combined with me making sure I'm in bed by 10.30 has been such a life changer. No feeling guilty if I happen to stay up a little later because as long as I'm asleep by midnight, I get at least 7 hours sleep.

But recently, especially since getting the kittens, I decided that I could get so much more done if I got up at 7am. That would give me an hour and 20 minutes of free time before having to go to work. Think of the things I could get done in that time. Reading about morning routines of successful people tends to be full of meditation and yoga but I think it's about finding what works for you. Maybe I could use my wii fit (after wiping the 3 years of dust off it) or schedule some blog posts or tidy the house. Do the things I'm too tired (lazy) to do when I get home.

I find that I'm the kind of person who gets most motivated when I'm unable to do what I want. Ideal isn't it? Finding myself thinking about things I could blog about while I'm at work is my worst attribute. So many yellow post-its are floating inside my bag. And then I lose my motivation by the time I put my key in my front door. So if I get up a bit earlier than I can get through all the things that I feel like doing during the day. Morning appears to be a time when I feel like getting things done - yep, I was surprised too.

So I'm going to continue this little experiment of mine and see what I can get done when I wake up early in the morning. Are you with me?

What's your morning routine?

#Bloggers Snail Mail round 2

Since I had so much fun on the last Bloggers Snail Mail round by Gemma at Lipstick and Lashes, I put myself forward for round two. Funnily enough, it saw me paired with another Rachel - this time a little bit closer to home. I bet you can't guess where she's from! She's a fairly new blogger so check out her awesome blog: Rachel Brennan Life .

So with us both being rushed off our feet, with her just having relocated and me about to myself, I don't think we did too badly with the emailing back and forth. At least we both knew what the other was going through!

At the end of the month or so of emailing, you have to send your partner a present. Hope you liked yours Rachel! She sent me a package full of Irish treats that was very well received. Topher couldn't wait for me to open the lollypops. And the bear has been named Clive. Now any ideas where I should pin this friendship pin? Thanks Rachel for being an awesome partner and I loved the gifts!

If you want to participate, Gemma at Lipstick and Lashes does a few of these Bloggers Snail Mails during the year so check out her blog. I definitely recommend it!

Liebster Award

I’ve been nominated for the Liebster Award by the awesome Georgina from Caramel Latte Kiss.

The Rules Are:

1. Post 11 facts about you.

2. Answer the 11 questions from the blogger who nominated you.

3. Nominate 11 blogs with fewer than 200 followers. I’ve gone by followers on BlogLovin’

3. Link your nominees to this post.

4. Create 11 questions for your nominees.

5. Let your nominees know that they have been tagged.

11 Facts about me

1. I’m addicted to writing lists. So this post has been pretty damn fun to do!
2. I’ve lived in 23 homes in 26 years.
3. I have a massive weakness for baked goods. Keep me out of the bakery aisle in Asda!
4. Board games are my idea of a good time.
5. Not a big drinker of alcohol, I enjoy drinking but don’t do so very often and going out and getting pissed every weekend doesn’t appeal to me. Apparently that’s not normal. I’m fine with that.
6. I adore the cinema but never get to go too often. One day I’ll have one of those monthly passes.
7. Disney World is my chosen place of worship.
8. If I could steal any celebrity’s wardrobe it would be Zooey Deschanel’s.
9. Apparently I get bored if I don’t have a million projects on the go at once. There just aren’t enough hours in the day!
10. I seriously need some cats in my life. Next year will be the year.
11. One of my dream holidays is to take a month out and drive across the USA.

Georgina's Questions

1. What made you start blogging?
I was in an immensely boring job and I needed a creative outlet. Simples.
2. Tea or coffee?
Both – depends on my mood.
3. Who’s your hero?
I have many heros in many different forms.
4. What’s your signature dish?
Kedgeree – so tasty!
5. If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I’ve wanted to visit Japan for years and years. One day.
6. What are your favourite blog posts to write?
I love writing about days out and picking out the photos
7. What are your favourite blog posts to read?
Again, depends what mood I’m in. I’m quite a visual person anyway so anything with pretty pictures is a winner with me.
8. Are you ‘out’ as a blogger in your ‘real life’?
Not to everyone I know, just close friends. People generally don’t really get the whole concept I’ve found.
9. Do you know any bloggers in real life?
I’ve met a few at Blognix and an event or two. Lovely people.
10. What blogger haven’t you met that you’d like to?
Probably Kat fromRock n Roll Bride – that’s one cool lady!
11. Who’s your favourite blogger and why?
Kate Gabrielle from Scathingly Brilliant. I love her fun outfits, adorable cats and her pastel life. 

My Questions

1. What’s number 1 on your bucket list?
2. Why did you start blogging?
3. What’s the most beautiful location you’ve ever found yourself in?
4. Who dropped the screw in the tuna? If you can’t answer this then you’re not around my age, ha ha.
5. What is your perfect snack?
6. Sweet or savory?
7. What is your dream job?
8. Celebrity crush?
9. Vintage or new clothes?
10. What is your favourite book?
11. Have you been to any blogger events?

Nominations

Hello the Mushroom

Life’s a cup oftea

Boobellina

Rubee

The ProseccoDiaries

Vintage Frills

Alley Hope

Wishing for Chanel

Alexianatouillia

Somewhere beyond the sea

Chiaki Creates

Twenty-Six Photography

Though I don't tend to shout about it or show it too much on this blog, photography is a huge passion of mine. A passion I want to make more time for in my life. Though I love this blog, I don't feel like I give myself enough opportunities to show this side of myself. So I decided a few months ago that I would set up a new blog.

Twenty-six Photography was named for myself. It's my birthday, my favourite number and happens to be the house number my grandma has lived at for the past 50 or so years. It will be the place where I can purely showcase my photography on all the subjects I'm interested in. Travel, food, people and life. 

When choosing a platform, I wanted to go in a completely different direction to Nomad Seeks Home so I chose Wordpress. It was quite a challenge to get my head around (and still is) but I persevered and ended up with the site that you see today. I'm proud to say I did everything. I tweaked the html which is a skill I did not have prior to this adventure and I came out the other side to finally launch at the beginning of this month. 

Come take a look and let me know what you think! Any criticism is appreciated. 

Top picks #8

1. Bag, $29.99 – Modcloth

2. Jumper, £48 – Sugarhill boutique

3. Necklace, $29.99 – Modcloth

4. Dress, £45 – Joy

5. Shoes, £45 – Topshop

6. Wedges, $129.99 – Modcloth

7. Earrings, £8 – Onetenzeroseven @ Etsy

Quite a few things from Modcloth this time but I think they all warrant a mention. I can't decide what I'm more in love with. The hexagon map necklace or the cat bag. I'm always a fan of a map print and this necklace just fulfils my summer necklace needs, if such a thing exists. And anything with cats is a winner with me. It's cute and subtle which I like - not so in your face. 

The yellow dress fits quite nicely into my USA road trip fantasy where I'm taking photos in the dessert of cacti. I do realise that this wouldn't be the most practical of outfits but let me dream - maybe I can wear it at some kitsch road side attraction...or at Disney World, it fits in with both scenarios. 

These watermelon earrings from Onetenzeroseven just scream summer. Really craving some watermelon right now. Sophie, who runs the shop is a fellow blogger and has an amazing range of jewellery that you should seriously check out.  Plus my stationary senses are buzzing - she's just unveiled a new collection!

Now I know it's not quite autumn yet but these wedges seriously need to get in my wardrobe. Have you noticed the autumn clothing starting to come through yet? I've noticed. It's sneaking in bit by bit and before you know it, you'll be wrapped up in your winter coat again. Scary stuff. Another autumn piece which I will probably have to catch in the sale is this amazing jumper from Sugarhill Boutique. I love a cloud print and this whimsical number is something I just adore. Someone buy me it!

What's on your wish list?