Blogmas Day 6: Donating to the elderly at Christmas.

Last year my Nana was rushed into hospital unexpectedly just before Christmas. We found out she had cancer and she passed away after her 8 day stay in hospital over the Christmas period. On our visit to her on Christmas day the ward staff wheeled in a big trolly full of gift bags and handed each patient a present. 

Turns out AgeUK collect donations of gift bags for the elderly who are in hospital on Christmas day. I didn't know this was a thing! I’d heard of people donating toys to children's wards but didn't realise there was anything for the elderly.

I was overwhelmed at how happy the patients, including my Nana was at receiving a gift on Christmas day. The entire mood lifted and we managed to share a moment of festivities together as a ward. The staff clearly enjoyed themselves too which was lovely to see. My nana received some body cream, which she didn't hesitate to try out, a puzzle book, a cake bar and a few other bits and bobs. As trivial as it sounds it really made a difference to not just my nana but to every patient. 

It broke my heart that some patients I spoke to hadn't had a single visitor since being admitted, nothing. And thats why this year I just had to get involved. 

I don't have much money, so this year I've decided to skimp a bit on friends and families pressies so I had some spare money to buy gifts for my bags. I don't know why but I decided on putting together 6 gift bags! I wanted to get things that would actually be useful for a stay in hospital so I went for things like face wipes, hand wipes, lip balm, hand cream, cosy socks, and things to keep occupied like puzzle books, a small colouring book and some pencils, in the mens bags I've put a maze puzzle in there. And for that festive feeling everyone has a candy cane and Christmas card. 

Please have a think this Christmas if you can spare a few pounds to put together a gift bag to donate. Some of the elderly in hospital this Christmas wont be coming home and even though it may not seem like much it really will make a difference and brighten up their Christmas day.

I will be taking my bags to AgeUK, they will then sort through them all and get them to Leicester Royal Infirmary, Glenfield Hospital and Leicester General Hospital for Christmas day.

Have a check with your local charities and hospitals to see what scheme they run for donating and always make sure you stick to the guidelines when donating with regards to gifts. Some items are prohibited.

There wont be a Christmas that goes by now that I will not do this. Next year I'm going to try and get my workplace involved and start getting gifts together a bit earlier so I can hopefully make 10 gift bags next year.

But if you've read this post and feel inspired to donate its not too late, AgeUK and the Leicester hospitals are taking donations up until the 16th December so if you would like to get something together for this Christmas then you still have time.

I will definitely be sparing a thought for all those who have found themselves in hospital this Christmas and the staff who spend their time away from their own families to care for yours. They really are true heroes to us all.

If you decide you'd like to donate but don't have time or don't fancy putting a gift bag together then maybe consider a donation to a charity you care about this Christmas, while its not a specific gift going to a person its helping a charity to continue doing incredible things. Most charities are easy to donate to by going online.

Thank you so much for checking this post out.

Vikky

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Blogmas Day 5: Am I an anti blogger?

I started blogging just over a year ago, and I’ve come to learn in that time that there seems to be a blogging 101 handbook that I’ve missed!
Rose gold, marble, copper, flat lays, plants, ootd, bumming zoella, are all very absent from my blog. And I’m flipping proud of it.
I blog because I love it. It makes me feel happy. Its become a hobby I can’t see giving up any time soon. Its a very informal place, I make spelling mistakes, my grammar sucks sometimes, do I give a fuck? Nope!!
Its my blog and if you've come to it for perfection then you've come to the wrong place.
I spent a lot of time when I started my blog worrying because the majority of bloggers I saw on social media were beauty bloggers. I am the opposite of a beauty guru and I'm allergic to make up so I panicked that I wouldn't fit in if I didn't conform to the mass of beauty bloggers out there. But the more I wrote about stuff I wanted to write about I realised that you just have to do you. Your blog is your personal space, whether you use it for work or a hobby like me you have to have some sort of passion, interest or feeling about what you write or the reader won’t be interested. It will be boring. So I decided from then on I was gunna write about whatever the heck I wanted. And I've done just that! You'll find a mass of topics on my blog, some would say disorganised, but thats the kind of blog I run, sloppy, chilled, unprofessional, but I loooooooooove it! The thought of spending hours taking photographs of shit I don't care about makes me wanna gouge my eyeballs out! Writing about things I have no interest in feels like complete torture. So none of that is found here! I write when I want to, not to a schedule, and if I have a nice photo or write a post about somewhere I've been then I’ll bless you with a photo or two but other wise it will just be my incredibly spectacular and awesomely epic writing! Pfft as if! Haha!!
Its become aware to me too that stats and views and shit is something I should be looking at. Is it? I used to check how many views my posts have had and it wasn't many and I got super self conscious that I sucked, but again, as I've been blogging more I've started to care less and less about views and followers. If it happens then fab, if not then thats also ok. For right now I am loving blogging and I do it more for myself than others.
I put no pressure on myself with regards to my blog. I’ve gone ages without posting then I’ll have the urge to write and I’ll bash a load of posts out, much like right now! This is the 3rd post of the day! But after this I might not wanna write for 3 weeks and thats ok. Writing is a passion, not a chore and I feel that if I had to keep to a schedule like most bloggers seem to have I’d be throwing out shit content I and others wouldn't enjoy at all.
So does this make me an anti blogger? Maybe, but thats ok. I am unique and so is my blog and I'm proud of that, no matter how many views I get.

Am I even doing blogmas right?! I saw a thread on twitter saying it should be Christmas posts only! But mine won’t be, I don’t even know if I’ll have a post for every day, but we shall see! I’m gunna give it darn good try!

What do you all think? Do you stress about content and views or are you a laid back blogger, writing when the inspiration hits you? Do you try and stay within one niche or do you write about anything and everything?

Thanks for reading!

Vikky

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Blogmas Day 4: Victorian Christmas Market & Pastel Elixir.

Yesterday I had an amazing day spent with Ellis and James at the Victorian Christmas Market in Melton Mowbray Leicestershire. After a bit of a flop of a Christmas market a few weeks ago with Ellis working with her on her Pastel Elixir stall we were a bit apprehensive about what to expect from this one. 

But the whole day was fab! We got more sales, more people interested in Ellis’s products, we were in a great location in a courtyard of a coffee shop in an adorable cobbled street along with a couple of other small business owners and a kids craft stand, with people enjoying their coffee and cakes and snacks around us. 

As always I have the best time when I’m with Ellis and we had a blast selling, chatting, laughing, eating, meeting people and seeing some family and friends who popped along to visit us.

We went for a wander around the market and there were live singers on stage throughout most of the day singing everything from Christmas songs to Disney! 

James took the opportunity of a themed market to dress up and he looked fab taking inspiration from Peaky Blinders!

And I took the opportunity to get my camera out and went a bit snap happy shooting James, the market, the church and the lights!

This brings be slightly off topic to spread the word about supporting small businesses. Seeing people admiring Ellis’s work really warmed her heart and made her hard work feel justified and you really must remember that behind the screen you order from is a real person letting out a squeak of excitement when they get your order through, they pack it with joy, and wave it goodbye for its journey to you. You don't get that anywhere else! 

I made a cute little video of the day which you can watch here.

Thanks for reading!

Vikky

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Blogmas Day 3: Who inspires me?

Righty-ho! I’ve got Our Last Night blasting out my speakers, dinner in the oven and a pack of chewits to nibble.

I

AM

READYYYYYYY!!!

Kicking off number 2 in my “Who inspires me” series and I’m gunna be talking about the first You tuber I ever watched regularly. Evan Edinger. 

First off I became hooked on his travel channel, I was struggling with crippling pain waiting for spine surgery dreaming of a life outside my home and Evan kind of gave that to me. I could get lost in his videos and pretend I was pain free and exploring the world. Sounds daft but at one of the lowest times of my life when this outdoorsy and active gal had became almost housebound, Evans travel vlogs were a huge inspiration and motivation for me to have a successful recovery from my op and to get out and see the world when I was recovered. Now, I’m building a self build campervan to go travelling the UK and Ireland and hopefully take to Europe! Craaaaazy!!

I’ve always has an interest in photography and hope to one day on my travels have a snazzy portrait of epic travel shots inspired by Evan, and I’m saving for a drone too! Thanks Evan, my bank balance hates you! Haha!

Through his travel channel I began to watch videos on his main channel and I found a few that were quite personal and eye opening for me. I’m personally not ready to talk about which ones I’m on about on the internet but I can pin point a time in my life, after watching said videos, where I changed for the better. The self doubt and loathing lifted away and the acceptance I felt because I knew I wasn't alone was life changing.

I actually met Evan at a Comicon in London a couple of years ago, I was petrified, super awkward and it was frankly embarrassing! I’ve always been fairly awkward talking to people I don't know, which usually leads to me struggling to make new friends and I hate myself for it. Inside I wanna be able to have conversations with people, to know what to say and enjoy meeting new people. But when I get put in a situation where I have to meet someone my brain just shuts down! I can’t find words, I struggle holding a conversation, I make the whole thing incredibly awkward, then like a weirdo I just leave! I wanted this to change so after meeting Evan and doing just this, plus the encouragement I was getting from my amazing friend Ellis, I was inspired to start this blog with the intention of getting over my social awkwardness and being able to meet new people. One year in and I'm still an awkward mess but I’ve grown in confidence and embrace my weirdness so I guess thats a good thing! Evan, you inspire me to be weird and write about it on the internet! Love it!

Thinking about it Evan has had quite a lot of positive impact on my life and I can’t help but feel inspired by the guy. I’m possibly facing some more surgery on my spine in the near future and I will definitely be turning to Evans travel channel to keep me inspired to once again have a strong recovery and to get out and see the world. One thing I am greatly aware of having years of my twenties taken up with illness is that life is short and it passes quickly and there is a whole world out there to experience and I want to get out there and see it, no matter what my health throws at me. 

So in short, Evan inspires me to be confident in who I am, and to live my life. Thanks bud!

My dindins is ready now so with that I draw this post to a close to go and stuff my face!

See ya guys until the next one!

Vikky

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Blogmas Day 2: A nut free Christmas.

Having allergies at Christmas can be a right pain in the arse. Lots of new Christmas food coming out that looks so tasty you check the ingredients list and bam! There are those loathed words: may contain nuts. But its not just new food in the supermarket. Christmas parties and days out shopping present new obstacles of eating out. Luckily most places are fab with allergies, but for some reason, with the arrival of Christmas, comes the swift arrival of nuts, nuts and more nuts! They're every sodding where! I’m changing the name of Christmas to nutmas! 

Families can be a problem for allergy sufferers. Often not understanding how to prepare a nut free meal which can cause stress for allergy sufferers, particularly parents of allergy children. Sweets and chocolates are a pain, most Christmas chocolate isn't safe and we often see a rise in reactions this time of year.

So here are my tips for having a safe nut free Christmas.

1. Shop around. Chances are you'll be able to find all the Christmas goodies you want, but not often in one shop. It can be annoying but keeping an eye out in different stores can mean you find an absolute gem of a nut free product! For me this is the chocolate coins in Wilkos! Big kid!
2. Learn to bake! I’ve never found a nut free mince pie. Anywhere at all in the 6 Christmases I've had with a nut allergy. So I bake mine. I have made pastry in the past but a lot of the time I just can’t be bothered so ready made pastry is a godsend! I know a few places do nut free mince but I buy coop own brand, only because I work there and its convenient! 
3. Get on pintrest. There are some yummy recipes on there, I always search for whatever I want to bake or cook and hope it has no nut ingredients, if it does carry on searching or leave the nuts out. Theres usually an alternative nut free recipe on there.
4. For kids, Christmas can be frustrating with all the extra treats about that they can’t eat, so think of ideas to keep their mind off missing out like Christmas crafts, baking new Christmas treats. And keep an eye out for Kinnerton chocolate treats. I’ve seen these in Wilkos and Asda and I'm sure they're in many other places, but Kinnerton are nut free and do a great range of advent calendars each year for little and big alike!
5. Following on from advent calendars, if you don't fancy, don't like Kinnerton chocolate or just don't like chocolate at all, one option is to buy a diy advent calendar. This could be something with pockets or draws to add your own treats. This doesn't have to be food, it could be tiny toys, or something like lego pieces and at the end you've got a lego toy. And you're never too old people! I’m 28 and my mum is doing just this for me and filling the pockets with chocolate coins from wilkos!! 
6. Don't worry about food. Asking an allergy sufferer not to worry about food at Christmas sounds crazy but really, don't worry. Keep Christmas at home, invite the family over instead of eating out and you know what is exactly in the food and that its safe. Family, no matter how understanding they are, can easily miss nut warnings or make a mistake, its happened to me before, actually even today my mum had been eating nuts and I went to share something off the same spoon and almost had it in my mouth when mum slapped it out the way remembering she’d eaten nuts! If you prefer to eat out on Christmas day have a look around restaurants beforehand and have a chat about the menu and safe options.
7. If you take allergy medication, or have piriton for example in your emergency pack make sure they are in date and if they run out around Christmas time make sure you get your prescription done in time so you're all set for Christmas. This goes with epipens too, make sure they're in date and haven't gone cloudy and get them replaced if needs be well in time for Christmas.
8. This leads me to my last tip. ALWAYS carry your epipens everywhere no matter what. I’ve heard of people leaving them at home for party season because they don't fit in a clutch bag, or men not carrying them because its inconvenient. This is absolutely mindbogglingly stupid! Carry your epipens!!

So theres some tips for a safe nut free Christmas. Have you got any of your own? What does your allergy Christmas look like?

Thanks for reading!

Vikky

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Blogmas Day 1: Lush Review!

So turns out I’ve been living under a rock. I’ve never been to lush before! How can that be you say! Everyone is obsessed with lush! Well people, I’m allergic to many many things, including nuts, and the couple of times I've peered in the windows like a little weirdo I saw so many nut ingredients I ran for the hills!

But I’ve been having a small flutter deep inside telling me to have a second look, to peruse their yummy looking stuff and dig a bit deeper into their ingredients. 

So my fantabulous buddy Ellis took me into lush to ask about a shampoo and conditioner I’ve been looking at. I didn't realise lush did samples and I've been struggling to a) find a shampoo and conditioner that I didn't react to and b) something that would suit my fine and greasy hair. 

The gal in store (wish I caught her name) went through the products with me for nut ingredients and we settled on I love juicy and veganese. Both nut free! Woohoo!

I’m not kidding you I have 6 bottles sat at home that I’ve bought and reacted to, it gets expensive buying and trying different products when you're so reactive! So the samples she gave me filled me with relief that I wouldn't have to spend more money and have the embarrassment (and a surprising amount of paperwork) of returning something you've had a reaction to. 

So I've been using the samples for a few days and I'm so happy, my greasy hair hasn't gone but I’d a tad better which I'm hoping will improve the longer I use the shampoo. 

Cue trip number 2 to Leicester and I have my I love juicy, veganese, dry shampoo and a birthday pressie! I spoke with a guy today (again I've forgotten his name, I'm ashamed!) and he was lovely, so helpful and guided me through their products to find something that hopefully will be loved for the birthday pressie! 

I love the whole ethos that lush has, fighting animal testing and I didn't realise either that 80% of their products are vegan which is fab! They also use non plastic glitter so are reducing the amount of plastic going down those plug holes and to landfill! 

The price in lush too has also been a reason I've avoided, but even though I've spent 20 quid on a big bottle of shampoo its going to last me absolutely ages! The tiny sample pot I got has lasted me 5 uses so far and theres still about a quarter left in there! Plus its cruelty free and you really are supporting a company that is making a difference.

I will definitely be a regular face in lush now, I'm actually in shock that I didn't check them out sooner! 

Thanks lush for being so helpful and non judgemental, I've had some really awkward encounters with staff in other places when I've asked for help finding nut free things and I've just wanted to shrink into the ground but not here, the staff have been wonderful and I'm so happy I finally went in!

Thanks for reading!

Vikky

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Who inspires me?

I’ve been feeling super inspired by a lot of people recently and thought a fun idea would be to start a bit of a series on the ol’ blog to share the lovely people I find inspire me.

First up is my wonderful friend Ellis. 

I wanna start off talking about her courageous and inspiring decision earlier this year to leave full time employment and follow her dreams of being a self employed full time illustrator. Not many people have the balls to do something like that, what with the fear of it not working out, but most people wont even try. But Ellis is doing just that, and whether she sinks or swims in this unpredictable world of freelance she will always be a huge inspiration to me. She makes me feel like anything is possible and that maybe one day I might have the skills and confidence to try and work for myself. 

Knowing Ellis has had a troubled past with mental health, especially at her old job, I admire that she put herself and her health first and left a job that was so corrupt it was seriously impacting on her mental health. She reminds me that putting myself first is key. And thats so important because you only get one life, and theres no guarantee you'll live it till you're old and wrinkly so you have to look after yourself. 

Recently I’ve been inspired by Ellis to think about the way I view the world and how I have an impact on it. I knew things like animal testing went on and that I was more than likely using products that had been tested on animals, but I was so close minded I didn't want to think about it but Ellis has opened my eyes and I couldn't thank her more. She made the decision to go vegan and in doing so has been exploring where food comes from and how important it is to be cruelty free. Because of Ellis I am now cruelty free and have majorly cut down on the amount of meat I eat. I’m heading towards vegetarianism but I have so many allergies and have found out I’m allergic to quorn so I want to slowly cut meat out while I learn about what foods I can and cant eat and how to keep healthy with already having a restricted diet. I can 100% say I would not be cruelty free or cut down on eating meat if it wasn't for Ellis. 

And d’ya know what, this blog of mine wouldn't exist without Ellis either, through her encouragement and support I’ve found a hobby that I love and have even made a few videos on youtube! 

Ellis is an incredible friend who never ceases to amaze and inspire me with her ventures and triumphs, she's supported me through my toughest times and I truly am privileged to have a friend like her in my life. 

Thanks for reading!

Vikky

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