Rachel Sarah XO

So it's safe to say this month has been pretty bad in the way of blogging. I've really not been motivated enough to post anything really, but it's that time of the month where I need to do a favourites post so here we go!

Songs I've been loving this month:

Of Mice & Men's new album came out a few days ago *squeal*, so I've been loving every song off that. You go pick that up on iTunes if you wish, 'Restoring Force' by Of Mice & Men ;o

I've been really loving Killswitch Engage this month also, so anything by them. (I'm listening to them now, as I type this.)

White Lies - Man Overboard.

Montrose - Man Overboard.

Frick Park Market - Mac Miller.

Dark Horse - Katy Perry.

Donatella - Lady Gaga.

Movies I've been loving this month:

Considering I've been doing practically nothing this month, I've watched hardly any movies this month which is disappointing, I've basically just been trying to watch the movies that are in my DVD collection that I haven't gotten round to watching yet.

American Psycho, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Tangled, Aladdin, Superbad, American Pie 1 & 2, Carrie (2013).

I've pretty much been loving the same movies as last month but hey ho!

TV shows I've been loving this month:

Sherlock (DID YOU SEE THAT CLIFFHANGER??? OMG), RuPaul's Drag Race (Finished all 5 seasons in a week, wut) Oddities: San Francisco and Criminal Minds - love me some crime shows.

Video games I've been loving this month:

For the first half of January, Grand Theft Auto V controlled my life and now I've been stuck with a load of missions that I've rage quit on so I'm like 40% into the game and I've just kind of stopped playing it, oops. I literally haven't played any video games this month besides GTA, um oops.

Drinks I've been loving this month:

Shapers Sparkling Pink Grapfruit Juice (Boots own low calorie drinks, mm) and sparkling mango juice. I'm all about the juice this month.

Food I've been loving this month:

Gregg's sandwiches in general and Gregg's belgian buns, mm mm mm. Bless my mother for working there and getting a ridiculously good discount.

Make up items I've been loving this month:

Sleek I-Divine palette in 'Vintage Romance' and I don't care if this doesn't class as make up but the Real Techniques Core Collection, them brushes doe.

Life favourites:

Honestly? Nothing much. This month has been absolutely crap in the way of my mental health and my wellbeing in general. I actually thought 2014 would be a tad bit better and at the moment it's treated my awfully so, that's fun! One life favourite though is my friendship with Abbie, she's brilliant. She said to me after reading my new year's resolutions post that she would try to help me get out the house more and do stuff this year, and she's put up with me really well so far, I'm very grateful for her existence and it's people like her that brings back my faith in humanity. So Abbie, if you're reading this, I love you dearly and you're the best okay, you biaatch. ;o

Am I looking forward to anything next month?

I haven't got anything planned, no. I'd like to hope that next month I may have a job but hahaha that's not looking to great at the moment but oh well, I'm trying!

I hope you've all had a great January and 2014 is treating you well! I'd love to hear what you've been up to this month.

That's all for now, 

Rachel. xo

Hey guys!
So, I'm pretty sure I haven't posted anything in maybe, a week? I've kind of had a lot going on lately but I'm not going to going into detail, plus, super lacking in motivation still but I'm going to do an 'easy' blog post today, haha!
Charlotte at A Cageless Bird did this tag and she tagged everyone who read her post so, here we go, I'm gonna do it.

This Or That,

Make up:

Blush or Bronzer?

Bronzer. I'm pale, so adding something that'll just make my cheeks rosy won't really suffice, haha!

Lip gloss or Lipstick?

Lipstick lipstick lipstick. Lip gloss freaks me out, like what's the appeal of putting sticky stuff all over your lips? (That's what she said, hahaha.)

Eyeliner or Mascara?

Mascara, my eyelashes are pretty long anyways but I don't feel comfortable not wearing mascara. Plus, I feel like 12 year old goth child when I was eyeliner.

Foundation or Concealer?

Foundation, I have such an uneven skin tone so that needs to be covered up, plus if I'm having a good skin day I can get away with wearing just foundation.

Neutral or Colour eyeshadow?

Neutral, definitely. I may wear the odd purple here and there but always neutral.

Pressed or Loose eyeshadows?

Well considering I've never tried a loose eyeshadow, I'll go with pressed, it's probably way less messy too.

Brushes or sponges?

Brushes 5eva. I find sponges really unhygienic and harder to clean (even them stupid Beauty Blenders).

Nails:

OPI or China Glaze?

OPI, although I don't wear nail polish because of how disgustingly short my nails are.

Long or Short?

Short nails is all I've known since I first learned how to use my mouth, hahaha. When I'm anxious I bite my nails (so like all the time really.)

Acrylic or Natural?

Well I'd love to try acrylics, maybe that help with the nail biting but for now natural I suppose.

Brights or Darks?

Always brights.

Flower or No Flower?

Um, no flower.

Body:

Perfume or Body Splash?

Well, I have no idea what body splash is, so perfume.

Lotion or Body Butter?

Really doesn't bother me, they both do the same thing, right? Since I own more of these, I'll go with body lotion.

Body Wash or Soap?

Always body wash, soap is too much of a hassle.

Lush or Other Bath Company?

Lush are alright, but I'd always choose The Body Shop over them, soz.

Fashion:

Jeans or Sweatpants?

I despise jeans, so sweatpants (I'd never leave the house wearing them though, don't worry.) I almost always wearing a skirt with leggings.

Long sleeve or short?

Doesn't matter, I always wear something long sleeved over the top of any shirt anyways so.

Stripes or Plaid?

Plaid, for sure.

Flip flops or Sandals?

Ew feet no. Neither neither neither. If I had to pick, sandals.

Scarves or Hats?

Oh, that's a hard one. I've got a collection of about 30 beanies now but I wear a scarf pretty much everyday. Scarves, waaah.

Studs or Dangly Earrings?

Studs.

Necklaces or Bracelets?

Depends, I wear bracelets everyday but I love necklaces so much more (it's just harder to match necklaces with an outfit.)

Heels or Flats?

Flats all the way omg.

Cowboy or Riding Boots?

Cowboy boots are the best boots ever.

Jacket or Hoodie?

Jacket probably, I wear a hoodies more when I'm lounging around the house.

Forever 21 or Charlotte Russe?

Forever 21 since I've ordered a few times from them and they exist in the UK, unlike Charlotte Russe.

Abercrombie or Hollister?

Walking into Hollister is a terrifying experience, IT'S SO DARK OMG. But they make the nicest body sprays, so Hollister.

Saks 5th or Nordstrom?

I'm sorry, what are those?

Hair:

Curly or Straight?

My hair's naturally almost ringlet like curly and I hate it, so straight.

Bun or Ponytail?

My hair's to short to put in a bun so ponytail.

Bobby Pins or Butterfly Grips?

Bobby pins definitely, butterfly grips hurt my head.

Hairspray or Gel?

Gel makes my hair looks so greasy, ew. Hairspray is the way to go.

Long or Short?

I've had short hair for like 3 years now because it just won't grow and I hate it and extensions don't blend with my hair so I'll go with long.

Light or Dark?

I loved my white/silver hair and my purple hair too! But I like the look of my black hair at the moment, really contrasts with my ghost white face, hahaha.

Side Swept Bangs or Full Bangs?

At the moment I have kind of 'Bettie bangs' if you can call them that and I love it, so full bangs.

Up or Down?

Always down! I hate when my hair's up.

Random:

Rain or Shine?

I like when it sunny but not hot, haha!

Autumn or Spring?

Autumn, because again, it's still quite sunny but less heat.

East Coast or West Coast?

I'm going to assume this tag was made by an American, haha. I live like half an hour away from the East coast as I live in East Anglia, so East coast, haha.

I tag everyone who's reading this right now! I'd love to read your responses to this tag!

Also, I've recently set up a Facebook page for my blog (here), would be grand if you could go over and give it a like! 

That's all for now,

Rachel. xo

Let me just get one thing straight here. There's no motivation there, it's not like you choose not to do these things because you just can't be bothered, when you have no motivation you're often mentally and physically exhausted, whether it's down to no sleep or something else, it's not laziness.

Let me move onto things not to say / things that I've heard been said to someone with anxiety:

• "Is it just an attention thing?"
• "Hahahah, you were shaking and everything!" (Yeah, a 'friend' once said that to me.)
• "Is there something wrong with you?"
• "Just calm down!"
• "There's nothing wrong with you, you're being over-dramatic."
• So, I've stuttered really bad since I was around 4 or 5, which I now realise was probably down to anxiety, so if I stutter and someone says "Yeah, spit it out." or "Isn't really that hard to say, is it?" I just want to crawl up into a ball and die. Obviously pointing out that I've just stuttered is going to set my anxiety off so much more, so yes, there's no need to be an arsehole.
• "Why do you go to the toilet so much?" Well, there's this thing called anxious urination, which means you piss when you're nervous, bye.
• "Just get over it."

Well, there you go! There's some of my experiences with ignorant people. I mean come on, it takes wait? 5 seconds to google something. Maybe if you all took time out of your day for 5 minutes to look up the definition of depression or anxiety, you may learn something and might realise that whatever it is you've said has made the situation 10 times worse or has triggered someone's anxiety.

I just really needed to let my anger towards ignorant people out, well I feel 100 times better after this blog post, woooo.

Okay, thanks for reading! And let me know if you've ever had an encounter with an overly-ignorant person! 

Rachel. xo

Hey guys!

So basically, for the past couple of years, Goodreads has set up a reading challenge, where you choose how many books you want to read in a year and there's like a progress bar that'll tell you the percentage of books you've read this year and stuff, well I didn't take part in it in 2013 because I'd kind of lost track of my reading and I ended up reading maybe 7 books last year, yeah I know. Not great.

So this year, I'm going to take part in it, and I've set myself the challenge of reading 50 books this year, maybe if I complete the challenge this year, I may do the 100 book challenge next year, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here.

So, at the moment, I've accumulated a whole loooad of books and they're just sitting there in my TBR (to be read) pile. I'm going to list the books that I've bought and have yet to read. I may make this a monthly post, just like a 2014 reading challenge update post or something where I talk about how many books I've read each month, pages in total and what not, I might do that!

So for the books:

Any suggestions of books would be fantastic! I'll read pretty much anything as long as it's interesting, I especially like young adult contemporary with psychological themes, but that's just me being picky!

If you're taking part in the Goodreads 2014 Reading Challenge, I'd love to hear about it!

And do feel free to follow me on Goodreads (link) and see my progress there!

That's all for now,

Rachel. xo

Hey guys!

So I was nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award by the gorgeous Becky at beckysbeautyfix. I don't know, it's nice that my blog's being recognised, especially since I've only been at it for a few months, so thank you, Becky!

Rules:

If you're nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award, you've been awarded the award.

Thank the person who awarded you and include the link to their blog.

Nominate 15 bloggers who you think deserve the award, who you've recently discovered or read their blogs regularly. (You must include a link to their site).

Finally, tell the person who nominated you 7 things about yourself in your blog post.

I'd like to nominate:

1. Taylor (taylorscollectionn)

2. Vanessa (Citron and Guavaberry)

3. Charlotte (A Cageless Bird)

4. Sammeh (Odds and Sodz)

5. Amy (Lipsticks & Liner)

6. Taylor (What Taylor Buys)

7. Izzie (Izzisaur)

8. Georgia (Georgia Sarah)

9. Kyleigh (Girls Got A Face)

10. Gerry (Floral and Freckled)

11. Melody (A Simple Melody)

12. Holly (Holly's World)

13. Hannah (Made Up In Time And Space)

14. Steph (Dose of Pretty)

15. The Pretty Lil Things

7 Things About Me: 

1. I'm extremely passionate about mental health (if the blog wasn't obvious enough, haha!), I'd pretty much do everything I can to defend it and help with getting it away from the unneeded stigma it's always had.

2. I've suffered with social anxiety and panic disorder since I was about 12 due to bullying and depression since I was around 15.

3. Make up is one thing I like to think I'm fairly good at and I'm pretty proud of it.

4. I own two guinea pigs and I've named them after Star Wars characters, Anakin and Obi-Wan.

6. I'm absolutely petrified of clowns, if I even see a glimpse of a clown I get this awful stabbing pain in my stomach as if I'd seen the clown and it stabbed me with it's eyes or something, I see a clown and nearly burst into tears. Clowns are banned in this household.

7. I'm so short, it's crazy. I'm only 4'11", I'm sure I could be classed as dwarf, I'm not sure!

Again, thank you so much to Becky, I really appreciate it. And I look forward to reading you girls' blog posts regarding the Versatile Blogger Award! :-)

Thanks for reading,

Rachel. xo

Hey guys!

So this post is going to be my current beauty favourites. I feel like when I do my monthly favourites, I don't really mention many beauty products. I suppose this could also be interpreted as a 'what's in my make up bag' since these are the things I use pretty much everyday. I actually got to use my DSLR this time round so yey for high quality pictures!

Hey guys!

So I'm well aware it's half way through January already (the time is just flying by omg) and this post has been way overdue but I'm doing it now! So this what's going to go down, there will be 4 photos for each month starting with January and will go up to October because I've done a month in Instagram for November and December already. :-) So enjoy this rather visual, maybe strange post.

JANUARY

1. Pretty sure I spent a week playing those games. || 2. The snow and icicles were so pretty omg. || 3. Joe came up to Dereham to visit me, aw. || 4. Accidently smashed my laptop screen.

FEBRUARY

1. This is why I shouldn't be allowed money. Gorgeous Ryan Gosling phone case, mm. || 2. Trekked up to Warrington for my cousin's 18th. || 3. Went to see Your Demise and had a lovely chat with Ed (lead singer) || 4. Dad was so amused by the photo booth app on my phone, hahaha.

MARCH

1. Stayed round Rachel's with Karis and Billy, great night! || 2. A few weeks later we had another girly night, aw. || 3. I do not miss spending 3 hours doing music coursework at school. || 4. Okay so this was actually from November 2012 but I uploaded it again to my Instagram again in March so it's here okay. I went to see Bury Tomorrow in November 2012 w/Architects and Deez Nuts and met Dani Winter-Bates.

APRIL