In 3 months time I turn 30. *Gulp* Wow... When I was younger, 30 seemed so long away and quite frankly, it seemed OLD! I always envisaged I'd be married, have children, a house, a big fancy car, my dream job... but I'm nowhere near that yet. Everyone reaches milestones in their own time so I'm not comparing my life to anyone else's. Let's establish where I actually am in life... First things first, I am in a very happy, loving relationship and I wouldn't change it for the world. No, I'm not married or engaged, but that doesn't matter. My job... eek... now that's a touchy subject (and no doubt I will bore you with that at some point, but for now let's just say it's on the list!) I live at home with my parents, I drive a car that is falling apart around me and I don't even have any fur babies, let alone real ones. Realistically there's not an awful lot I can achieve in 3 months and to be honest I've let it pretty late to compile this list but better late than never! 

1. Lose at least a stone

I feel like this may be achievable. I started dieting last Thursday after stepping on the scales and being horrified by the numbers. I literally weight the most I've ever weighed and I feel so heavy and unhealthy with no energy whatsoever. I'm going to change this asap! I have no idea how much weight I will lose or how long it will take me, but I figured 3 months to lose (at least) a stone is very achievable.

2. Decide on a viable career path

As I mentioned a moment ago, my work situation is very strained and I'm not happy at all. I want to leave my profession completely and try something new. I need to put myself and my health first and find a job where I can get more of a work/home balance and with less pressure. I just need to decide on a path to pursue first!

3. Perfect my CV

In order to do the above, I need to finally get my bum into gear and compile a proper CV and portfolio. I always miss things off my CV so I need to do this properly. 

4. Read an entire book

Short and sweet. I used to read tons but now I genuinely can't remember the last time I finished a book. I always start a book with good intentions but after I put the book down, I forget about it!

5. Save some money and start budgeting properly

To be honest, I don't have an issue with money, but I'm not rolling in the stuff either. In fact, I'm very comfortable, but there's a lot of things in the future that I want to be able to afford, such as a car, a house, furniture, etc. I know this will cost money so I need to start budgeting and allowing for extra savings. I'm not completely frivolous, but I am an impulse buyer and I always go OTT on gifts at Christmas and for birthdays. It's about time I differentiate between what I want and what I need, and simply appreciate a product rather than buy it and not use it!

6. Clear out things I don't want/need and go 'minimalist'

I have a lot of stuff lying about, like things from my teenage years that I really don't need anymore and that are just cluttering the place up. It's about time I moved on and got rid. Perhaps other people could make use of them instead!

7. Donate to charity

Since I want to declutter, I may as well do my bit and give to charity. Not only will someone benefit from my stuff but the charity will also earn some very useful money. It may not be a lot but every little helps.

8. Have a Pinterest/Tumblr worthy bedroom

Once I declutter, I would LOVE to redecorate my room. I'm not sure this will be possible, as carpets etc are expensive and I've only got 3 months to do it, but as long as it's tidy it'll be the first step. 

9. Go to the beach

The beach is one of my favourite places to go. It's so peaceful and tranquil listening to the sounds of the waves and the seagulls. Uh! I'm melting away just thinking about it!

10. Look for a place of my own 

11. Start a business

12. Book a holiday

I haven't been abroad since 2003! I would LOVE to go to Paris and see the Eiffel Tower and Disney Land!

13. Try being vegetarian for a week

I don't eat red meat very often as I just don't like it, but I'm a sucker for a burger and chicken. I really would like to try this so I can understand other people's lifestyle choices and perspectives. I may even learn some really tasty recipes!

14.  Try being vegan for a week

I think this task is going to be a lot harder than I think, but I think it will open my eyes and make me appreciate veganism more.

15. Go to the cinema for Date Night

Would you believe my bf and I have only been to the cinema once?! We normally go to CeX and buy a ton of DVDs for 50p and have a movie night in bed, but I think it's time we went to the cinema again for a proper 'date night'.

16. Keep blogging... 1 post at a time!

17. Unsubscribe from unnecessary subscriptions

There's a lot of unnecessary payments that I'm making which I could probably rethink, like Glossybox, Birchbox, Readly, Amazon Prime etc. The same goes for emails! I literally receive over 100 emails per day that are newsletters from websites I've visited or ordered from once or twice, and will no longer use. Not only does it mean my phone goes off at all hours of the day and I have that annoying red dot on the email icon on my phone, but it means that I don't notice important emails when I actually do receive them!

18. Sign up for a new class

Whether it's online or not, I'm seriously thinking about taking another class and learning something new. At the moment I'm considering hairdressing beginners and counselling Level 3 but I'm undecided.

19. Take care of my mental health

I have a history of mental health issues and suffer from panic attacks, anxiety, self harm and mild depression. I'm determined to look after myself and not put myself in situations that will affect this. I want to make sure I take some time to myself each day to reflect and be more mindful.

20. Go on a spa day

To relax my old bones, ha!

21. Take better care of my skin

I always seem to have tiny spots on my skin and I use a ton of makeup to try and cover it, which only ends up making it worse! I'd like to develop a skincare routine so eventually I will only have to wear minimal makeup (eyeliner, blush and lip gloss) and feel confident in my own skin.

22. Go to the park and play on the swings etc

Just to feel like a kid again

23. Throw someone a party

Because why not?

24. Have a BBQ

25. Watch the sun set

26. Go star gazing

27. Get rid of clothes that no longer fit or plain don't suit me!

How can I feel good if I don't at least look good?

28. Teach my bf to drive

29. Take control of my life

30. Celebrate my Birthday with style and make it memorable!

I've been wanting to go to Blenheim Palace ever since watching the Kiera Knightley version of Pride & Prejudice, so a quick trip to Oxford was on the cards. The building is absolutely stunning! I literally couldn't believe my eyes as we stood at the entrance to the courtyard and stared across at the magnificent house.

We took a tour of the inside (I love seeing inside these great mansions and imagining what it must've been like to live there!) and saw how elaborately decorated the place was. We had a fantastic tour guide who explained to us that the house was built in the early 1700's and belonged to an ancestor of Sir Winston Churchill - apparently he was born there!

My friend, Sian, and I took our annual trip to the ExCeL last weekend to the Summer in the City YouTube convention. 

We attended the 'Creator's Day' on the Friday and were privy to lots of inside information about running a YouTube channel, such as the equipment and management. I'm not going to lie, I've definitely considered a YouTube channel, and every time I go to SitC I get really excited and inspired, and my mind literally whizzes at 100mph thinking of all the cool videos I could create. I'm just uber worried about it affecting my work, bearing in mind that I work in a secondary school.

When we arrived, we were handed a schedule for the day, along with a map of the hall, and between us we decided which panels to attend.

The first panel we attended was hosted by BBTV, Riyadh Khalaf, Kaya Lili, Kou Chaichian and Ed Brew, and was called, 'Monetize This!'. The creators discussed their experiences of working with brands, as well as other ways that they make money while managing their channel - and in some cases, channels!

Next we attended a panel called, 'Being Transparent with your Audience', hosted by Ara Bozadjian, Sanne Vliegenthart, Melanie Murphy and Lucy Moon. Admittedly we didn't stay in this panel for very long as a lot of the information being discussed was about branding and we decided that a lot of it was repetition, so popped out for a spot of lunch at Subway!

After a much needed lunch break we headed into the next panel, which Sian was particularly looking forward to, as one of her favourite YouTubers, Hannah Witton, was supposed to be hosting, but sadly it had been cancelled, so we took a walk around the venue and browsed some of the awesome craft and merchandise stalls.

I couldn't believe my luck when I saw the Blogosphere stall! I've been an avid collector and reader since issue 2 (!!!) and got chatting to the lovely lady at the stand about how much I love the magazine and how hard it is for me to get hold of it in the shops... little did I know that I was actually speaking to the FOUNDER AND EDITOR of the magazine, Alice Audley!!! I ended up (finally) subscribing to the magazine so that I will never miss an issue again, phew!