Simple Pleasures

Hello !!

The other week I was reading through one of my favourite blogs "Adorkable Darling " ( She's absolutely amazing, you should definitely go check this little ray of sunshine out ) and she'd taken part in " The Simple Pleasures Tag ".  Now, most of you will know that I don't tend to do tags but I think this is a really great way to focus on all the good things in life that you so easily forget !

The rules are simple, make a list of the simple things in life that bring you happiness and then tag somebody else to do the same.

So here we go :

• Fresh Sheets 
• Good Skincare Products 

• Hot Chocolate 
• Belly Laughs 
• Pancakes Made Just Right 
• Swimming In The Sea 
• Sunday Morning Cuddles 
• Christmas Songs 
• Cats 

• Yoga Class
• Exploring New Cities 
• Being with my Girlfriend 

• New Notebooks 
• Macaroni Cheese
• My Guitar 
• Reading A Good Book 
• The Smell Of Fresh Cut Grass 
• Fresh Flowers 

It's been a really refreshing experience just making this list and it's actually caused me to take an interest in mindfulness and have been reading lots of articles on how I can practice it in my day to day life. Plus this post was a great oportunity to work on my photography skills with my new camera and I'm actually really proud of my photos recently especially the one of my cat Charlie ( or lion... most people think he's a lion ). 

I'd love to see Rainbow-Rose Blossoms and Crystallised Daises list of simple pleasures so guys I'm tagging you !!

Meanwhile, let me know some of your simple pleasures in the comments and I'd love to hear what you guys think of mindfulness and how it can help in day to day life. 

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

For The Steps | The Positivity Diaries

Hello honey ! 

How's your week been ? I hope it's been great but if not, I'm certain you can find something good in there somewhere because there is always something no matter how hard it is to find ! During exams I struggled to keep up with my positivity diary but now I' ve started focusing on it again I've noticed an immediate difference in how I feel ! It's amazing what focusing on the good can do :) So in the comments I'd love to hear 3 good things from your week , lets get this communal positivity diary running again . I'll go first  !

Monday : My sister bought me an "UP Move" activity tracker and oh my gosh I love it so much ! I'm genuinely walking up and down the street whilst waiting for my bus just for the steps to increase my. activity ! If you'd like to see a whole post on this just let me know in the comments.

Tuesday : Me and my girlfriend went to see Me Before You and ahhh it was so goood ! I laughed ( a lot ) , I cried ( a lot, a lot ) and I would happily recommend it to anybody :)

Wednesday : Cuddled up on the sofa me and my girlfriend spent the night watching " Pride" , if you're interested I wrote a review that you can read here.

Thursday : I had a brilliant singing lesson. We started doing " I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Mis and have started working towards my grade 6 in musical theatre !

Friday : Season 4 of Orange Is The New Black came out !!! Need I say anything else ?

Saturday : I had some REALLY nice chocolate ice cream , yummmyyyyyy !

Sunday : We had a Car Boot Sale this morning and I had a really great time because I lovely chatting to people and a really sweet woman was saying how lovely my optimism was and how I should never let anybody ruin it and that just really made me smile :)

So I've had a pretty great week when I look back on all the little things ! Let me know in the comments what's been good in your week !

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Pride | Film Review

Hey Guys !

Exciting news !!!!! I have new favourite film ever !!!!!

... Okay maybe that's not that important as far as your life s concerned .. but I'm excited ( I don't know if you could tell ) . Last night, me and my girlfriend had a night in together cuddled up on the sofa and whilst I lay there thinking " I live for nights like this."  she suggested we found a film to watch. Ten minutes of flicking through an endless list of movies we came across "Pride" .

So ... I'm pretty late to this party ( It came out in 2014 ) but oh my gosh it's just so so good ! Pride tells the story of a group of gay men and women coming together to support the miners during the mining strike in 1984. They create a group ( Lesbians and Gays Support Miners ) to raise money for the miners and this leads to them being invited to the miners village where they struggle for acceptance but with the help of some of the more supportive people in the village, a beautiful bond is formed.

There are so many reasons I am in love with this feel good film ! Firstly I don't know how many films based on the LGBT+  community you've seen, but I've seen a fair few but never one without an extremely graphic sex scene. The sexualisation of the LGBT+ community has always distressed me but Pride makes it clear, It's just a group of humans helping out some other humans and there's something beautiful about that.

Secondly, it's absolutely hilarious. I barely stopped laughing throughout the whole film .Thirdly , the coming together of the miners and the LGBT+ community is heart warming. The acting was impeccable, beautiful and moving. For me, Pride emphasizes how all bullying is painful and when it comes down to it, bullying is bullying. We have to support each other and most importantly, love and kindness is essential to survival. A message that I personally think is definitely worth spreading !

Have you seen Pride ? What did you think ? If not then I'd love to hear your recommendations for feel good movies in the comments.

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Catch Up Time !

Hello there !

So ... what have you missed ?

Over the last month, I've done a lot of missing you guys and your awesome blogs ( I have some serious catching up to do ;) ) , I've done a tonne of revision, sat a lot of exams and more recently, had some lovely days out with my girlfriend who bought me this gorgeous promise ring !!!!

I've also spent a lot of time looking up possible university courses and visiting open day. As boring as all that sounds it's actually giving me a real sense of excitement and optimism for the future. I've also taken a real interest in how fitness and nutrition can affect your mental health, I'd love to talk more about this topic on my blog so let me know if that's something you guys would be interested in. Also I'd love any recommendations of health and well being ( mental or physical ) blogs that I could read so if you know of any please leave them in the comments !

So essentially; exams are over, I'm happier and I'm feeling fresh with motivation to improve my happiness and well being and hopefully help you guys improve yours ! I'm feeling extremely optimistic about the summer and have lots of exciting posts planned for "Don'tBurstMyBubble" including a "Day Self Love Challenge" and posts focusing on health and lifestyle changes you can make to improve your mental state. If there are any posts that you guys would like to see in the near future then I'd love to hear from you !

I hope you're all having a lovely week and if not, I really hope it gets better.

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx