Shrove Tuesday... Pancakes gallore

Ever since I was little, Shrove Tuesday has been up there as one of my most favourite days of the year. I remember racing home from primary school, feeling nothing but excitement that Mum was going to let us loose in the kitchen to help her cook pancakes for supper. The kitchen would quickly become messy with various sweet and savoury {but mostly sweet} toppings and the surfaces would get covered with spilled batter. We didn't care though, we were having PANCAKES, yeaaaaaah!! My older sister and I would both take it in turns to flip the pancakes in the big pan and after topping our pancakes with everything imaginable we'd sit at the kitchen table, making the most of every bite until we felt absolutely stuffed. Pancakes didn't come often in our house, so a pancake dinner was always a real treat. Even now, that heartwarming smell of pancakes reminds me of those Shrove Tuesdays at home.

Nowadays, I'm unashamed to admit that my child-like excitement is still there when Shrove Tuesday comes around. It still remains one of the only days of the year that we cook pancakes in our house, which is crazy really because they're so easy to make and delicious!

Binge Shopping: Dune Pollie Boots

I'm not particularly proud of this but I have a little something to confess... I'm a binge shopper {ssssshhh don't tell anybody!!}. You'll probably be able to guess what this means but if not, I'll explain. Being a binge shopper basically means that for the majority of the time, I'm pretty sensible when it comes to money and actually find it rather difficult spending on myself because I find the guilt overwhelming. But, just like binge drinking, my sensible hat is thrown out of the window on rare, unpredicted occasions and I'll have a massive splurge and spend far too much money. 

On Saturday I threw my sensible hat out of the window. But, I bought these beauties....

This week's happiness

Things that have made me happy this week...

A {much needed} haircut
I'm one of those strange people who hates having their haircut... I've had long hair for years now and I feel sad when it's chopped off! The hairdresser thought I was crazy, I nearly cried! But I desperately needed a cut, so I grew some balls {not literally} and went to the salon. It feels so much shorter, even though it's still pretty long. The hairdresser curled it all for me and I felt like a princess afterwards :)

 

Beauty: Skincare favourites

I've suffered from acne from the age of thirteen. Over the years it has driven me crazy, left me feeling embarrassed beyond belief - to the point where I have avoided leaving the house - and above all, it has stolen large chunks of my self-confidence and self-worth. I truly believe that acne is one of the most destructive things. It's such a ridiculous first world problem! It's silly really, how your skin can affect your mentality. Especially when there is so much suffering going on in the world. But when you're the one suffering from it, it can feel like the biggest, ugliest thing. It is only in recent years that I have begun to learn to accept and even love (yes, love!) the skin I'm in. We're all made differently and this is just my little hiccup. A massive hiccup for a teenager I'll assure you, but in the grand scheme of things you can't let something as trivial as ugly skin ruin your life. And so, instead of getting upset over it, I try my best to just deal with it... 99% of the time anyway! Maybe one day soon I'll pluck up enough courage to share with you on here my experience of "the evil little drug" AKA Roaccutane.

Anyway, that's my acne rant over! Now for a more positive stance. Having oily, acne-prone skin means that a strict skincare routine is pivotal in ensuring that my skin remains as clean and as healthy as possible. I do my best to make sure I drink as much fluid as possible and eat a relatively healthy diet. I've found that running has also helped - all those endorphins & happy exercise vibes must help my skin to breathe (don't understand the logic here but never mind)! As soon as I'm home from work or being out, I take my makeup off and wash my face thoroughly. After all, home is a place for naked skin where I don't need to worry about how red or sore my face is looking! I thought I'd share with you my current number ones when it comes to skin care...



Neutrogena
"visibly clear pink grapefruit cream wash"

I love anything Neutrogena and my dermatologist swears by them. Their range is very affordable too and you'll be able to find them in most pharmacists/chemists. Neutrogena do various face washes, cleansers and daily scrubs but this is my favourite probably because of the smell {'pink grapefruit' as it says on the label} & I won't lie I also fell for the pink packaging. It smells yummy trust me! A little drop of this stuff goes a long way once mixed with water so a bottle can last a while. It's quite thick in consistency and feels very creamy when washing but is oil-free so it's perfect for my skin and it leaves you with the most refreshed feeling.