LAUREN BONES

Happy Friday! I bring you today a little review of a company called Taste Japan. I was kindly sent one of their Monthly boxes for December/January so I thought I'd share with you what I thought of the products. Overall, I was really pleased with the box of Japanese treats and it was so interesting to receive snacks from Japan. I think monthly snack boxes are just a great idea full stop, and I personally love Japanese culture, so this company was just perfect for me!

So here is what was included in the December/January Taste Japan box:



These were my favourite snack in the box. These little pea looking treats are Soy bean flavoured snacks. The easiest way to describe these is that they have the consistency of crisps or crackers and the flavour of them is quite interesting at first, but once you start eating them, you can't stop! They're so tasty and I'd definitely repurchase these if I saw them.







These sweets were just the coolest thing. They're Haribo-like jelly sweets shaped like grapes which you have to pull off the vine which they're attached to. I mean, how cool is that. They're grape, muscat and melon soda flavoured apparently, but to me they all tasted very similar. I think the fact that you have to pull them from the vine (which is also edible) is the most interesting thing about this treat!








 

It's that time of year again folks. The time of year where we all promise to go on a diet, or stop eating chocolate but then we get to February 1st and we're sat on the sofa with a big old bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk all to ourselves.

I cannot believe that it's already 2015, it's absolutely mental. 2014 was both a great and awful year for me. I'm not going to go into how "2014 changed my life blahblah", but so much happened and so much changed over the last year that it scares me a little that 2015 may hold so much more. I honestly feel that I'm entering 2015 as a more positive and happy person. I've found myself, after spending a lot of the last couple of years trying to be someone I wasn't and I've been able to relax a little bit more (sometimes more than I should... I'll admit).

I started 2015 by visiting my boyfriend who lives in the UK and it was honestly the nicest week and a
much needed break from the stress of sixth form. He lives in York and we went out on New Year to the town with his friends to celebrate and it was probably one of the nicest new years I've had.
But this year is so important for me because it's that awful year where I have to get into university. I feel sick just typing those words out. I've got into uni in Salford, Manchester but I have to get a C overall in my English A-level. I mean, I know I'm capable of getting a C, but the pressure to get into uni this year is unreal, giving the fact that I stayed at sixth form for an extra year to redo my english A-level. Don't get me wrong, I'm so excited to go to uni and to move to the UK and to be closer to my friends & family, but it's getting there that is the problem. However, I'm going to try my best to stay positive and optimistic because I can do it! 






1. Start doing work as soon as you get it. For gods sake women you know this saves time & effort 
I WILL START DOING THIS. I go through phases of doing work as soon as I get it and feeling so organised and great, but then a few days later it's a case of "I'll do it tomorrow". We all know it.

2. Keep your 'environment' clean
By environment, I mean my room. Floordrobes are not acceptable in 2015.

3. Drink more water
Simple.

4. Work out atleast twice a week
I've been quite good at doing this, even in 2014, so I'm hoping to keep it up.

5. Catch up with all of the TV series that I started watching last year and never finished
Game Of Thrones, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, The Office, Cougar Town... The list goes on and on and on.

6. Take more photos
My camera this year will be travelling everywhere with me, because if I got £1 for every time I though "I really wish I had my camera right now" I would be rich.

7. Have the biggest clear out ever 
This will be happening before I leave for uni, but it will probably take about half of 2015 with the amount of stuff I have.

8. Stop caring 
I spent too much of last year getting hung up on the silliest things that people said, or did, and I wasted too much time on people who I learnt do not matter. It made me unhappy and that's not what I want this year to be about. I've come to learn not to put time into those who don't do the same for me and slowly, I'm becoming more contempt as I let people go.

9. Get a tattoo         (maybe)
Reckless. I know.

10. Do not give up 
This one to me, is the most important. I don't want to give up on anything this year, whether that be myself, my plans for uni, my relationship, anything (unless of course it's really necessary...) It's so easy for me to just give up on things, or to drop things there are then, but this year I don't want to live like that. I want to do things and see things through to my fullest potential and actually achieve something.
Wow, deep.

So, happy new year to all of you and I hope that your christmas and new year celebrations were truly wonderful. What are your resolutions for 2015?

Peace,

For my measurements, I used these adorable Russian Doll measuring cups!

• 2 1/2 cups white chocolate 
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup caster sugar 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking powder 
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 2 1/2 cups plain flour

Instruction

1. Preheat your oven to 190 degrees celsius, and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper ready for the cookies to cook on. 
2. In a mixer,  cream together the brown and granulated sugar with the butter. Do this for about 2 minutes, or until the mixture looks soft and creamy. 
3. Once you have a creamy mixture, add in the eggs and the vanilla. Mix again until everything is blended. 
4. After everything is mixed together, add in the baking soda, salt, baking power and flour. Mix all of this in until it is all combined. 
5. Take the white chocolate and using a rolling pin or meat hammer, bash it into small chunks while it is still in the packet. Alternatively, you can use a knife and chop up the chocolate into chunks. 
6. Add the chocolate to the mixture, using a wooden spoon to mix them in. 
7. On the baking tray you previously prepared, use a table spoon to spoon the mixture onto the tray. Create small balls about 2 inches apart from each other, as the cookies do flatten out when they cook. I had about 9 on my baking tray. 
8. Bake for about 10 minutes, checking them all the time to ensure they don't overcook or burn. When the edges are a golden brown, remove the cookies from the oven. 
9. Allow the cookies to cool on the tray for about 5 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack. 
10. Any mixture which is remaining can be placed in the fridge and used another time.

1. I'm fat.
2. I wish I had bigger boobs.
3. *sees a bedroom/room interior on tumblr/pinterest* How can I make my room look like that?!
4. I wish I had a smaller bum.
5. Oh look, another person I went to school with is pregnant.
6. I wish I had smaller thighs.
7. Is it too early for wine?
8. I'm fat.
9. I think I'm pregnant.
10. That girl is a bitch.
11. I'm going to go to the gym today.
12. Or tomorrow.
13. Or next year.
14. WHAT IS SHE WEARING
15. I wonder where she got that.
16. Am I dying or are these period pains
17. She's so much prettier than me, ugh.
18. Does he actually think I look nice or is it my boobs?
19. But she's so skinny. She can't eat properly.
20. Wait... why am I crying again?
21. I should definitely start eating healthier after this Mcdonalds.
22. I'm fat.
23. *scrolls down instagram feed and sees selfies of other extremely attractive females* For gods sake I hate myself.
24. How has she done that with her hair?
25. Right. Time to start this essay... OOOO A NEW EPISODE OF KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS!?
26. I hope no one looks at my face today. 
27. Is she/he looking at my eyes while they're talking to me or the huge volcanic spot on my forehead?
28. If I eat a Big Mac and some nuggets now, then have a salad when I get home, that shouldn't be so bad...right?
29. I could go out.... Or I could stay in bed, eat fatty foods and watch chick flicks to make me feel even worse about myself... That sounds much more appealing. 
30. I wish I had a bigger bum.
31. I wish McDonalds had no calories.
32. IS THAT A STRETCH MARK?

• Invited to a party? Whack out the roll on body glitter which was usually what you got in your stocking for christmas of your mum. Making yourself look like Edward Cullen, skin glistening as the light hit you. So dramatic. 

• Smelly gel pens, trading them, giving yourself fake tattoos with them. 

• Shag bangs... Remember those brightly coloured plastic bracelets that you used to 'snap' with people and every colour meant a different sexual act... even though when you wore them you were 14? Classy kids.

• The denim skirt paired with some fake Ugg boots or dolly shoes that were usually a stuidly bright colour. Rocking this look on a non-uniform day and raking in all the boys at school.

• Blow up chairs that usually tended to have Groovy Chick on them...

• MSN. Was. Life. 

• MSN names and spending your afternoon picking meaningful and dramatic lyrics for your MSN name.

• A boys name in love hearts on MSN. You're in there. 

• For life advice and emotional, dramatic lyrics for your MSN name, we relied on Atomic Kitten, Destiny's Child, The Sugababes and JoJo.

• Bebo. Creeping on the cute boy at schools profile and giving him love so he knows he's in there. 

• Getting all of your music from Limewire and then having a good old cry when it shut down because you didn't understand Utorrent. 

• The Sims. Spending all day on it, making pools and removing the ladders, getting burgled, setting fire to your kids. (I totally do not still play the Sims... WHEN IS THE SIMS 4 OUT?!)

• Late nights on Habbo Hotel... "ASL?" "Bubba."

• Weekend boredom was always solved by wonderful prank calls. 

• Dance UK on Playstation was the only exercise you ever needed.

• Plastic 'pearl' necklaces from New Look that you wrapped around your neck about 12 times. 

• Mizz, Shout, Sugar, being your life How To, giving you the latest hair style ideas and the bloody fab gifts that you got with them. (If you were lucky, you didn't even have to go to New Look for your fake pearl necklace) 

• Hoop earrings instantly completing an outfit, Chavvy chic.

We all know that life isn't easy, and sometimes being female can seemingly be the worst thing in the world, crying for no reason and eating your weight in junk food. 
However, there are some things that us ladies need to remember...

The wise words of Bridget Jones!

• Eating crappy food is ok. I know the feeling; you've eaten a whole bar of chocolate, a packet of crisps, and you're just about to tuck into a delicious take away, once you've finished, or even while you're eating, you feel guilt set in. That diet you were meant to be following? Loosing a few pounds? If you want to spend a day binging and pigging out on your favourite junk foods, then do it. Comfort food is called what it is for a reason. 

• Just because things aren't going your way right now, doesn't mean that is how it's going to stay. If you're like me and you're super ambitious, you have a million and one things that you want to achieve. Just because you're not succeeding right now in the way you want to, does not mean that you should give up and it doesn't mean that it won't happen in time. Make the most of your journey to success. 

• DRINK WATER. Take it everywhere with you, drink it always. Downing a pint of water before bed when you're drunk will keep hangovers at bay, and water cures so many problems. It also makes your skin look so much better. 

• Overpriced make up doesn't always give the best results. Miss Sporty Black liquid liner costs £2.79 and does the same job as a £20.00 Mac liquid liner. 

• Sleep is great. It's when your body heals and recovers, being a sleep addict isn't a bad thing. Don't feel bad if you just want to nap all day, or have an early night, or turning down a night out because you want to watch a film in bed then crash out. Sleep is great for you. Some models have actually said that by having 12 hours of sleep at night, it has helped them stay skinny. 

• Fun fact; Although oily skin is an absolute bummer, it actually allows you to tan better and get less wrinkles in the long run.

• Granny pants and the ugly white knickers at the back of your drawer are always the comfiest, but wear them if you want to. Bet you didn't know that thongs and other raunchy underwear are linked to thrush. A healthy vagina is a happy vagina. 

• The cure to any female situation; bubble bath, chick flick, tea & some ice cream (or chocolate... or pizza, whatever you prefer) If you're having one of those days, or if you've simply had a bad day, argument with someone, terrible day at work, come home, get into your PJ's and have a long bubble bath before getting comfy in bed with a good old chick flick and your favourite food; we all know this works. 

• No matter what you think, it's most likely that your leggings are see through. Don't risk wearing a top that leaves your bum out in the open when you're wearing leggings because people will most probably be having a good look at your knickers. 

• Girly melt downs are ok. Even if your life is rosy and seems perfect, you can have a good cry even if you don't know what it's about. As women, our hormones are going mental most of the time which causes us to just burst into tears for reasons unknown to us. 

• Things can change in a matter of days. Don't worry about silly things that aren't important and don't worry about things that you have no guarantee will happen. (I should probably listen to my own advice here...) Just remember that you have no idea what could happen tomorrow, next week and so on.

• Go to the gym, it really isn't that bad and will do you a lot more good than sitting on your bum and watching Keeping Up With The Kardashian's. Also, the feeling after going to the gym or doing any exercise is very satisfying and makes you feel really good.

• You don't need to straighten or curl your hair everyday. I think we all know the damage that heated hair tools do to our hair, and honestly, you probably look so much nicer without your hair pin straight. If you want gorgeous waves or a style that you think can only be achieved with heated products, Youtube is your friend. Look for tutorials that don't use heat, they will probably work better than your GHD's. Trust me. 

This is going to be a more personal post as my life has undergone a bit of a 'refurbishment' recently.
Over the last month or so, I've become a much better and more positive person. I've started to do more exercise, surrounded myself with people that make me happy, and I've been making the most of the little things. The fact that I've just got into a great relationship may have influenced my sudden turn around but I don't think that's the only factor that has made the difference for me. 

The last couple of years for me, were full of misery, doubt, sadness and a great lack of confidence. All of these things were to do with relationships, education, work and family. After spending over a year in a deep and dark hole of misery, I finally stood up for myself and said 'Hell no, I am not taking this anymore.' I wanted to achieve things, I wanted to be happy and I knew I deserved better than what I was getting so to do this, I got rid of the people in my life that were holding me back and making me doubt myself, I changed aspects of myself and began a new me - I understand how cliché that sounds! 
I've been taking any opportunity that has been thrown at me over the past few months, even if they haven't worked out. I was working at a tattoo studio until a couple of weeks ago as things weren't really working out, but it was such a fantastic opportunity to put some of my talent into play, designing tattoos that people now have on their flesh and learning how it all works! 
My current job is lifeguarding, and all I can say is, it's quite an enjoyable job. You can't really complain about sitting by a pool for up to 5 hours a day making sure people that are having fun in the water are safe (it's also a great opportunity to top up the summer tan!!!) and I'm totally making the most of the work and getting as many hours as I can get. 
Also, giving the fact that I have deferred from university for a year, it gives me a chance to make some money for myself, ready for my new start next year, and I can also make the most of the new relationships I have formed recently, and make the most of the beautiful Cyprus weather for another year! 
It was recently my 18th which was a fantastic day. It started by myself and some friends going paint balling (which resulted in a lot of horrible bruises...) and then, we had a huge BBQ at my house which left us all stuffed with fantastic food, and obviously, I finished the night by going out with some friends to enjoy my first legal drink. I was completely spoilt on my birthday and I won't go into detail as to how lucky I was, but I'm currently typing this post on my new laptop eeek! My birthday was so wonderful and I'm so grateful for all of my friends and family for celebrating with me and making my day so special. I'm ridiculously lucky. 
I feel like I'm rambling a little bit, so I'll finish it off here! 

Peace