10 Things That Made Me Happy This Week {31.03.17)

It's nearly the weekend, woop! Thought I'd take a moment to reflect on what's made me happy recently as I haven't done one of these posts in a little while and they're always one of my favourites. 

1. Spring weather. A change in the clocks, the evenings are getting lighter and it's like an exciting trail heading towards summer!

2. Learning how to use photoshop. I had to make a moodboard for work, I just took the plunge and tried to teach myself how to work photoshop to make it. It took hours, but I'm so happy with the results.

3. I went to Secret Cinema: Moulin Rouge on Wednesday as my brother & I got tickets for my mum for mothers day and OH MY, Secret Cinema is the most crazy, insane and wonderful experience. You immerse yourself in an entirely different world for an evening and it is magic. We were singing, dancing, acting, booing, clapping, cheering, laughing in both the hours before the film starts and during the film. Amazing. 

4. At said Secret Cinema, I had Raclette for the first time. Seeeriously melted cheese on top of crushed potatoes with gherkins and salad. It's a cheese (and gherkin) lovers dream. Literally on a Raclette hunt in London now. I need to have it again!

5. John Mayer's Where The Light Is: Live at the Nokia Theatre album getting me through a sleepy Monday morning.

6. My plan today is to see my best friend - get brunch, catch up, have fun and then we're meeting all our favourite babes for a curry tonight. Perfect Friday! 

7. Big Little Lies on Sky Atlantic. Watch it. 

8. Baggy sweaters tucked into Mom jeans. I literally look like my mum in the 80's/90's and I BLOODY LOVE IT. 

9. Charlie snapchatting me to tell me she's bought an inflatable watermelon rubber ring for our holiday in June. The girl understands my love for watermelon. That's a true best friend. 

10. Jotting down a few plans for Summer. I've started making a list of the places I'd quite like to go to that aren't too far from where I live. It's nice to just start thinking of Summer plans.

What's made you happy this week? :)

Psssst. New outfit posts coming next week...

March Primark Haul

Finally, I had the chance to sit down and film a proper video. Whilst I love love love Vlogging and have been uploading vlogs over the past few weeks, I do enjoy sitting down to share some new purchases and to have a ramble to you guys. 

This is a Primark Haul - including some BARGAIN leopard print boots, neon coral sweaters and palm leaf prints so you do not want to miss out! 

Make sure you SUBSCRIBE for more videos like this! 

xxx

The Spring Clean

It's the first day of Spring! (even if the grey clouds and drizzle don't help the Spring vibes!) 

It feels pretty refreshing to say it's the start of Spring, everything just starts to come to life and little more! At the end of the week the clocks change too. We'll lose an hour but the evenings will start to get lighter and before we know it, it will time for warm, balmy evenings with glasses of wine whilst the sun sets. 

I love having a good Spring clean. 
Obviously the usual dusting, polishing, hoovering, sweeping but also having a decor refresh. Here's some of the things I'll be freshening up this month:

Bedding

If you're anything like me you'll have bedding that you like in the Autumn/Winter and a brighter set for Spring/Summer (just me? okay) I have a faux fur throw and neutral cushions in the winter so I love folding it all up, popping it away and getting out my blue and white throw and blue and white cushions to fresh things up a bit. I usually have a white duvet cover, so it just brightens up my room nicely. 

Fresh Blooms

There's nothing better than a flurry of fresh flowers dotted about. Right now it's great as you can pick up some daffodils for £1 in any supermarket and they'll last around a week if you pick them up when they're still closed. Flowers can be as inexpensive or as pricey as you like, big supermarkets have beautiful bunches for only £3 if you don't want to break the bank. I just find any flowers bring so much life into a room, the same goes for plants if you want something to last a bit longer! 

Photos

If you've got photo frames around your living space, be it a flat, house or just a bedroom, take Spring as an opportunity to switch up the photos in your frames, which have probably be the same since you first put them there! I always forget to pop new photos in the frames, despite taking so many and having tonnes I'd love to see daily. 

Wardrobe Clear Out

I bloody love a good wardrobe clear out, but I don't always find them that easy. I find sentimental value in  e v e r y t h i n g and I get so weighed down in the worry of throwing something out then needing/wanting it the moment I do. So I never used to get rid of much, but I feel I'm getting better now I've streamline my style a bit more and know what I really will actually wear again - I try to be a bit more brutal with myself - getting one of your girlfriends in to be strict always helps! I only throw things away if they're really tatty, but the majority goes to charity shops or possibly sold on Ebay if it has a little more value. I've still got bags and bags for the charity shop in the boot of my car so it looks like I might be doing a few trips! I'll be filming this for a video on my YouTube channel, as I personally love watching decluttering & wardrobe clear out videos!

What are your favourite ways to Spring Clean?

Filming My First Music Video

Filming my first music video with the boys in Saltlake! 

A vlog of behind the scenes mishaps, lots of laughs and some School Disco reminiscing. Pretty exciting to be trusted with such a big job and I still have the most mammoth edit ahead of me but it'll be so worth it when it's finished. 

Make sure you SUBSCRIBE for more vlogs and videos like this one! 

xxxx

Spring Shirts - ZARA Must Haves

Basically, I'm drooling every time I step into ZARA right now. Their Spring collection is to die for and I just want it all to honest, ha! 

I just thought I'd pop for favourites up on the blog to share my top picks. I'll let the shirts do the talking!

Striped and Floral Top - £29.99

Printed Floral Blouse - £29.99

Shirt with Embroidered Flower - £25.99

Embroidered Gingham Top - £29.99

Floral Embroidered Top - £25.99

Blue Floral Embroidered Shirt - £29.99

Oversized Printed Goldfish Top - £29.99

Off Shoulder Top - £19.99

Anyone have £221.15 they'd like to lend me...? 

Prawn Linguine Recipe

Today I'm sharing with you one of my favourite recipes, Prawn Linguine.

 This was my go-to meal whilst at university, it was so quick, full of fresh flavours, very delicious and super filling too. 

When Inghams got in touch asking me to share a recipe from one of their gorgeous Lakes & Mountains holiday destinations for their 'Foodie Finds' campaign, I saw Italy on the list and knew exactly what I'd make. 

Prawn Linguine Recipe

Serves 2 

King Prawns (I buy them already cooked)

Linguine

1 Medium Sized Tomatoes 

1 Pepper (Not Green, Needs to be sweet!) 

4 Spring Onions

Garlic

Lime

Salt

Pepper

Chilli (optional) 

1. Wash your vegetables. Dice the tomatoes, pepper and spring onions and put into a bowl. Crush a clove of garlic, a pinch of salt and pepper and a big squeeze of the lime and mix together to cover the vegetables. I also add about a shot of water at this point, as it can be a bit dry without, but it's not a 'sauce' so don't go overboard!

2. Put your linguine in to a pan of boiling water, stirring occasionally. 

3. Just before your pasta is done, toss your big bright bowl of veg into a pan with a little bit of oil and  heat it all through. The veg should start to soften, if the liquid looks like it's drying up then add a dash of water with a little extra salt, pepper and lime to keep the flavour. 

4. Once your pasta is done, take it off the heat. Add your cooked prawns to the veg, so they heat through. Whilst they cook, drain your pasta.

5. Take your veg and prawns off the heat and serve!

and there you go! A delicious, fresh and easy Prawn Linguine recipe!

It's perfect for just a quick dinner at home or even perfect for entertaining at a dinner party.

I was not paid to write this post, just a bit of fun for the Inghams Foodie Finds campaign. 

An ode to the women in my life.

International Women's Day.

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Mum, my wonder woman. You taught me how to take what life throws at you, the ups, the downs and the unexpected, and to still be smiling at the end of it. You also taught me how to be a little bit crazy and I love that. 

Grandma, you taught me to appreciate the little things and to always look up.

Granny, you taught me that I'm stronger than I think and I should always remember that.

Auntie, you taught me how to laugh until your belly hurts, even when times are really tough. 

My Step-Mum, you taught me to stand up for what I believe in, to be strong and ambitious.

My Best Friends, you taught me to laugh at myself, to worry less and to live a bit more. 

You all taught me to be passionate and determined, to live a life without limits and to love unconditionally.

You made me who I am today. Thank you.

photo credit: kick-ass artist and photographer Jenna Kutcher.

----

Who are the women you'd like to thank today? 

Monthly To-Do List :: MARCH

It's a cosy Friday evening in the Furness household as I'm writing this. I meant to get this post up yesterday but I was an emotional wreck (it all started in the morning with the first listen to 'Supermarket Flowers' off Ed Sheeran's new album and it just went downhill from there...) and it just had to wait. So I had a treat yo' self evening - face masks, fluffy socks, manicures, candles and all the lovely stuff that leaves you feeling warm and fuzzy. 

But, it's the start of a new month - HOW?! 

I love March - a few signs of spring pop up. Daffodils, snowdrops, bluebells appear, blossom starts to, well... blossom! and you start to feel a little warmth from the sunshine when it decided to make an appearance! 

Time to reflect and think of my 'to-do's for March. 

-  M  A  R  C  H  -

TO - DO LIST

- Finish off book two and start reading a third book. After a mammoth Amazon order so I'm stocked up for the next few months. I might film a video on the books I've read so far and ones I'm planning to read.

- Content plan for March and stick to it.

- Think about what I'm eating and get some regular exercise - 3 months until my holiday, I feel like that's a good amount of time to actually see some difference. 'A year ago you'll wish you started today' is SO true, so I need to remind myself that, like, every-damn-day. 

- Treat myself to something. I've eyed up a nice suede jacket in Primark and some gorgeous Spring shirts in Zara. Financially times are tough, but I think it's important to treat yourself to a little something every now and then. 

- Reflect more. What's been worrying me, the possible reasons why and how I'm going to deal with those thoughts. 

- Embrace the little Spring Jewels that will be popping up all around from now on. Take more photos of them. 

- Read more blogs & magazines. I have a whole bookmark folder saved of blogs I adore and a whole heap of magazines I need to flick through. It's perfect for when I'm feeling a little uninspired so I need to remember that this month. 

- SPRING CLEAN. Mainly because I LOVE it, but also because it's needed. Especially in the full to bursting wardrobe!  

What are your little goals for March?