On Saturday 8th August I was lucky enough to attend the Southampton Bloggers event.
I've only recently started blogging properly and still getting my head around my blog and the blogging world, so when I was asked to attend last minute, I was over the moon and a little nervous. Looking at everyone else's blogs they all look so professional - they are amazing!

I went with my gorgeous friend Poppy who has her own fabulous blog and was one of the people who inspired me to start blogging.


I was so anxious all morning as I've been struggling to get out the house with my anxiety at the moment let alone attend an event and I had no idea what it was going to be like and what you do when you get their, but Poppy took me under her wing and we had a great time.

Alice and Amy did a fabulous job at organising it all and were supported by Hairfinity which provided us with a month supply of hair supplements and ran a 'Blindfolded speed braiding' competiton which I came second in and won another month supply of hair supplements - bonus!




Espa skin care also ran consultations for us all and then provided us with a mini skincare kit with 5 different mini products with instructions on a skin care routine! The girl Jo was so friendly and also gave us a free 30 minute introductory facial voucher which I wasn't expecting!



Out of the wolves were also displaying some of their clothing which looked so beautiful very festival like styles!



They also did an amazing raffle with all money going to the epilepsy society which is close to both of their hearts and mine too so I was more than happy to support this cause and I ended up winning an amazing Avon hamper! Overall £350 was raised for the charity which is great!



They also had an Instagram competition where you could have some fun taking pictures with the Instagram board and props then upload in to Instagram where the winner won a £50 West Quay! I of course chose the princess tiara as I'm definitely a wannabe princess!




Next up food! Oh My Gosh Judes ice cream was incredible! I had the mint choc chip one and it was touch down one of the creamiest ice creams I've ever tasted! They were so lovely to sponsor the event and I will definitely be getting my hands on more of it!
There were also cupcakes from Love Cake Bakery which I didn't try but looked incredible, also mini macaroons which I did try and were so yummy!



The bar also did incredible drinks too! I had a Cucumber and Apple cooler mocktail which was so refreshing and I actually jotted down the recipe to try recreate it at home it was so good! Plus the BBQ fries were so yummy too - even though my tongue was on fire after!

Overall everyone was so lovely and welcoming and although I didn't get to speak to a lot of you as I was lacking in confidence, Poppy and I still had an amazing time exploring what was in store for us and taking in the incredible venue!

So a huge Thank You to Alice and Amy for organizing the fab event and for the amazing goodie bags, I was so overwhelmed when looking through it all and am excited to try the new products and review my favourites :)



Here's a few more pictures from the amazing event :)

photo courtesy of Hairfinity <3

PocketFullOfDaisys xx

Here is what I wore to the SotonMeetup, some photo's courtesy of Poppy!

Playsuit was in the sale in New Look - It's so flattering and the crotchet detail adds the perfect finishing touches! Plus it was only £12!


These gorgeous pale pink block heeled shoes were also in the New Look sale for £7 and compliment the pink in the floral design of the playsuit

To again match the flowers in the playsuit, I painted them with my Tanya Burr 'mini marshmallows' nail varnish!

For my accessories I wore my silver flower bracelet from Essential Jewellers, my stacking Pandora rings and this new ring from Accessorize.





My makeup is:

• Foundation - Bourjois healthy mix
• Concealer  - Benefit boi-ing
• Bronzer - Benefit Hoola
• Eye shadow - Naked 2 palette 'Half baked', 'Foxy' in the corners and  'Snakebite' along the lash line 
• Mascara - Benefit 'They're real'
• Lips - GOSH 'shocking coral'

At the moment my anxiety has been pretty bad to the point it's a big effort to get out the house and do things! Last Saturday, I was desperate to get out the house and go shopping. I geared myselfl up and even though I was very anxious I thought to myself "I'm just going to go for it, what's the worst that could happen?" well I got halfway their panicked. turned back and came home, I felt sick, dizzy and had lost all my energy and motivation - now I know the title is about not giving up and I know I did then but the following Tuesday I got up again and did it! I went shopping and felt amazing for it, the first attempt obviously wasn't the right time but I didn't give up on the idea and tried again!

This motivated me so much that for the rest of the week I felt a lot more positive I had more energy to do things!

I went for another shopping trip on the Thursday with my Mum's friend with no hesitation and found the perfect outfit for a blogging event i'm going to tomorrow (Saturday 8th August). I felt I had loads more confidence in getting out the house and doing the things I used to enjoy so much!

Lastly, today I had a great time meeting a new friend, walking around my local town having some amazing conversations about whether pigeons have tongues! followed with some delicious food and some more random conversations! Time's like this I thought I'd never have anymore just allowed me to have fun and forget all about my anxieties!

This post is my first proper post on my 'adventure to happiness' up until then I had no energy or motivation, even getting out of bed was a struggle.This week has been a big step for me with my anxiety, I feel more positive about overcoming this hurdle in my life, and am hopefully motivating some of you guys to keep trying and don't give up on the things you want to do! It may take you more than two attempts to get somewhere but once you do it, I promise it will feel amazing!

PocketFullOfDaisys xx

Since I got my Deliciously Ella book in May I've been wanting to try these cookies, but haven't got round to it till now.
This is my second attempt at the cookies as the first lot may have burnt - whoops!

They are so quick and simple to make taking roughly 30 minutes to do, which is perfect for when you have a sweet craving! They contain lot's of protein making them very filling and the Chia seeds have a whole load of health benefits too :)

I had the majority of the ingredients in my house already, but if you don't pop down to your local health food shop and pick them up!

You will need:

• 1 cup of Hazelnuts
• 1 cup of Almonds
• 1 cup of Buckwheat or Quinoa flour (I used Buckwheat)
• 3 tablespoons of raw cacao powder
• 3 tablespoons of chia seeds
• 5 medjool dates - these give a sweeter taste
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil

First, blend the nuts in a food processor till they turn into a flour like consistency - a couple of minutes will do


Next, just add the rest of your ingredients


And blend till a really sticky dough forms!



You then want to take about a tablespoon of mixture and roll it between your hands then flatten on a baking tray - this is really messy as the dough is so sticky!


Pop them in a preheated oven (180) and bake for 20 minutes - keep an eye on them as my first batch burnt!

When done they should be getting crispy around the edge and soft to touch in the middle - great description I know!


Then enjoy as part of a healthy snack :)


I hope you like this health food post, I love baking and really want to try more natural recipes to add to my journey to a more natural gluten free diet :)

PocketFullOfDaisys xx

I was so excited when it came to the end of the month and I realised I could do my first monthly favourites! I love reading and watching people's monthly favourites to get inspiration on new products to try, so here goes my first monthly favourites to hopefully give you some ideas of new products to try!

The first couple of products in my July favourites are hair related.
During the month of July my hair  suddenly felt really dry. I don't know whether it was the weather or products I was using that did this, but these 3 products really helped!

First is the Garnier Ultimate Blends sleek restorer shampoo and conditioner with coconut oil and cocoa butter. After the first use my hair already felt like it was regaining some of it's moisture and the smell is divine! The mix of coconut oil and cocoa butter makes your hair silky smooth and full of moisture!




Next up is the Aussie 'Miracle recharge moisture' spray. It is a lightweight conditioning spray which you spray on towel dried hair before drying. It gives your hair the added moisture with the Australian Macadamia nut oil. It smells amazing and really helped restore some of my hairs moisture. I also used this during my holiday in Corfu where my hair was under constant sun and it really helps, I would definitely recommend it!



On to body products and this month I have been enjoying the Body shop 'Honeymania' shower gel. It smell's really sweet but not sickly and lathers really nicely making your skin really soft after use. As you can see it's nearly all gone and I've already purchased the 750ml bottle ready for when this one runs out!


My skincare favourite is this Garnier moisturiser. I've had this product for ages and started using it recently and for a drugstore product which only cost £4.39 it's really good! It's a '24 daycare' moisturiser and makes my skin really soft after use. I don't suffer with dry skin so I don't know how effective it would be for someone with dry skin but for me it does the job :)


My next 2 products are lip products!

First up is the Body shop coconut lip butter. First off the coconut smell is mouthwatering and smells so summery and reminds me of the beach and smell of sun cream! It's a really good lip butter and has stopped my dry lips so quickly! I use it in the morning when applying my makeup and then in the evening when i'm removing my makeup and it's just amazing!



Next is this GOSH lip stick in the colour 'Shocking coral 145'. It's the perfect summer colour and is not too bright and out their which I like!


My last beauty product is my Naked 2 pallete which is technically an all year round favourite but I've been wearing it more throughout July. My favourite 'go to' colour is 'Half Baked' the gorgeous glittery gold colour with 'Bootycall' in the inner corner of my eyes and 'Busted' the deep brown along the lash line :) they are such good quality eye shadows and stay on all day without the use of a primer!



On to my random favourite of July, this colouring book has been my savior! I'd definietly recommend getting yourself an 'adult' colouring book if your looking for something simple to relax and destress as it definitely works at doing that for me! This one i got for about £5 from Amazon and came really quick and is just so calming and contains loads of cute patterns to colour!



Next is a YouTuber. I discovered Just_Jodes on twitter and listened to her interview on Beauty and the Beats radio station. She does lots of beauty videos and is such a down to earth girl! She's constantly replying to her Twitter, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat messages which is so lovely to see. Check her out here - https://www.youtube.com/user/justjodess

Lastly, is Taylor Swift's 1989 album which I've literally had on repeat! My favourite song is either Blank Space or Style!


                                     

So what do you do when your feeling down and need something to lift your mood? Do a bit of online shopping of course!

I've been dying to try Zoella's new beauty range as I loved her first lot, so when I received the email saying Feelunique was doing a 3 for 2 offer I jumped at the chance of trying them!

So here's what I got:


This gorgeous 'Tutti fruity Let's Spritz' body spray smells divine! It's fruity summer fragrance is handy to keep in your handbag to freshen you up when your out! It's strong but not overpowering and is described to have 'delicate notes of Raspberry and Cassis' which I think is such a cute description! The design of the bottle is so cute with the lace black and metallic blue :)


This 'Kissy Missy' lip balm is an essential to any girl's handbag! It gives you lips moisture whilst making your lips a stunning pink colour! I love that it's a 2 in 1 product as I often find lipsticks dry my lips out, but this just fills them with moisture!


And where would I keep the 'Kissy Missy' lip balm so I don't lose it? This cute cosmetic/coin purse of course! It's perfect size to keep your beauty essentials in so they don't get lost in your handbag! The design is so pretty with the various images of beauty products :)


My last Zoella Beauty product was the 'Fresh Fizz' bath fizzer. It consists of a block of 4 bath fizzer's which you pop into your running bath and they unleash a gorgeous fruity fragrance!

After taking the pictures with the love heart candles, I blew them out to discover the letters all muddled up as the wax melted and created this cute anagram! What did it say?

PocketFullOfDaisys xx

In January this year I wrote a post on 'Doing things that scare me' and in that post I spoke about facing my fear of flying, well ladies and gentlemen I DID IT!!! Yes you read that right Miss "I'm never getting on an airplane" got on one and flew to Corfu!.

It's not the concept of flying and it crashing that scares me, but the fact you are trapped high up in the sky with no way out! I get major anxiety over being in places where it's not easy for me to escape if I feel anxious, so going on an airplane and being stuck in my seat for 3 hours was a big step for me! I also have a phobia of vomit (Emetophobia) so was anxious about me being sick or others around me and there being no escape route!

But all in all, I did it and will now share with you some techniques I used to get through the longest 3 hours of my life on the way there!

1. Knowing exactly what will happen - I had no idea what you do when you get to the airport and the procedures on the airplane, so went on google and read up about what you need to do when you get to the airport and then what happens when your on the plane. This really helped me as I felt that I knew what was going to happen every step of the way so I could be prepared. Although I was still constantly asking my Mum if every noise the airplane made if it was normal!
So tip No.1 Be prepared

2. Get to the airport on time - People without anxiety would find it stressful if they arrived late, let alone someone with severe anxiety! So my next tip is to get to the airport in plenty of time so you can stay relaxed and check in at your own pace, making sure you haven't forgotten anything :)

3. Breathing techniques - Before even stepping foot on the plane I started doing these I was so anxious! My favourite breathing technique is called 'Square breathing' and I wrote about this in my 'Surviving panic attacks' post. It's very simple and all you have to do is breath in for your nose for 4 seconds then out through your mouth for 4 seconds. I learnt this during CBT and it works wonders to calm and regulate your breathing.

4. Music - Depending how anxious I am music can be my saviour! Whether it's a bit of Taylor Swift to keep me calm or my relaxation music, both can be a real help to calm you down. When I first got on the plane I was terrified and needed to calm myself first, so just put the headphones in to block out some of the noise, then as I slowly calmed I started the music to keep my mind off my anxiety.




5. Reading a book - I personally didn't do this as I was too anxious to concentrate, but reading a book and getting lost in the world of imagination can really help you to forget about where you are and the scary situation. I ended up reading lots on holiday when I felt anxious as it distracted me from my worries!

6. Think about the positives - Think about all the amazing things you are going to do on your holiday, or if your flying home the things you will be reunited with - your beloved bed! This worked on the flight out and the way back for me as I was listing all the things I wanted to do on my holiday and then thinking of the things and people I will be reunited with on my return :)

7. Give yourself some praise - I was constantly telling myself on the flight to Corfu "you can do this, you are ok, you ARE doing this" which helped calm and motivate me as I was desperate to overcome my fear of flying and venture out in to the world. On the way back, it was a lot easier as I knew what was happening and was so proud of myself that I actually got on the plane and went on holiday in the first place!

8. Lastly, this isn't really a tip but some motivation as I was the girl for many years who said she would never get on a plane and I did it! not going to lie it was terrifying at first but you just have to overcome it and belief in yourself :)


I hope I've inspired some of you to face your fears of flying, let me know if you have any additional tips for first time or nervous flyers, would love to hear them!

Here's a few pics from my trip!



PocketFullOfDaisys xx