Blossom of Hope: Life

DIY

For quite a while now, I have been wanting a Fjällräven Kånken and a couple of weeks ago, I found one on Amazon and bought it with some left over Christmas money! I love it so much that I thought I would share it with you give you a little tour!

As I mentioned I bought the bag off of Amazon because the bags on the sight sell for £75 which personally is so much money for a bag! The one I bought on Amazon was slightly cheaper at £58 and I had some vouchers that totalled £35 from Christmas so I used those. Also, the postage and packaging was £4.99 so it was slightly more expensive but it was worth it as it arrived before the expected date which was so nice.

I bought the colour 'Ocean Green' but there are so many other options which you can check out here. I thought that it would be a lot more blue but it is actually quite green and I think I prefer that better now that I have it. The pictures convey the colour really accurately so if you are want to buy one then it is the colour in the pictures!

On the front of the bag there is the logo which is so adorable as well as a rectangular pocket which is quite big. The two handles also connect to the bag at the front. The front bit peels forward so that you can see the whole inside of the bag and there is a divider. On top of the divider thing there is a label where you can write your personal details. On each sides of the bag there is a place to put a water bottle but they aren't that deep so the water bottle would have to be quite slim.

The top top handles can be joined together by a little clip thing and the poppers have the logo on them which is so cute. The back straps originally came 'poppered' to the top of the strap if that makes sense but I had to undo them otherwise it wouldn't fit on my back. Those poppers also have the logo detailing which I love.

I use my bag for school and it is more than enough! I put all my books in the book behind the splitter thing and then my journal, pencil case and calculator in the front. There is so much space so I am planning to use it as a carry on bag later this year so I will update you on that!

Do you like the look of the Fjällräven Kånken bag?

Laura xx

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Life

Dear My Future Self...

17:00

Dear 21 year old Laura,

Hello! You are writing this in your teenage years. At the minute, you are happy with your life. You have amazing friends who support you through everything. School is kind of getting you down, in particular English but that probably won't matter to you right now. To be honest you have probably forgotten all about why you hate it. What can I tell you that you have probably forgotten? What about the view from your bedroom window and how it feels to smell mum's cooking. I hope you haven't forgotten that.

By your current plans. you should be in university after taking a gap year after A Levels. How did you do in your A Levels? Did you travel around Europe like you planned to? If not, don't worry, I am sure there was a good reason. What's university like? I hope you aren't struggling with the workload, please don't stress/ Don't spend all your time working though, You are only at university once and hopefully you will lie uni life to the fullest. Have you made new friends? I hope your flat mates are nice and that you are making new friends.

I really hope that you still love blogging and photography. Have you taken amazing pictures on your travels? How do you display them? I would love if they were all in photo albums

If you are stressed out right now, chill! Take a bath and pamper yourself. Read a book. And don't feel guilty about taking time out! If you are feeling lonely, call someone! You are the worst at asking for help and reaching out and I hope you have got better at that.

How is your body confidence? Right now it goes through highs and lows but mostly lows. When you are reading this, your body will probably not look the same as what it is now, have you embraced the changes? Do you wear makeup?? I hope you have learnt that not all bodies are meant to look the same and that is okay.

Mostly, I hope you that are enjoying yourself and are happy with your life. I want you to know that it is okay if you are feeling sad because all humans feel that way sometimes.

What would you say to your future self?

Laura xx

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Life

Money saving goals for 2017

17:00

After having a while to think about it, I have realised that I have missed out a few things from my resolutions and that is to be more aware and cautious over my finances. As a teenager, I feel like it is quite easy to forget about the value of money money, or I find it is. I do not have any subscriptions to pay, neither do I spend money regularly on bills etc. I think it is really important to be aware of your money and start saving now for later on in life. It is so so important to know exactly how much money you have and where it is, as well as what you are spending it on.

With the help of Earnest, a company that provides low interest loans, I have come up with 4 personal goals to help me save money and they have provided some for me as well. These goals are quite small so hopefully achievable.

Goal #1 : Put aside £5 a week towards holiday/vacation

This year I am having two fantastic holidays, one to Florida and one to China. I haven't been on a plane in years so there is a few things that I am having to spend money on for that and also for clothes, and accessories. Whilst I am out there, I also want to buy my friends some things. All this adds up to a lot of money so if I try and put money aside, I should have minimise the cost.

Goal #2 : Don't buy unnecessary food

I am incredibly guilty of spending loads of money on food. Whether at school in the canteen or just when I am shopping. Most of the time though I am not even hungry. By trying to reduce this, I should save a lot of money.

Goal #3 : Don't spend more than £30 a month

Although this is specifically orientated to wards September goals, I am going to try and do this for the whole of quarter 3 in an attempt to save money and then I have money saved to buy Christmas presents. I also have quite a few birthdays to buy for in this time period.

Goal #4 : Before buying something, wait 10 days before I buy it

With it being so close to Christmas at the time of this goal (which is so weird to think about) I don't really want to be buying things for myself that I could put on my christmas list. Also I want to make sure that I really want something before buying it.

If you stop spending money, you have more money to spend on education like university, meaning you might not have to have a student loan. Student loans are a large proportion of graduates' debt and if you use Earnest, you can save over $20,000 which is the same as £16,500, so a lot of money!! If you want to check out their website, you can do here and if you want to learn about them and their ability to refinancing your student loans you can do here.

Do you have any financial goals for the new year?

Laura xx

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Disclaimer: Although this is written in collaboration with Earnest, all of these opinions and thoughts are my own. I am not being payed to write this post.

Life

7 Books I Love

17:00

Reading is something that I really enjoy. I just love how I can transport myself away and lose myself in someone else's story. I find it really relaxing and sometimes the books help me with my struggles. Ages ago, right back at the start of Blossom Of Hope, I wrote a post about my favourite books and I thought I would update that because I have discovered some amazing authors and books over the past year and a bit.

Most of the reasons that I like these books are the same so to avoid boring you I will include the blurb or some of the blurb from the book, that way you can make your own mind up about it!

Just One Day by Gayle Forman

A whirlwind day in Paris... A chance at true love... Heartbreak is waiting just around the corner.

Paper Towns by John Green

Quentin Jacobson has always loved Margo from afar. So when she climbs through his window to summon him on all-night road trip of revenge he cannot help but follow. But the next morning, Q turns up at school and Margo doesn't. Shes left clues to her disappearance, like a trail of breadcrumbs for Q to follow. Everything leads to one unavoidable question: Who is the real Margo?

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Holding Up The Universe - Jennifer Niven

Libby wants to be the girl who can do anything. Jack is hiding a secret he must keep at all costs. Then Jack meets Libby, and their world's change. Because sometimes when you meet someone, the whole universe just comes into focus.

Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell

Cath has to decided whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realising that there's more to learn about love than she ever though possible...

Everything, Everything - Nicola Yoon

Live life in a bubble? Or risk everything for love? Maddy is allergic to the world. She hasn't left her house in seventeen years. Olly is the boy next door. He's determined to find a way to reach her. Everything, Everything is about the crazy risks we take for love.

The Sun Is Also A Star - Nicola Yoon

Natasha is the girl who believes in science and facts. Not Fate. Not Destiny. Daniel has always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents' high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

What are your favourite books?

Laura xx

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Blossom Of Hope

Hello 2017!

17:00

After 2016, I am very excited to move into 2017. I have a lot of stuff planned and I have identified the aspects of my life that I want to change. Today I thought I would share with you all that is happening because I am very excited! Last year I found that by telling you my resolutions, I wanted to try and achieve them even more!

Last year my resolutions were:

Goals for me

Be fitter - I tried to do this and feel like I succeeded!
Accept myself for who I am - I'm still working on this but self-love can take a long time.
Accept people for who they are - Almost done
Keep my memory jar + book for the whole year - Half completed, I kept my memory jar but not my book.

Goals for my blog

Produce better quality posts and pictures. - I feel like I achieved this
2k on Instagram - Not achieved, I reached 1300 followers.

As I went through 2016, my aspirations changed, which is why I didn't try as hard for some of them. For example, I started to not care about how many followers I had on Instagram so I didn't try to gain any. For 2017 I have decided my resolutions are going to be:

Goals for me

Spend more time with my friends
Stop drinking fizzy drinks
Read at least 10 books

Goals for my blog

Post at least 6 times a month
Become more active in the blogging community (through twitter chats etc.)
Reach 22,000 page views.

The most noticeable change is my blog layout! Over the Christmas break, I downloaded a blogging template and made my changes on it. I love this design and even though it was a pre-made template, I have customised it so that it reflects me. I will stick to the same schedule as last year, which is posting every Tuesday and Saturday at 5pm.

At the start, I mentioned that a few exciting things were happening! On Christmas day, me and my brother found out that we are going to Florida in April! I am really looking forward to it as it is my first time going to America and my first long haul flight. I am also extremely fortunate to be going to be China with my school in July! 2017 is definitely going to be a year of fulfilling my wanderlust. Look forward to loads of travel posts in the upcoming year!

Do you have resolutions? What are they?

Laura xx

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