For an inspired 2018 | My diary of choice

Hello everyone, wow three posts in a row?! That is the most I've posted in over a year haha. I've definitely made the most of these holidays to record content and also ease myself back into blogging. Whilst the blushing giraffe will always be a beauty blog first and foremost,  I am definitely going to start incorporating a bit of stationary here and there. This post is dedicated to my brand new diary and I know 2018 has started already - but trust me, if you're looking for a new diary and you're into setting goals, reflecting and striving for better things, this is 100% worth picking up still.

I'm going to show you a couple of the pages and I hope the creators of the diary don't mind, but I want to show you exactly why this is probably one of the most helpful books I've ever picked up. So it starts off with a review of the previous year and I spent a good twenty minutes filling this out and really thinking about the past 12 months. It is so lovely to be able to look back to everything good thats happened, because sometimes it can be so easy to forget, am I right? 2017 has been a wonderful year for me education and career wise, but not the best on a personal level. That last point, thinking about the habits and skills which actually helped me to achieve those goals was such an insightful thing to add as well, because THAT is actually what helps you to go forwards. Reflecting on the things that I did to achieve what I have, helped me to then set goals which'll in'sha'Allah help me to further prosper in the coming year. I found the page on the right a little more challenging to fill out...thinking about those questions and I guess envisioning each one. But a really helpful activity nonetheless.

The diary has a standard whole year calendar view, which I appreciate but thats pretty usual! I do really like the blank calendar on the opposite page though - it'll probably be filled with key dates to remember as the whole overview.

Then we have the goals page and this is what I absolutely LOVE! They've divided it into four sections and given you space for 4 goals and also a line for why. Thats the most important thing, really getting you to reflect on why you're setting this goal, whats the purpose? What will it achieve? I haven't given myself a goal for each of the bullet points, but I like the fact that some are blank because if I decide on some more later on, I can always fill them in.

This is an example of the start of a monthly spread, and I am obsessed. Seriously, look at how they've firstly labelled it as a plan, because we all know that saying - fail to plan, plan to fail! I used to roll my eyes when I heard that as a 15 year old, but now a degree and PGCE later and I know it's true. Setting four goals is a great way to take the goals that we made earlier and break them down, and then the steps to reach it?! Genius! I've filled all of this in and I'm excited to see how my month pans out with frequent check ins to this page.

I was going to show you a couple more pages, but I've decided against it because I don't want to give it all away! Let's just say, not only is the monthly spread brilliant, but the weekly spread....it is just as good and I know this diary is going to make a real difference.

On to the things I'd change if I could...I don't love the 'dear diary' written on the front. Since it's more of an inspirational goal setting and tracking PLANNER, the words don't quite match! Its not a biggie and of course doesn't impact the genius design of it. Also I wish it was a little bigger - well that was my first thought when I unwrapped it. However now I've filled in most of the front part and started using this weeks spread, it's actually more than enough space. My previous planner was a ban.do one, which I snagged from TKMAXX for such a good price (£5), but I only had 8 out of the 18 months left to use it. I also used that for school and loved how much space there was to write in it. This time I've decided to just use the diary school gave me for school and keep this one for home.

I love this because it's similar to a bullet journal, but the layout has been done for you and personally I do not have the time to continuously draw spreads...I wish I did because the whole bullet journal concept is amazing, but the 'dear diary, for an inspired 2018' is going to be a lot more helpful for me personally as the hard work and excellent layout is all already done.

The seller I used on etsy and the diary can be found here. It is the most pricy diary I've purchased, but for something so functional I don't mind spending a little extra!

Have you purchased a diary this year? What do you use to organise yourself?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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For an inspired 2018 | My diary of choice

Hello everyone, wow three posts in a row?! That is the most I've posted in over a year haha. I've definitely made the most of these holidays to record content and also ease myself back into blogging. Whilst the blushing giraffe will always be a beauty blog first and foremost,  I am definitely going to start incorporating a bit of stationary here and there. This post is dedicated to my brand new diary and I know 2018 has started already - but trust me, if you're looking for a new diary and you're into setting goals, reflecting and striving for better things, this is 100% worth picking up still.

March 2016 Update

Hello lovely readers, I hope you're all doing well today! My update for this month really isn't very long, so I decided to add a small haul to keep things a little more interesting ^_^

Ending University

*exhales* Can any of you believe that I completed university this month? Three years of hard work, sweat, tears, procrastination, procrastination and oh yes currently writing a 10,000 word dissertation on procrastination too! At the end of my final lecture and the whole drive home, I have to admit I felt pretty emotional. I mean half of me felt like university started only last month and all the memories of meeting people, sitting on stinky buses, missing trains then waiting another 20 minutes for the next one and spending tonnes of money on coffee, taxis and Greggs all came rushing back to me. Then I started thinking about everything I have accomplished in my three years at uni and it hit me that, although I didn't have the typical University experience, of staying away at a campus and meeting life-long friends - University had helped me grow intellectually, in maturity, confidence, independence and of course it has stretched my waist line too (but we'll skip past that shall we). The other half of me has been so excited to get away from exams and deadlines, I want to fast forwards to the years I'll be earning a decent salary, travelling often and... well getting into the real world.

Yesterday I submitted my final Psychology assignment and it was very bittersweet. I know a part of me will really miss the somewhat relaxed student lifestyle, which allows me to sleep at 4am and wake up as late as I like (mum is so excited for this to end though haha). I do feel ready for the end of University and to begin my career as a teacher though and I'm excited to see what the future holds (once I've completed and submitted my dissertation of course..OH and I have one exam left too haha).

Filming, Birthdays & Burgers
So March basically consisted of me writing and frantically handing in four assignments and participating in a presentation on OCD. We all know how stressful group work at a University level can be, however I think we did pretty well and we even got together and filmed a short clip too. I took charge of the filming and editing and to be honest I was in my absolute element - I enjoyed it all ^_^ The actual presentation itself was mortifying of course, however we got through it and the markers of the presentation actually asked if we had made the video ourselves! I was flattered, thrilled and pretty proud about this haha...and we got the grade we deserved. In between this stressful time, it was my dad's birthday and my uncle's birthday too. My uncle turned the big 40 so we all went out to Birmingham to celebrate. I asked my lovely readers to recommend me the best halal places and we ended up going with Ibrahim's Grill and Steakhouse which was a great choice! Pictured above is the burger and chips my sister ate and I of course had to have a chicken steak (I was too hungry to take a photo at this point though). It's always nice to make a bit of time for family, especially when you've spent most of the month chugging down coffee and junk food, whilst weeping about everything under the sun, stressed was not a strong enough word.

Heavenly's Desserts

We FINALLY got to visit the most talked about desserts place ever and it took me a good 5 minutes to hunt this beauty down on the menu - if I'm not mistaken I believe it's called 'I'll have what he's having'. A warm slightly vanilla flavoured waffle, split into four and drizzled with white chocolate, strawberry sauce, freshly cut strawberries, whipped cream and a sprinkle of sugar. It was literally heavenly, I can't think of a better word to describe this...wonderful, fantastic, amazing, fabulous, scrumptious...they are simply not enough. This dessert is the queen of all desserts for me and although I'm kind of glad I don't live near enough to Birmingham to have this on a regular basis - I CAN'T WAIT TILL I GET TO HAVE IT AGAIN! 

At the end of February I was kindly sent a small size of Benefit's Pore fessional Matte Rescue* which is designed to be used along side their pore fessional original primer (which is great by the way, it really does blur pores!). I have used this a handful of times, concentrating it only on my nose, because for some reason that's the part of my face which gets oily. Used under the NARS TM, I found it worked a treat, keeping shine at bay for ages and it also meant that I didn't have to use a powder to touch up! However used under my MUFE Ultra HD, I didn't see a big difference. It with-held oil for around 1-2 hours and then I got the usual shine. I still need to test this out some more, as I have had pretty mixed experiences thusfar... but the gel like consistency I likes!

The Haul

So moving onto the haul part of this post, if you know anything about me then you know that when I'm stressed I ONLINE SHOP. Last week I bought the Philips Lumea, which my mum kindly went in halves for...though it was still a blow to my bank account. However early pay day colliding with three deadlines meant procrastination turned into extra spending too. I went onto the beautiful site: here and I was blown away by how cute AND beautifuo the stationary was. Honestly these items were quite the treat, but nothing motivates me like stationary (it used to be make-up but I am a somewhat changed woman after going 6 months without buying any!). I love the cute little ribbon and label with my name on it too, personal touches like that really make me appreciate businesses more! I purchased the Rifle Paper Co. TO-DO notepad, small, compact and beautiful! The colours, the illustration and the quality - is gorgeous and although it was a little smaller than I expected, it's actually a great size for jotting down things to do haha.

I also purchased a duo pack of notebooks, these are totally plain on the inside and pretty small in size (A6 size). I didn't manage to get a picture of the second book, which it a light pink with gold polka dots, however you can see it on their website here. I mainly purchased it for the green floral book, as it is stunning, the gold detail amongst the roses..how could I not? (Tis rather expensive, but I don't indulge in stationary too often, that's my excuse).

Finally the most useful item from my haul and the one I'll be reaching for the most, is this monthly planner. It's essentially like a calendar in one small book. It has a waterproof cover making it very practical for day to day use and I have to say I love the format of the little squares. There's nothing like seeing the month ahead on one spread. I've slotted in blog posts, put in deadlines, birthdays and other important dates. I just prefer using a book/paper and pen, rather than my phone or laptop when it comes to planning in this format. There are 12 double page spreads, which are blank so you can circle the month and use it from whichever date you please. There are also note pages at the back and right at the front, there is yet another monthly spreadsheet which actually spans the whole year. Why am I writing so much detail, I actually don't know..I think you get the picture!

So there's my little haul and my update, how did your month go?

*This post contains press samples or products gifted to me. All opinions are my own. For more info check my Disclaimer.

Thank-you for reading ♥

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March 2016 Update

Hello lovely readers, I hope you're all doing well today! My update for this month really isn't very long, so I decided to add a small haul to keep things a little more interesting ^_^

New Stationary!

A bit of a different post from me as this doesn’t include a single makeup or beauty item (nope not even a lip balm) but I just had to share this with you all. When at Sainsburys, I’ll quite often check out their stationary section for any special offers and I love that they regularly switch up the designers/collections. Usually one or two items will catch my eye but this time EVERYTHING from a particular collection had my eye turning into little love hearts, seriously I was in my element! The brand itself is called ‘gostationary’ and you can find them online but their stuff is a lot more expensive from their site then it was in-store so I highly recommend you checking out Sainsburys if you like the look of these ^_^

The gold foiled polka dot notebooks were what I picked up immediately, look at how chic they are! It’s the type of stationary you’d find at paperchase but these were only £3 each! SUCH A BARGAIN! I’m not totally use what I’ll use them for yet, but I picked up two and I’m sure you’ll see them popping up in a few photos as props hehe.

I also got a page a day diary in this beautiful mustard yellow colour and it is perfection. It starts from August 2015 and ends with July 2016 so great for students! It's a neat size to pop in your bag and inside there is more than enough room to write a todo list. It also includes a monthly over-view, a section for birthdays, address section, notes section and a timetable layout so it’s much more handy than I expected. I’m not really a diary person but this year I’m going to try and use one at the the start and end of every day to make sure I’m on track with University work. The only slight downside is that the cover isn't made of plastic but I'll just have to be more careful when using it and hopefully it'll stay intact for the whole year. The price of the diary is £5 so again a massive bargain for such a chic looking AND useful diary.

I picked up this cute little piece of A4 paper with ruled lines which is also a whiteboard! This is from the store Tiger which I’m also prone to having a good wander through because it’s perfect for anyone on a budget. If I lived away from home for Uni it would be one of my go-tos for all things kitchen! This whiteboard and marker set costs £2 and then primary reason I bought it was for essay planning, I prefer to plan things on paper and generally end up using too much of the stuff. So ecofriendly and mighty useful, what is not to love?

I didn’t manage to get a full photo of it, but whilst in Tiger I also bought this beautiful copper coloured basket which I’ll be using for hijab storage. It was only a fiver which again is such a BARGAIN! I would have expected it to be at least double the price and as I don’t have a very effective storage system going for my scarves right now I thought this would be perfect.
Let me know if you enjoyed this post - I’d love to write more in the future to share the awesome deals I find ^_^

Have you picked up any nice stationary recently?

Thank-you for reading ♥

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New Stationary!

A bit of a different post from me as this doesn’t include a single makeup or beauty item (nope not even a lip balm) but I just had to share this with you all. When at Sainsburys, I’ll quite often check out their stationary section for any special offers and I love that they regularly switch up the designers/collections. Usually one or two items will catch my eye but this time EVERYTHING from a particular collection had my eye turning into little love hearts, seriously I was in my element! The brand itself is called ‘gostationary’ and you can find them online but their stuff is a lot more expensive from their site then it was in-store so I highly recommend you checking out Sainsburys if you like the look of these ^_^