Two Years Later…

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Happy Blogoversary, me! Yep, it’s been (just over) two years since I started my blog, amazingly. I don’t really know where the time went, to be honest…it feels like only yesterday I was writing my one year blogoversary post, and barely the day before that that I started my blog! I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to commemorate it, but I am thinking of a Q&A if you’re interested, so let me know if you have any questions down in the comments 🙂

I figured that to make this into some kind of blog post worth reading, I would a) hand out free cake and b) list a few things I’ve achieved and a few things I’ve learnt over the past two years…

• I’ve had a slightly incomprehensible  (18% of which are on Sundays and 12% of which are at 10pm, in case that’s the kinda thing that interests you). Yikes.
• I’ve posted 358 times.
• I’ve had 6543 visitors.
• The most views I’ve had in a day was 111 views, on 4th August 2015.
• I’ve got 525 WordPress followers, 338 Twitter followers, 52 Facebook likes and around 250 Instagram followers as of time of writing (these figures, especially IG, can fluctuate fairly rapidly).
• I’m not surely exactly how many comments I’ve had, but it’s approximately 1247, which is A LOT.
• Excluding my home page/archives (5238 views) and my ‘About Me’ page (502 views), my top three most popular posts of all time are Social Life of a Bookaholic (May 23rd 2014, 532 views) (if anybody can solve the mystery of why that post is so incredibly popular, I will be forever grateful), my Top 10 Reasons Why I Can’t Wait To Get My Braces Off (February 23rd 2015, 217 views) (am I the only person getting slightly creeped out that my two most popular posts were published on the same day of the month as each other?!) and, surprise surprise, my chocolate review and giveaway (August 22 2015 (NEARLY THE SAME DATE AGAIN), 200 views).
• I’ve learnt that bookstagram is a wonderful thing, and it has been the sole cause of me taking lots of photos of books.
• My graphics and design have improved no end. Some of my early graphics…*shudders theatrically*.
  

  

  No comparison really, is there?!

• I’ve started (and actually occasionally remembered to post on) a collaborative blog.
• I’ve discovered all the best places for blogging resources and copyright-free photos.
• I’ve got a lot better at taking photos and promoting content on social media generally, though I’ve still got a lot to learn. (Hint: it’s all about finding the white backgrounds in your house!)
  

  

  
• I’ve made loads of really good internet friends – special shoutout to all of the Blog Squad, but especially Eve (I LOVE your header by the way), Elly (ditto) and Evi (ditto) (when did everybody get such nice graphics?!), my blogging twin!

Overall though (and here comes the cheesy bit…) I’ve improved my writing (I think/hope) and really, really enjoyed becoming part of such a lovely community. *lots of the sending love emoji thingy*

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Thank you for reading all of that, and help yourself to some celebratory cake! And remember, if you’ve got any questions for a Q&A, stick them in the comments for me 🙂

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If you liked this, you may like the following…

10(ish) Things Every Teen Girl Can Relate To

Thinking Ahead

Word Explosions and 500 Followers!

 

The Definitive Travel Playlist

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Lately I’ve begun to really, really want to go travelling, and I’ve also been listening to Spotify a lot. So I decided to combine my wanderlust with my Spotify obsession, and concoct the perfect playlist for travelling…

It’s made up of a mixture of songs – some are obviously to do with travel and places, some just make me feel summery and would be perfect for a road trip and some just feel like they fit the travel bill – whether it’s because of the mood (nostalgia, excitement, that feeling when you fall head over heels in love with a brand new place) or the lyrics, they just felt right. Enjoy! {listen on Spotify here}

In no particular order…

Atlas Hands (Thomas Jack Remix) – Benjamin Francis Leftwich

Fast Car – Jonas Blue {for those road trip vibes}

Ain’t Got Far To Go – Jess Glynne {for when you’re nearing the end of the journey}

I Took A Pill In Ibiza (SeeB Remix) – Mike Posner

Rivers (Sam Feldt & De Hofnar Remix) – Thomas Jack {ideally to be played whilst sat on a riverbank}

Thinking Of Sunshine – Daniel Adams-Ray {for if you’re visiting a hot country – or just anywhere other than the UK, tbh, or for when the thought of a holiday is the only thing keeping you motivated}

A Sky Full of Stars – Coldplay {for the camping trips}

Adventure Of A Lifetime – Coldplay {for the gap years, exotic expeditions and backpacking trips}

Alive (Edeema Remix) – Alex Doan

All Of The Stars – Ed Sheeran {for the late night contemplation moods}

Anything – Hedley {for the moments when you feel invincible}

Barcelona – George Ezra

Budapest – George Ezra

Cake By The Ocean – DNCE {to be played whilst eating cake, by the ocean}

California Love – Somekindawonderful

Clouds – One Direction

Coming Over (filous Remix) – James Hersey

Crazy Youngsters (from Pitch Perfect 2) – Ester Dean

Cups (from Pitch Perfect) – Anna Kendrick

Daydreamin’ – Ariana Grande {for blue skies, fluffy white clouds and sunny days}

Do It Now – Jasmine Thompson {road trip vibes}

Don’t Worry (ft. Ray Dalton) – Madcon

Down By The River – Milky Chance {you know where to play this}

Drive – Oh Wonder {you know when to play this}

Durban Skies – Bastille {for stunning sunsets and South Africa}

Freedom – Pharrell Williams

Geronimo – Sheppard

Good Times – Ella Eyre

Halycon Birds – Broken Back

Half The World Away – AURORA {for when home feels like a different planet}

Home – Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros {because home doesn’t have to be a house}

Hymn For The Weekend – Coldplay {for long weekend short trips away}

Jubel – Klingande

Kiss Me – Campsite Dream

Lava – Kuana Torres Kahele {y’know, just in case you spot some volcanoes}

Mermaid – Train {ditto for mermaids}

Lush Life – Zara Larsson

Miami 82 (Kygo Remix) – Syn Cole

New Americana – Halsey {for when you feel so damn cool (even though you probably aren’t)}

Ocean – Lauren Aquilina {for a bit of gentle sailing}

Ocean Drive – Duke Dumont {ditto, but a bit faster this time}

Of The Night – Bastille

Paradise – Coldplay {for when you fall in love with a place}

Pompeii – Bastille {listen to this when you find those volcanoes}

Princess of China – Coldplay ft. Rihanna

Rather Be (ft. Jess Glynne) – Clean Bandit {because travelling is so much better than staying at home)

Reality – Lost Frequencies

Rockin’ All Over The World – Status Quo {sorry, couldn’t resist}

Roman Holiday – Halsey {for those Italian days}

Runaway (U & I) – Galantis

Seeing Stars – BORNS

Skulls – Bastille {for when you’re visiting ancient monuments}

Southern Man – Akshin Alizadeh

Stay – Kygo ft. Maty Noyes {because you just don’t want to go home}

Sun Goes Down (ft. Jasmine Thompson) – Robin Schulz

T-Shirt Weather – Circa Waves {for anywhere outside of Britain}

Tenerife Sea – Ed Sheeran

Tompkins Square Park – Mumford & Sons

YOUTH – Troye Sivan

10,000 Emerald Pools – BORNS

Are You With Me – Lost Frequencies

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Sorry, I seem to be physically incapable of compiling short playlists ah well, this is now your definitive travel playlist :). Which songs do you like? What would you add? Where do you most want to travel to? (for me it’s got to be America, specifically NYC, or maybe Australia!) Let me know in the comments 🙂 

 Instagram // Twitter // Facebook // Bloglovin’

If you liked this you may like the following:

Music of the Month: February

January 2016: Monthly Music Picks

All The Bright Places: Review (mad fangirling) + Playlist

10 Things That Made Me Happy {week three}

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve done this, and I’ve not done it on a Friday before, but y’know, who needs consistency? The main thing is I’M BACK AND HAPPY ABOUT IT!

Here’s why:

10(ish) Things Every Teen Girl Can Relate To

As most of you *probably* know, I am a teenage girl. (Soz to anyone who thought I was just a really damn good bit of artificial intelligence :/) Therefore, I am highly aware of a number of ~issues~ teenage girls can face. It turns out that quite a lot of us actually have the same problems, so I figured that, as about 85% of my readership is made up of teen girls (hello, random non teenager/male *waves*), I would collate some of these into a post. So, here you go…

When you have a good hair day it’s 100% *party time*

High ponytails are easy to do but difficult to do well, so when you’re actually successful, most of the day is going to be spent sneaking glances in the mirror at your absolutely *on point* hair. If it’s really good, the glances will be open and you’ll loudly suggest to others that they also admire the marvellous creation that is your ponytail that day.

Dry shampoo is your saviour

For those days when, for some reason that nobody but your individual strands of hair are aware of, despite washing your hair the night before, it’s greasy the next day. HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN?! Luckily, dry shampoo was created for just this reason, and often it’s actually better than washing your hair because a) it takes approximately thirty seconds b) it gets you out of the mutually agreed hell that is drying your hair and c) it often smells nice and the scent lasts longer (I have the cherry Batiste stuff and omw it smells incredible).

The sign of true friendship is when, upon asking for painkillers, at least one type (but more often than not, two or three varieties) of pills are produced

And, if you’re friends are really great, they’ll make up appropriate songs to help you ~combat the pain~. (Particular blonde friend, I’m looking at you)

Similarly, true groups of friends understand that if one of you hates somebody, you all hate them. 

Even if you have no personal grudge against them, if they’ve upset your friend then that’s the end of them.

Although I think pretty much all males are massively confused as to why we rarely go to the loo without at least one other companion, we all know it’s because that’s where all the best gossip happens. 

It helps that that’s where the best school radiators are. Also, nobody wants to face a gaggle of girls you don’t know/don’t like/that are intimidating, in the loos, alone. School loos are like #1 social gathering place, amiright? 

Best friends are the people that you can send the weirdest things, worst selfies and most cringeworthy puns to because you know them so well that you can tell they’ll appreciate them just as much as you do.

Maybe that’s a guy thing too? Idk

That feeling when you get mascara on your eyelids and it’s just like WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER

Really, can anyone ever actually be bothered to spend the time removing it from your eyelid without smudging it all down your cheeks?

The win of crying, wiping your eyes and discovering your mascara HASN’T SMUDGED, even though it wasn’t waterproof

*praises every god/goddess I know the name of*

Knowing that concealer was possibly the greatest type of makeup ever invented

Even though your shade is called something like Calico or White Ivory to reming you just how depressingly pale you are, in case you could ever forget.

And finally…the never ending struggle of trying to plait your hair

If it’s a side plait, 99% of the time you will be physically unable to get all your hair to stay in the hair band, but you will spend a minimum of ten minutes fruitlessly trying anyway. If it’s a normal plait, chances are it’ll take so long to do to a decent enough standard that your arms will feel like they’re about to drop off from being held above your head for so long well before you’ve had a chance to finish it. 

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And that’s where I’ve run out of inspiration…what’ve I missed out? Let me know in the comments!

An Overthinking Teenager

Thinking Ahead

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As I’ve mentioned in a couple of previous posts, I’m planning on leaving my school and going to the local college to do the International Baccalaureate in September (gulp). That means I’ll be leaving the school that I’ve been at for seven years, since year five, and not taking the conventional route of A Levels but instead studying something that pretty much everybody but my composition teacher and maybe my Spanish teacher has immediately said “oh, that’s meant to be really hard” about when I tell them. Double gulp. I’m planning on taking Spanish, English, Geography, Maths, Biology and Film Studies, all of which feels a bit daunting when I write it down like that. Eek. Maybe I should just stick with A Levels…

On second thoughts, nah.

I’m simultaneously terrified and excited. I’m terrified of the realisation that, provided I do go, I have thirty maths lessons left and then that’s it at school, I’ll be leaving loads of my friends, some of whom I’ve been friends with for a good six or seven years, leaving all the familiarity of a place and routine and teachers that I know and surroundings where I’m comfortable and (mostly) confident. I’ll be leaving everybody in my year, people that you just get used to being around and it’s kinda weird to think that suddenly I’ll go from seeing everyday to having barely any contact with. I’ll be going into the relative unknown that is the IB, as I have no close friends that have done it – the closest I’ve got is a German girl I play hockey with that’s doing it. I’m really scared that after thinking the IB is perfect for me, I’m going to hate it and have to reevaluate my plans and swap to A Levels, either at college or school. I don’t want to leave my two best friends, even though one is going to college too – she’s doing A Levels, and I’ll only get about two free periods each week, so it’s going to be hard to see her. I don’t want to leave the endless maths bants (using that word ironically only promise)(maybe) with my other best friends where we insult each other so incessantly that I think our teacher may think we actually hate each other. Actually, thinking about it, a similar thing’s starting to happen in English…

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But I’m excited too. When I got my offer, I was about a million times happier than I expected to be. I kinda just want to fast forward through GCSEs and results and everything and land on the first day of college and just see what it’s like. I honestly think the IB is the right choice for me, because whenever I think about leaving all my friends I still want to go to college. I’m looking forward to the freedom of a different schedule, a bigger campus, a new subject (film studies), more extracurricular music and making new friends (even though that feels terrifying), and meeting new people and kinda having the opportunity to get rid of the assumptions that people who’ve known me since primary school might have and just be the version of me that I want to be. The chance to kinda reinvent myself, I guess. I’m semi-looking forward to the possibility of seeing old, old, pre-year-five primary school friends or maybe ending up being college friends with people I already know outside of school through hockey or music or whatever.

I don’t think I’ve ever thought about September so far in advance, not even when I was choosing GCSEs. Maybe when I swapped primary schools?

I guess it’s the same for any kind of change – you’ve got to take the plunge and hope for the best. I definitely think leaving is right for me – I feel like if I stay I’ll just be constantly wondering what college would have been like, and at least two and probably more of my friends are leaving school anyway, so it’s not like everyone else will be carrying on the same without me. New people will join, too.

Ah well. What will be will be. And at least, even if I bail on the IB after the first week, I can tell myself I tried it and it just didn’t work out. Oh, and all the decision making has forced me to research the college so much that I can regurgitate a lot of information about it, the IB, the different option choices and the difference between taking subjects at standard of higher level very easily, and I’m sure that’s a skill that will be constantly coming in handy later in life.

Maybe…

This song is 100% me right now with GCSEs, big decisions, and life in general.

Are you having to make any big decisions about *further education* at the moment?

Word Explosions and 500 Followers!

Hello!

I’m aware I’ve been writing a lot of listy posts lately, and while I like them and they seem to have gone down well, I felt like writing something a bit more personal, if only to get stuff straight in my own head. So yeah, prepare for word vomit. (promise it’s not literal vomit, I got that out when I was ill on Monday)

Most important things first: I GOT A NEW PHONE CASE YAY! I actually ordered it ages ago but it was free shipping from Hong Kong so could take approximately up to a month to arrive…it was actually a week earlier than the deadline so yay for (relatively) quick shipping. I had a case anyway, but it was my mum’s old one (it was her case) and it just didn’t really feel like mine, nice as it was.

*endless heart eyed emoji*

In other news…

It’s actually starting to feel like I’m doing GCSEs now (gulp). At the start of this school year, we were all a bit confused because we seemed to be getting less homework than in year 10 and the workload just wasn’t as hard as expected…but its ramped up now. I’ve got so much coursework going on at the moment – English essays, descriptive writing, music composition x2, starting Spanish controlled assessment tomorrow…eugh. Plus I have to make A Level decisions and find time at weekends for work and occasionally hockey matches. And trumpet practice because I really need to do more than I already am, especially with my GCSE ensemble performance sometime in the next couple of months *shudders* (to be fair, I don’t really mind the performance, it’s just so much work). At least I actually pretty like one of my GCSE music compositions – I’m really proud of my minimalism. My pop song is…bearable, but my minimalism is awesome (in my not at all biased opinion, obvs).

On the bright side, I’m starting to get an idea of what I want to do next year – I’m *strongly considering* the International Baccalaureate (primarily because I’m really bad at making decisions), or for A Levels I’m starting to get an idea of what subjects I want to do. My initial idea of Politics, Geography, Maths and English I unfortunately can’t do because it doesn’t work with the option columns, but I’m now thinking maybe English, Maths, Biology and Geography. Shame about the Politics though, it sounds really interesting. Plus they run a biannual trip to America. Not that I really desperately want to go there or anything (no, not at all). I’ve been talking to some of the sixth formers I do music with which has kinda helped – apparently I’ll like English A Level if I really enjoy English, if I do Spanish I should just learn truckloads of vocab and I should never do a minority (especially not Further Maths, which my school’s actually dropped now, thankfully).

I’m also really loving my trumpet lessons at the moment. I’m mainly focusing on two pieces, the Charleston (woop) (and learning to vocalise and play a written-out solo, gulp. I do feel like I’m actually improving though, which is nice) and Begin The Beguine, by Cole Porter. I’m *vaguely* obsessed with the Ella Fitzgerald version, which is actually really helping my playing (I CAN COUNT TO LIKE FIVE NOW. GO ME!). I also have a sneaky suspicion I may have FINALLY cracked a really difficult section of a piece we’re playing in jazz band where three of us play a horrible trio-y solo bit. I practised it for the school Christmas concert (where it went really badly, but I don’t think anybody other than us actually noticed to be honest) but now we’re playing that piece in a competition entry so it’s *quite important* we get it right.

Now a massive change of subject…I’ve been told recently by at least three people and possibly more that I’ve been talking more lately/I get more talkative when I know people better. Took me quite a long time to realise this, but OK. Anyway, I’ve definitely been talking to more people, which is good – there’s a pretty regular group of 3 of us (and sometimes a couple of extras) that walk home together on Wednesdays and Thursdays after our music stuff, I have a fun five-minute walk part-of-the-way-home arrangement with one of my best friends a couple of days each week which is really nice because I only have two subjects with her, and we’re only sat next to each other in one of them so we don’t always have enough time to insult each other catch up and have a chat. Outside of my year, I’ve started talking to three or four other brass players that I didn’t really talk to before, especially in brass ensemble and symphony orchestra (this is pretty significant for me, as I think I was silent throughout almost every symphony orchestra rehearsal last year). They’re actually all pretty nice and we often end up laughing uncontrollably as a section, so when we need to actually start playing (the whole ten bars or so we have in each piece) it doesn’t always go completely to plan. Especially in our Christmas concert in the Cathedral. Oh dear…

Now, last random thing: I’VE HIT 500 FOLLOWERS. YAYZE. THANK YOU. LOTS OF HUGS AND VIRTUAL PARTY AND CAKE ETC. YOU KNOW THE DRILL.

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(omg I was just looking for an appropriate gif already in my media library and I found a screenshot from 200 follows. I’VE COME SO FAR.) (and can somebody buy me the top in this gif? please and thanks in advance)

What’s been happening with you lately?

Very Blogger Problems

OK, so carrying on from my previous post on trumpeter problems, I thought I’d write about an issue I suspect will be waayyy too relatable for most of you – blogger problems. It’s when you experience moments such as the ones I’m going to list that you know you’re a fully fledged blogger – your WordPress addiction has been cemented, you’re more likely to check your stats than Facebook and you spend ages desperately trying to take passable Instagram photos despite a complete lack of natural light because January + school = only at home in darkness. Yay. Anyway…

• Getting weird looks when you force your friends to stop for a coffee cup photoshoot. Honestly though, how can you miss the classic three-black-coffee-cups shot? 
• Having THE BEST blog post idea, mentally noting it, being sure you’ll remember it and then guess what? You forget it. Wave goodbye to the post that would’ve made you viral, for sure.
• When you’re filled with inspiration but can’t write a post because either a) used up all your data for that month already or b) your bedroom is the only room in the house where not one of your five wifi networks can be relied upon to be foolproof.
• Wanting to rave desperately about that awesome book you just read but trying to keep your review spoiler-free so more people will read it.
• Finding a new blog you’re addicted to but being terrified of copying their writing style.
• When OMG YOU GOT NEARLY 500 FOLLOWERS but very few of your friends either care or understand.
• Constantly having to try and stop yourself from writing your inner monologue in a way that reveals your identity. Damn you, anonymity.
• Telling your friends about something only to be interrupted by them saying, “I know, I read your blog”.
• Living slightly in fear of having to talk about your blog in public, especially with family. *pleasedon’tbringituppleasedon’tbringituppleasedon’tbringitup* “Oh, you have a blog?”
  

  No, I do not want to discuss my fabulous online alter ego with you ~source~//via Giphy

• Also living in fear of accidentally using someone else’s photo or not crediting something properly and making people angry.
• Your phone’s camera roll consisting of at least 35% Instagram rejects.
• Taking photos of anything and everything because they’ll either work for your blog, Instagram or, if you’re a really pro photographer, both.
  

  Me @ my cup of tea anywhere and anytime ~source~

• Having to sacrifice blogging for revision and school work 😦
• Wanting to participate in multiple events per month, e.g. both NaNoWriMo and NaBloPoMo and ending up doing neither because you couldn’t decide.
  

  I feel like this should be my new life motto ~source~ (via Giphy)

• WHEN WIDGETS DON’T DO WHAT THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO DO OR AREN’T COMPATIBLE WITH WORDPRESS.COM *ahem* LOOKIN’ AT YOU, BLOGLOVIN’.
• Never having enough time to read AND blog AND do school stuff AND read other blogs AND comment on people’s posts.
  

  ~source~ // via Giphy

• When a post you don’t expect to be popular is and one that you thought would go down well barely anybody sees.
• TRYING TO EMBED GIFS AND INSTAGRAM POSTS ETC AFTER WORDPRESS CHANGED. Mr WP, I understood you before, now you “don’t support that file”. THAT’S NOT COOL. I think I’ve finally got my head round it though…
• Never being able to meet up with your bloggy friends in real life because a) anonymity and b) turns out lots of people live in places like Australia and New Zealand and America. But one day WE WILL ALL MEET UP. (this day may just come sooner for the British)

What are your typical blogger problems?

PS I know I’ve been doing a lot of listy posts recently…they seem to have gone down well, but I will be changing it up a bit, don’t worry!

Happy New Year: Looking Back At 2015 & Forward To 2016

Happy New Year! I’ve been meaning to write this for the past week or so (especially as I didn’t write a Christmas post…but I will be doing a ‘what I got for Christmas’ post soon, as I’ve now received all but one of my presents) but never really got round to it/prioritised other thing (OMG GUYS I FINISHED CARRY ON IN LIKE 48 HOURS OMG OMG OMG but this isn’t a flailing post (as Eve would say) so I’ll save that for another time)(probs five minutes after I publish this).

For more, take a look at my insta 🙂 (@mixomuseblog)

ANYWAY.

I finally got my butt in gear because I was asked if I was doing one or not so I stopped searching #Snowbaz on Instagram and taking pretty bookstagram pictures, plugged my laptop in, bought a new phone case and HERE WE ARE. I *may* stop rambling now. (but let’s be honest, which of my posts do not involve excessive rambling?!)

So. 2015 in review. I can’t really remember anything I’ve done, to be honest. Oh dear. I’ll give a list a go anyway.

• I posted a lot of times – according to the stats helper monkeys, 163, which is about 20 less than last year but still a pretty decent number!
• Special shoutout to Michelle (TOP COMMENTER WOOO), Elly, Eve, Evi, and Victoria for being my top commenters this year!
  

         {source}           GUYSGUYSGUYS SHERLOCK TONIGHT WHO’S EXCITED?!?

• I’ve already done a roundup of 2015 in popular posts, but according to aforementioned stats helper monkeys my most popular posts (most popular first) were Social Life of a Bookaholic  (I PUBLISHED THIS IN MAY 2014 AND IT’S BEEN MORE POPULAR IN 2015 THAN THEN WHAT IS THE ATTRACTION OF THIS POST?!?), my free chocolate review and giveaway (go figure), the list I did of my Top Ten Reasons I Can’t Wait To Get My Braces Off (woop, I like that post, clearly a relatable subject) (I WAS ALLOWED TO EAT TOFFEE PENNIES AT CHRISTMAS GUYS THIS IS GOOD), the Blog Olympics 2015 announcement which was also my most commented on post of 2015 (not gonna lie, I love the opening bit of this post, though I do appear to have forgotten that paragraphs exist for a reason) and finally my 2nd ever book tag – the Book Lover’s Questionnaire.  (check out the my full 2015 year in blogging report HERE)
• I had visitors from 85 countries (FIST PUMP), primarily the UK, US and Canada. (The UK won though. Probably because I don’t have any stalkerish friends in the US or Canada.) (That I’m aware of, at least)
  

  {source} Hey, stalker friends.

•  I had a vaguely ridiculous 8247 views, more than double what I had last year, 3668 visitors (again, approximately double), 2080 likes (almost FOUR TIMES what I had in 2014) and 884 comments (271 in 2014). WHOA GUYS. THANKS!
• I spent the whole of February doing An Overthinking Song Challenge, spent April (I think) doing Camp NaNo (actually wrote a bit, woop), the Blog Olympics in I think July and from June onwards was part of The Feministas (I’ll post on there soon, promise). The Blog Squad was also created at some point, and I AM SO GLAD THAT EXISTS BY THE WAY I LOVE YOU GUYS.
  

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• I hit 300 Twitter followers, 200 Instagram followers and created a Facebook page.
• Away from the blog (OMG, you mean you actually have a life outside the internet? *insert emoji where person is screaming in fear and looks blue*) I spent fiveish days in Serbia which was both character building (THE ACCOMMODATION/THE FOOD/THE SHEER QUANTITY OF GROSS BREAD *insert same emoji*) and ridiculously awesome (THE FLIGHT/PLAYING ON THE MAIN STAGE (in a thunderstorm :/)/HAVING AN AUDIENCE OF LIKE 300/LOADS OF STUFF/THE ONE DAY WHEN WE WENT TO THE BEST POOL EVER AND HAD THE BEST FOOD EVER AND SOME PEOPLE DID A GIG IN A MOUNTAINY PLACE FILMED BY THE EQUIVALENT OF THE BBC AND THEN WE HAD A GROUP PHOTO ON  A BRIDGE THAT WAS DISTINCTLY UNSAFE), I spent just under a week on an RAF camp that was…interesting (but good in the end) and probably did some other stuff, but I can’t really remember any of it. *shrug* I guess that’s what the end of the year does to you.

BUT ON TO THE FUTURE  

(back to the future!)

Last year I set out a few goals for my blog in 2015 that can be found here and generally, I think I gave stuff ago but wasn’t overly successful – I wanted to book blog a bit more, which I tried but just didn’t enjoy that much, I wanted to comment more, which I kinda didn’t really improve on, I wanted to use more pictures, which I think I did (woop!) and I wanted to post more regularly and soon after events. Yeah, that didn’t happen. Maybe a post about summer RAF camps and trips to Serbia coming your way in 2016…

Now for my 2016 plans…

• I want to comment more! I WILL DO IT THIS YEAR!
• Same for posting sooner after events!
• I want to post more about my everyday life
• Maybe more Top Ten Tuesdays
• I want to try and grow my Instagram account a bit more…I’m getting quite into book photography now! (Follow me @mixomuseblog to give me some motivation ;))
  

  Another snap from my insta @mixomuseblog

• I want to interact more on Twitter…having said how fabulous the Blog Squad are, I need to make more time to talk to them!
• Review more books! I think I’ve found my style now, kinda…just extreme fangirling! I did this for The Knife of Never Letting Go and really enjoyed it, so am planning on giving it a go for Carry On too 🙂 (HAHAHA I JUST REREAD THAT POST AND IT MAKES ME SMILE SO MUCH)
  

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• Find more blogs, then share them with you guys. This is kinda a specific post I have in mind but it *WILL* happen, I swear!
• *maybe* tell more people about this blog. Big maybe. I mean, I’m planning on applying to the journalism academy at college where I’ll have to tell them about my blog and possibly submit some writing from here so…scary. I have an idea of what I’ll send it, but still. SCARY PEOPLE MAY JUDGE, GUYS (except they’re adults so they probably won’t). But there are some other friends I’m becoming increasingly close to that I want to tell as well. Hmm. We’ll see.

And that, my friends (or enemies. you choose. let me know your choice, just so I know where I stand), is all I can think of for now. I shall see you most likely at the end of 2016, when I suddenly remember that yes, I have a blog, and no, I haven’t posted at all for a year, let alone fulfilled these goals!

How many of your goals for 2015 did you fulfil, and what are you hoping to achieve in 2016?

Happy New Year!

Little Things Mean A Lot

Hey!

So in the car today, I was thinking (scary I know, but bear with me) and I don’t know what it was, but something kinda reminded me to think about the ~small things~ in life. It may have been that I’d just spent a couple of hours trudging around Westonbirt Arboretum for the Christmas light display thingy (which was cold and muddy but pretty cool) with my parents and just had quite a bit of fun doing something pretty simple. It may have been something on Facebook, I’m not really sure.

Anyway, it just made me think a bit, and inspired me to make a list of small things that make me happy.

1. Having a book that you love enough for it to become your “comfort book”, the one you go to when you want to read something you know inside out, the equivalent of a chocolate bar when you feel bleh but you’ve already eaten all your advent calendar. (For me, it’s Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. LOVE Cath and Levi!)
   

   Just one example of why I love this book. {image source}

2. Similarly, finding a book you can really relate to. I’m not exactly like Cath, but I do feel like I kinda connect with her? Her whole anxiety thing…I’m currently rereading it, and this quote really stuck out to me: “Cath could already feel the anxiety starting to tear her stomach into nervous little pieces”. I haven’t had mega bad anxiety, but I did have it a while back and I relate to that so much. That feeling when you get stressed and worried and don’t think you can do it…I can relate to that. And then later…”She thought about winning. About how she was letting this win, whatever this was – the crazy inside her. Cath, zero. Crazy, one million.” And then she gets up and she smashes it and beats her anxiety yay!
3.  Having fantabulous friends that are possibly my most dedicated readers. To the one who reads it so much I’ll start telling her something and she’ll interrupt, saying”No, I know this, I read it on your blog” YOU ARE FAB and also to the one who I’ll tell I’ve published a new post and she’ll go “I know, I’ve already read it” BECAUSE SHE IS BRILLIANT AND HAS SUBSCRIBED BY EMAIL I LOVE BOTH OF YOU YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE AND IF YOU’RE READING THIS RIGHT NOW HAVE A VIRTUAL HUG. And of course the friend who, although she doesn’t read it often, greets the news of my 12,000 views with the following: “OMFG THATS AMMMMMAAAAAZZZZZZBBBBBBBAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLSSSSS!!!!! Wohooooooo!! So happy for u!!!!!” You are a beautiful human being, as well as all my other friends who don’t read it often but are always really supportive. LOVE YOU GUYS ❤ (even though they’ll probably never read this).
4. Having such good friends that I can spend over 24 consecutive hours with them and not get bored.
5. Having the kind of best friend that, though we don’t talk often, I can message desperately fangirling about something and she will fangirl equally back. Plus, she’s the kind of person who I can text asking to talk and she’ll immediately come back asking if I want her to call. YOU ARE THE MOST WONDERFUL PERSON I KNOW AND ARE A BEAUTIFUL SPECIMEN OF THE HUMAN SPECIES!
6. Having enough people that read this thing that I HAVE HAD 12,000 VIEWS. Yeah, about 60% of them are probs from my friends but still you lot are wonderful!
7. Going back to the friends thing…not only having a number of good friends but having four or five REALLY close ones who know the most about me, go “No, I DO give a sh*t about you” when you need it most, are always there to make me smile and are permanent advice dispensers/fangirling company.
8. When someone likes a book/song you recommend to them/a picture you tag them in or whatever. It’s just an awesome feeling knowing that either your gut feeling is on point, or, even better, you know that person well enough to be able to accurately predict their reaction to something.
9. When you just put a playlist on shuffle and every. single. song. is absolutely perfect for your mood. It doesn’t happen often but when it does, it’s golden.
10. When you have something REALLY FLIPPIN’ AWESOME to look forward to that’s close enough to be excited enough but far away enough to be over too soon (*ahem* KYGO IN APRIL *cough*)
11. When you either give somebody a present and they genuinely love it, their face lights up and everything, or you get a present that you really wanted or is just perfect and you’re happy and everything is right with the world. (See Exhibits A-C: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell, my new Kindle Fire, the Humans of New York: Stories book by Brandon Stanton; and Exhibit D: the umbrella I got my sister for Christmas that was interesting enough but not too “psychadelic”)
12. Getting a lovely long comment/email that makes me all happy and smiley and cheerful (Elm is amazing at this)
13. Getting a genuine compliment 🙂 🙂 🙂
14. Reading a book and absolutely not being able to put it down then fangirling on Twitter with the author afterwards (*ahem* Brett and The Bureau of Time <<< that links to the UK Amazon store but you can buy it worldwide from other retailers too)
    

    For more like this, see my Instagram (@mixomuseblog)

15. Having long deep chats with good friends and getting everything off your chest.
16. Having long, not-so-deep chats with a) the Blog Squad and b) the new offshoot of the Blog Squad, the FANGIRL SOCIETY (yes full caps is necessary, we get excited easily)
17. Getting a new reader on here who promptly likes loads of posts THANK YOU KIND AND BEAUTIFUL PERSON I LIKE YOU A LOT.
    

    THANK YOU VRUSHALI

And that’s where I’m gonna leave it for now! What kinds of small and simple things make you happy?

Catching Up

Hiyaaa

Sneak peek at some of the stuff I bought. {socks // Primark, watch + lip balm // New Look, 2016 diary // Calendar Club}

I’m aware I’ve been a little bit absent lately, on here, Twitter, the Blog Squad, pretty much everywhere really. But I’ve (for the most part) been doing fun stuff…I got Pitch Perfect 2 on DVD last Sunday as an early Christmas present at a family party thing, so watched that in the evening, I had a school Christmas concert on Tuesday night (which involved truly evil music which we royally messed up, and the Trumpet 2 Symphony Orchestra folder + music stand disappearing just before we were meant to play. Other than that, it went well).

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I  alsobroke up for Christmas holidays yesterday lunchtime, so went Christmas shopping (mostly unsuccessful in terms of presents for other people, but I got some nice stuff for myself) with a couple of friends followed  by a sleepover involving lots of pizza, Love Actually, and midnight paperchain-making, woop.

Cba to watermark this so yeah…please don’t nick it. 

On Tuesday lunchtime it was lovely because we all had a Christmas lunch/ate the worst combination of food imaginable, which was absolutely fab. Rocky road, sausage rolls, chocolatey tiffin stuff, LOTS of Pringles and more…it was fantastic. Not traditionally Christmassy food, but that really wasn’t an issue. Especially as my friend had a pasty so me and three other friends got to split the crust, yayze.

Oh, and not that I’m *at all* excited but my friend and I have ONLY GOT TICKETS TO SEE KYGO LIVE NEXT APRIL AHHHH. I need to thank my geography teacher when we go back to school because apparently part of the reasons my parents said yes was because she called me “outstanding” in my end of term report. Thanks, Miss!

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Today I’ve put up previously made paperchains and generally made my room Christmassy, attempted to reread Jekyll and Hyde for revision (but fell asleep during the notes before the story instead) and made a pretty revision timetable. Yay, colours! (You can probably guess why I got a good geography comment…) I also had a mini meltdown about GCSEs and mocks and ahhhhh noooo too much workkkk. But I’m now listening to Spotify and that’s calming me down a bit.

pretty pyjamas + blurry polaroids

Talking of Spotify, I’ve just taken advantage of their December offer to get 3 months of Premium for 99p, which is INCREDIBLE. I honestly didn’t think Premium would be that different but not having to shuffle on my phone and not having to sit through ads is brilliant. GO, TAKE ADVANTAGE! (BUT remember to set ten zillion reminders to cancel it after three months).

Oh, and I’m slightly music obsessed at the moment. Kygo, Ella Fitzgerald, X Ambassadors, Bastille’s new album stuff…everything’s so good. And I think I’m addicted to Michael Buble and Idina Menzel’s version of Baby It’s Cold Outside. My friend and I did an impromptu duet of it earlier and what can I say, naturally it was fabulous. 😉 I was gonna put a link in here but then I got distracted by my recently watched YouTube videos and I think I’m just gonna have to create a whole new post, there’s so much awesome stuff there, so watch out for that!

OHH YEAH AND GUYS SHERLOCK’S BACK SOON WOOOO!

What’ve you been up to lately?