Birthday haul

Hi guys!

If you watch my YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/ellieminett) then you might know what I got already but as on all videos, you can't really see things as well as if you take a picture of it.

So this is what I got.

Firstly, from my parents I got a travel kit: foldable rucksack, after bite pen, mosquito repellent and money belt. Oh and I completely forgot to show you in the video but they also got me a pandora charm (it's a globe).

From my sister I got these cacti for my room that I named Judith and Bob.

Bob

Judith

My boyfriend got me a box of Neuhaus chocolates (the best!) and made me my favourite dessert: mi-cuit.

From my aunt and cousin I got a £20 amazon voucher (I've bought a book and a film so far and still have a little left).

From a really good friend of mine I got a lovely letter (hand decorated) and a bracelet she made me.

My sister's godfather gave me a book on travel safety.

And last but not least, the rest of my family and my neighbour gave me money for traveling!

I hope this might have given you some ideas if you're buying someone a gift.

Summer clothing haul!

Hi guys!

As promised in my last video, here are a few pictures of my new clothes and what they look like on.

Firstly, these trousers are from Lola & Liza. I've paired them with all the t-shirts I bought from H&M.

I then went on boohoo.com and bought this playsuit.

Again from boohoo, I found this jumpsuit.

Lastly, I fell in love with maxi dress! It's also from boohoo.

I'm not going to show you my socks on because that would be a bit silly but you can see them on in my video if you really want to. All the links to these clothes (that I could find) are in the description box beneath the video. You can watch it here.

That is everything I bought! I hope you liked it!

Ps: do you like my new hair? I literally had it cut this morning!

Tanya Burr's nail varnish in Penguin Chic review

Hi guys!

So I have another review this week, I promise next week will not be a review!

I've just had the chance to paint my nails. I work with food so I can't paint them very often. But anyway, I thought I'd try out the one I bought most recently, Penguin Chic. This was also featured in my spring haul video that you can watch here.

One coat

It's a very nice taupe colour, it doesn't resemble anything I own. It's quite opaque on the first coat although I would recommend 2.

It's very easy to apply as the formulation is not too liquid and not too gloopy, just right.

I've been wearing it since last night and I did about an hour of painting this morning and got gloss paint all over my fingers (I'm a bit clumsy...) and when I washed it off, it didn't chip the nail polish in the slightest so it's quite resistant which is good.

I also found it dried quite quickly and I haven't needed to apply a top coat.

2 coats

This range is quite affordable too, around the 10€ mark.

I don't have anything bad to say about this so I'm very pleased with it! I will have to purchase some more colours!

I hope you found this interesting!

If you go down to the woods today...

Hi guys!

Spring is well underway and it has been gorgeous here in Belgium!

The other day, I finished work early and took Harry out for a longer walk (Belle had been running around in the garden so didn't need walking). I decided to take him to the woods next to where I live: best decision ever.

It was beautiful - everything was green, it was just the right temperature and there was no one there. I even spent five minutes just sitting on a swing made out of a log and some string just enjoying the singing birds and the blissful temperature. I only managed five minutes though because Harry had other ideas and seemed very confused as to why we had stopped walking!

It was really nice to just relax and appreciate everything around me. We live our lives at 100 miles an hour and never take the time to just look at every detail we have around us. This half an hour walk really made me a happier person for the rest of the day and boosted my mood for the week.

Anyway, moral of the story: take the time to look at what's around you and stop, think and listen.

I hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend and if you don't celebrate Easter, just a lovely weekend. I  ate lots of chocolate to celebrate!

Redecorating my room!

Hi guys!

Sorry there's not been a blog post for a while but I've been so busy lately.

I just started my job, I've been ill and I'm redecorating my room!

So far, we've moved all of my clothes and things downstairs into the spare bedroom which is where I'm sleeping.

We've also dismantled my desk, taken the shelves out, removed the curtains and curtain rail
and started painting the walls and the ceiling white.

We're going to dismantle my bed next (we didn't think it would be necessary but it is) and that requires clearing out the huge draw of stuff underneath it.

After that we'll finish painting the walls and ceiling white and start with the colours. Two of my walls are going to be a chocolate brown colour and the other two will be an off white. The ceiling will remain white.

We also have to paint the window frames and the door with gloss paint, then we can finally reassemble my desk and maybe buy a new, bigger bed. We're going to rearrange the set up of the furniture in my room.

I feel like it needs a bit of a freshen up as it's been this way for 6 years almost so it was about time for a change!

When everything is finished, I'll take a picture and show you what the end result is!

Dealing with trichotillomania

Hi guys!

Today I'm going to write something that is quite personal but I think it's important.

Trichotillomania is like an addiction to pulling your hair. It's very hard to stop and it's very hard to live with.

I've been suffering with it on and off for about 2 to 3 years. It's worse when I'm stressed, bored or upset.

Before or right at the start

The main reason it's so difficult to stop is because you can't escape your hair. Unlike alcohol or cigarettes where you have to go and purchase it, your hair is always with you.

31 of December 2012 (pulling at the front)

It is possible to give up though! I'm slowly but surely getting there and my confidence level is much higher than it was.

I didn't want to go to therapy for it because I felt I could do it with the help of the people around me. The first step was to admit that I had a problem and talk to someone about it. My boyfriend and my family have been very supportive. If I go through a bad spot, I've been able to talk to them about it.


Next I tried to keep my hands busy at all times but at school that was difficult. The other problem was that school was stressful, another trigger for trichotillomania. So I tried to stay more relaxed and not worry about the small things.

February 2013

I used to have long hair so partly to hide the patches where I'd been pulling and partly to make it harder for me to pull at it, I would tie it up. I cut a fringe at the front because that's where I was pulling a lot. I've stopped pulling completely there now.

Starting to grow out the fringe I added (June 2013)

I decided to cut it short at the beginning of last october. This was to let the hair grow out more evenly so I wouldn't have very short bits compared to the rest. I also found that having it short made me pull at it less.

I later cut it even shorter and haven't cut it since. I had a patch of very thin hair at the back of my head which is slowly disappearing. As it's growing a bit longer, I've found I've been pulling more but I'm more conscient I'm doing it so it's easier to stop now.

Really short hair (December 2013)

I'm trying to take better care of my hair by using hair masks etc. This means I feel more guilty when I pull at my hair and it also helps the damaged hair.

I'm not at the end of my struggle yet but I'm getting there. It's a slow but sure progress and my goal for the end of 2014 is to have longer hair again and not be pulling it out.

January 2014 ( pretty much what I look like now)

I hope this has helped or at least made some of you aware of this addiction. If I can conquer it anyone can!