Loving the Crap Out Of...#1

I've done a few 'Favourites' posts in the past which weren't spectacular but that's because I was trying to write what I thought a favourites post should look like based on ones I'd read on other blogs. 

That's not me and it's not my blog so from here on out, no more feeble attempts at monthly favourites. 

What I will do sometimes is a round up of things I'm 'Loving the Crap Out Of' at that particular moment in time. 

Any products mentioned below are not gifted, no brands I've mentioned have sponsored me to mention them, I'm just presently loving the crap out of the stuff below and thought I'd share it in case you love the crap out of it too! 

Mixx Audio Headphones

I'm loving the crap out of my Mermaid Mixx Audio headphones right now. I bought a marble pair for my dad (primarily for selfish reasons - I couldn't be bothered listening to the radio programme he listens to on a Saturday morning) and decided to pick myself up a pair too.  You can plug them in or go wireless and connect to a phone or device with bluetooth. Podcasts,, Music, Meditation, deterrent to chatty strangers when I'm tired - all possible. Majorly improved my morning journey to work! 

Chocolate Oatly

Can I just talk for a minute about how I'm loving the crap out of Chocolate Oatly? I enjoy Oatly in general (Orange and Mango is also the shiznit). It's tasty and super versatile. 
Heat it up for a super chocolatey hot chocolate or freeze it for a super chocolatey ice lolly - see mine above!
I've also found that pouring it over cereal is a game changer! 

Owl Backpack

Found this a few weeks ago in a shop on holiday. Couldn't tell you what the brand is, all i know is I had to have it and am presently loving the crap out of carrying my lunch and keys to work in it! 

Irregular Choice Trainers

I have quite a few pairs of Irregular Choice but this is my first pair of trainers. I love the two different designs on them and I think the floral and the polka dots go well together without being too busy! It also helps that they are super comfy! 

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Quirky and 30: Late Night Excursions

Star Gazing

During my camping holiday this year, my boyfriend and I decided to do a bit of stargazing. 

We left our campsite when it started to get dark and drove to a nearby dark sky spot with some marshmallows and our camping chairs.  The sun took a while to set but once it did we began look up at all the stars in the sky.  I've obviously seen stars in my 30 years on the planet but never so clearly or so many at once so it was a really cool moment! 

Also marshmallows and strawberry laces by the side of the road taste amazing! 

Sunset Walk

Another evening, we left the campsite again to go for a walk and this time James picked a nice cliff top walk above a beach just as a the sun was setting. 

Looking back it was lovely, at the time I was a tiny bit freaked out by the overgrown walkway to the cliff top and the nosy cows (literal cows, I'm not being derogatory)in the field we passed by deciding to walk in our direction.

We got some lovely pictures of the sunset and then headed back to the campsite. 

Both of these were different experiences for me, normally at 10pm I'm thinking about pjs, netflix and sleep not sticking on my shoes and hoodie for an excursion! 

30 Things Total: 8

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Quirky and 30: Kayaking

It's no secret that I'm fairly inactive, I'm not very outdoorsy or sporty but when I went camping last week I decided to indulge my boyfriend in his request to do something active.  We opted for kayaking and despite being apprehensive I ended up loving it!

I struggled for the first 5 minutes or so, crashed into James' kayak quite a few times and couldn't quite get the hang of how I was supposed to hold the oar, after a quick lesson from James (despite the centre we went to already giving me instructions) I began to get the hang of it!

We probably did about an hour and a half and for someone who does very little voluntary exercise besides walking I coped pretty well, I could feel it in my arms and my butt but other than that I wasn't completely dying!

I may even explore the possibility of doing it again closer to home.

If you've never tried kayaking I'd thoroughly recommend it. 

Rachie's Tips for a Fellow Novice

Wear clothes and shoes you don't mind getting wet
Bring a change of clothes for after

If it's a sunny day - wear sunscreen.
I got a bit of sunburn because I'm an idiot and forgot!

Take your time, enjoy, and don't worry if it takes a bit of getting used to!

30 Things Total: 6

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Quirky and 30: Vintage Makeover

Although I'm into all things quirky, when it comes to my hair and I'm fairy low maintenance. 

I do get my hair dyed in quirky colours from time to time but for the most part I let it grow out until I can be bothered getting my roots done.  I'm not great at styling so I straighten it now and again for a treat. 

For my 30th birthday a few months ago, my friend Nicole decided to take me to a Vintage salon she'd visited as part of a Hen Day as she thought I'd love it. 

She was right, we arrived at the beautiful Pin Ups Salon in Glasgow on a Saturday afternoon and I was transformed into a different area as the stylist began taking me from Rachel to Marilyn. 

I'd chosen a 50s style as it aligns quite well with my shape and my taste in clothes. 

I'm not really into make up do I didn't bother with that but I was so happy with my hair and received loads of compliments. 

I'd thoroughly recommend the experience to anyone else. I'm so grateful my friend suggested it as it's not something I would have chosen to do for myself but something I really enjoyed. 

We made a day of it by going for unicorn lattes and then dinner post makeover! 

30 Things Total: 5

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Quirky and 30: Paris, Disney & Rollercoasters

In one of my previous blog posts, I mentioned that I'm turning 30 this year. I also mentioned that a few years ago I made a list of 28 things I wanted to do by the time I was 28 and tried to achieve them all in about 8 weeks. 

This year I decided that I wanted to revisit that idea but spread out 30 new achievements, new adventures and new skills across the year rather than try to squash them all in....solid logic considering my birthday is just over two weeks away! 

I'm crap at uploading blogs regularly so since the last time, I've added a few things to the list. It's a work in progress list rather than a tick off list, although the ones below were pre-planned.

Disneyland Paris

A few weeks ago, James and I went to Disneyland Paris. It was pretty amazing. I went to Disney in Florida once when I was a kid and loved it but there was something about going as an adult that made me soak in every second just that little bit more. 

I loved seeing everything from the Castle, to Mickey Mouse, to the rides. Even though my knee eventually started complaining about how much walking I was doing, there wasn't one moment I didn't enjoy.
I even managed to find a quirky skirt!

On the last night before we headed for our train to the airport, we stayed to watch the illuminations and I cried. Yep, nearly 30 and cried at the animations projected on the castle/music. You're never too old for Disney to hit you right in the feels!

Paris

We took one day out from the Park(well early morning to late afternoon) to head into Paris and did some sightseeing.
We had a lovely breakfast in a cafe that I'm annoyed I've forgotten the name of! 

It was raining pretty heavy so we paid for one of the tour busses and got a ticket where we were able to just hop on and off at the sights we wanted/had time to see. We started with Notre Dame which is an exquisite building to walk around - I did resist the urge to bring out my best Esmerelda wander around singing God Help The Outcasts, as much as I'd have loved it, it may have been a little invasive to everyone else's morning.

The Eiffel Tower was bigger than I even imagined and a little surreal to see up close.  The Arc De Triomphe is in the middle of a super busy road so we just stood across the road and took some pictures! 

Rollercoasters

I'm pretty militant at never going anything that scares the crap out of me just a little bit but I figured I couldn't really spend the week looking in shops and hoping to bump into characters so I'm put on brave face and got in line for the rollercoasters! I'd say my favourite was Indiana Jones Temple of Doom, it was outdoors and I could see all of the twists and turns coming. The other ones I went on were indoors and while I was perfectly safe, I didn't like being in the dark. I made a point of trying not to say no to any of the rides, so I was pretty proud of myself for feeling the fear and doing it anyway. 

30 Things Total: 4

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Quirky Reads: The Joy of No

It might be February already but I said I wanted to read more books this year than I did last year so here is my musings on the first book I've finished reading this year! 

Quick Review

Genre(s): Self Help/Motivation 

Who Wrote It: Summerdale Publishers

Did I Dig It?: Heck yeah!

2 Second Summary: Some sound advice on saying no.

Quirky Queen Rating: 👑👑👑👑👑 

5 out of 5 Crowns from me on this occasion.
Every once in a while I need a reminder that saying no is not only acceptable, but necessary. 

I also read it while my neighbour was having carpets fitted and it distracted me from the loud hammering!

Extended Musings

I think I've mentioned before that I struggle when it comes to saying no.  I'm aware of the word's existence and can use it, I just don't like doing it. 

While reading through some of the advice in this book, I found myself nodding along at alot of the section titles because I struggle saying no in those situations. 

My biggest problem is I get 'decliner's remorse' I'm not sure if that's even a thing or if I've just stolen someone else's term but I'm gonna roll with it! Every time I say no or consider saying no, the pangs of guilt are never far away, I worry people won't like me, I worry I'll be letting them down, I worry that if something goes wrong or they have a miserable time - it will be my fault.  In reality, I really need to get over myself.  Someone might be mildly put out that I said no, but they'll move on pretty quickly and find someone else to go see that film I won't enjoy or help them do that thing I'd be terrible at helping with. They might not even give it a second thought. 

Politeness, Firmness and Honesty were recurring words I found throughout this book. I reckon these are positive intentions to have in mind when it comes to saying no.
Be polite about it, be honest about it but also be firm with it.

I'm a terrible one for getting myself stuck in a Vicky Pollard trap of 'No but yes but no but yes' - I start with the intention of saying no but I dance around in a circle not wanting to be unkind and end up either committed to something I don't want to do or committed to something else as a result. As long as I'm not being rude, saying no really shouldn't be the big deal I turn it into.

I'm going to try and keep this book in my mind in situations where I feel myself about to execute a yes when I want to say no. I'll also try and change my view on no being a completely negative thing. 

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Quirky and 30: Sparkle Sunday

If you've read my blog before you might remember that a few years ago I decided about 7 weeks before my 28th birthday I wanted to do a list of 28 things. It was fun and I got through everything on the list to varying degrees but it was a silly timescale! 

This year, I'm turning 30. I don't like this fact, but I accept it.
I'm 30 in 11 weeks time, so I'm not going to try and cram 30 things into a list to do before then.

I'm going to aim to do 30 things this year.

Not necessarily before my birthday, just throughout this year.
A mix of things I've never done, places I've never been and developing new I've never had.

Today I started small, but kept it quirky.
I went shopping with my sister in law for things that sparkle.

I came home with a very comfy and pretty throw blanket...because I'm eternally freezing. 

A day dedicated to shopping for sparkley things (at a bargain) was a great way to kick off my adventures. I've never really had a structured shopping trip, I tend to just soak things in and see what calls out to me.  It was interesting to go in with a goal and seeing where it took me. 

I saw this and I thought it summed up my approach to life quite nicely - sparkle in your own way and leave a little of that sparkle everywhere you go. 

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