Appreciate yourself without makeup...

All too often I feel pressurised into putting on makeup. Done well and naturally, I see no problem with wearing makeup for events and socialising. 

However it's not wearing makeup I wanted to address but how I feel about it. I think there's a certain degree of self esteem to be able to look yourself in the mirror with no makeup on and say 'I am beautiful'. 

With no makeup on you see all your blemishes, scars and imperfections. There are times when I want to cover that up, but accepting your 'naturalness' helps you to accept yourself as a person. 

Never tell yourself you are ugly. Don't beat yourself up. The world does that already... Don't add to it!

Here's my beautiful makeup free face this morning 💕 

Take care of yourself. 

Much love, Beth xxx

How did I make it through high school with a chronic illness?

This is still a question I ask myself everyday! Honestly I think if I went back to school now, I wouldn't make it. It's amazing how the human body & mind rises to the challenges life presents.

There are times when I'm very thankful I kept a diary throughout my high school years. I might have managed to make it through school but reading through my diary entries I was overwhelmed, stressed and what I would now describe as a permanent state of 'brain fog'.

I really enjoyed school, especially the last two years where I gained more independence. But I battled with guilt and feelings of being judged. 

Because I went from being relatively healthy to having a chronic illness I always felt like my friends and fellow students didn't quite get that I was genuinely sick. 

My school was amazing in letting me take the days off I needed too without much objection. But I felt so guilty for every single day I didn't turn up, I used to beat myself up for not being well enough. Looking back on it, I was way to tough on myself. I didn't understand that it was OK to do what I could and that would be enough.

Every time I think of school I genuinely have to stop my heart from palpitating. It was more stress than I have ever felt in my life. But I'm proud I stuck with it. I learnt some amazing lessons from being in an integrated school and being in a group 'Hands For A Bridge'.

If you are in school whilst trying to deal with a chronic illness or pain then you have my respect. Don't ever feel bad about setting out your needs and taking a day off when you need it.

Much love, Beth xxx

Spoonie post • why are showers so exhausting??

If you suffer from any sort of illness, chronic pain or blood pressure problems you will know what I mean when I say showers are hard work. 

I love it when people say, "I'll just have a quick shower". A quick shower very rarely exists for spoonies. It can be mentally exhausting and physically draining. I know that sounds stupid, 5 years ago I lived pain free and I never thought twice about showering! 

Rather than dwell on all the negative aspects, I wanted to give a few helpful hints that help make showers slightly easier...

• Plan your shower - you may not always be able to do this but I like to try and think about what days in the week I'll be showering in relation to how much I've got scheduled that day. 

• Drink water before you shower - this is definitely a good idea if you have any blood pressure issues, but drinking water can counteract the heat and tiredness that it'll bring on. 

• Allow time for rest or a nap afterwards - give your body time to recover. 

• Accept that showers ARE exhausting - We can be our own worst enemy in diminishing problems, better to acknowledge it and see what can be done than ignore it all together.

I hope these few tips help, they are all from my personal experience if you have any more tips or thoughts on the subject just leave me a comment below.

As always, much love, Beth xxx

Spoonie recipe ~ Uh-mazingly tasty & simple smoothie!

So fellow spoonies, you know those days, you've used most of your spoons just getting out of bed & getting dressed, breakfast just seems like too much of an effort! 

Well I'm on a mission to bring you healthy yet really quick, convienient recipes that take little effort.

This has to be one of the most simple yet healthy smoothies I have ever made. It tasted amazing too. 

The ingredients are:

1 banana, 

1 tbsp of nut butter, 

100ml milk

It's that simple!! 

Just blend everything and serve over ice. This recipe is awesome when you're in a rush or just having a bad day! Enjoy! 

Have a great week!

Much love, Beth xxx

My makeup look for performing at Starbucks!

So last Tuesday my brother and I performed a set in our local starbucks. 

It's been one of the first major outings since the operation. It took loads of effort and was really exhausting but it was totally worth it! 

I wanted to show you the makeup look I went for... My old friend, the smokey eye! 

I kept everything really simple to keep the focus on the eye. I started with Revlon Foundation, Hard candy blush and highlighter, MUA pressed powder and Burt's bees lip balm. 

To create the smokey eye I layered rimmel soft black pencil across the eye, then blend it out with a eye brush. I keep layering this until it creates an intense black eye. 

Here's the end result...

I had a great evening and really enjoyed getting dolled up for the first time in a few weeks! 

Much love, Beth xxx

Getting out of bad habits!

I felt like before my operation I'd got into a really good routine of having the right balance between clean food and junk food in order to maintain my weight. Honestly, I hadn't factored it in as something that would be affected by my surgery - I was wrong! 

To be honest the first two weeks after surgery I had to just let food happen! My family very lovingly looked after me, that included anything they could russle up or pick up from a shop/takeaway. Plus most of my visitors brought me sweets & chocolate. The problem is now I'm trying to find my feet again, metaphorically and physically! But what I eat isn't just 'clicking' back into place for me. Half the time I have no appetite, the rest of the time I just want pastries or chocolate which totally isn't 'me'!

I think the fact that I haven't been able to go grocery shopping yet doesn't help. Normally I have lots of clean and healthy snacks bought in. Also, I love to bake. I'm forever cooking clean cookies, oatmeal, scones etc. 

Mentally I'm struggling. All the guilt tripping negativity is coming back but as always I'll battle against it. I know it'll be fine in the long run but let thus be a little advance warning, surgery + healthy eating is hard!!! 

As always, much love, Beth xxx