Blog Post Ideas

Have you ever had trouble thinking of a new post to write?
You want to connect and share with your fellow bloggers and capture people’s attention, but what could you possibly blog about?

I have had this feeling before and here are 16 of the ideas I came up with:

1. Share your personal review on a new product you have tried. Be it a drink or a food that you have never tried before, a new make up item or hair product, or a new brand you have come across. Or have you just bought that amazing dress or pair of shoes you have wanted for ages? Snap a photo and post it on your blog with a review and where you bought it from. Share with others and leave them feeling inspired!

2. Do you regret doing anything in your life? Or do you regret not doing something? Think about this, and maybe by sharing your story you can reach out to others and make them question their own lives and give them the inspiration they need to make changes.

3. Have you ever looked back on your childhood or your teenage years and wish you could tell your younger self a thing or two?
For example, you may not have paid much attention in school and are paying for it now. Write yourself a letter to the past, of what you wish you had done, amend what changes you can.

4. What do you miss? Are you bored of working a full time job that doesn’t interest you in the slightest? Do you miss school? Friends that you have drifted apart from? Or a TV show that you loved? Share your missed treasures with others!

5. Are there any tips and useful hints that you have picked up on over the years? Such as a healthy diet, a good hair treatment, or things to keep your smile a shining white? People are always looking for cures and remedies for everyday problems. Me especially! Helps others out by sharing your wisdom! I’m sure people will greatly appreciate this and may recommend your posts to friends!

6. Have you had an interview that went horrifically wrong? Or an event that didn’t entirely go to plan? Is there something that seemed awful at the time but you can now look back on and laugh? Give people something to read, and I’m sure there are people out there who can relate to your experiences!

7. Write a diary entry or a letter to your future self. Include your goals and expectations and where you think you will be in 10 or so years to come. You can look back on this when the time comes and see if your life turned out the way you thought it would.

8. Is there a shop that you absolutely love and you buy pretty much everything from? Give them some love! Write a blog post expressing how much you love and appreciate this shop! Share some photos of you with your new items, such as you wearing a new top etc.. Email the company to let them know about your blog post and your recommendation, and who knows.. You may get a voucher or a freebie from them!

9. Write a ten or twenty something list. These have proven popular with me. For example you could write a list on ’20 things that happen as an early teen’ or ’10 thoughts you had when starting a new job’ these types of blog posts, get people’s attention because they can be easily related to. People of a similar age to you can come across it and think ‘this is so me!’ They will then share the link with their friends, and then your post will gain more and more views.

10. Think random! Write a post which is weird and wonderful, such as ‘if you could be any animal for a day, what animal would you be?’ Explain your answer in detail, and ask readers to comment what their answer would be. This will start up a discussion, and you can meet new bloggers!

11. Write a guide to post. I have previously written a post called ‘Your Simple Guide To Happiness’ this guide included things that you can do to help make you happier. These are things that I do often and have worked for me. Make your own guide. It could be from ‘A guide to getting through uni’ to ‘A guide to fulfilling your dream’ make it your own!

12. Is there a fellow blogger who you check out for inspiration? Or someone that you never miss an update from? Write a post saying why you like this persons style and link to their blog. This person may re-blog and link back to your site, and you can gain views from their followers.

13. Are you a master of applying the fiddly pests which are false eyelashes? Or can you put liquid eyeliner on perfectly first time? Well I can assure you I can do neither! Bit if you are lucky enough to be perfect at this, take a before and after photo explaining how you did it. People are always looking to master the art of make up; and are searching for quick tutorials on the web every day.

14. Or better yet! Why not make a vlog? I think that’s what it’s called.. Isn’t it?
Make a short video of your tutorial. Show how you put on your foundation evenly and make your skin look flawless. Believe me, this is what people want to see.

15. Come across a quote that really inspired you? I come across new quotes every day, and it’s only the rare few that I take in and fall in love with. My initial thoughts are then – what can I do with this quote? Add it to a photo? Print it out? Stick it on my wall? Share it on twitter? I just know I need to get it out there. Look for new quotes or if you come across a great one, then be creative with it!

16. Heard something funny recently that tickled you so much, you nearly laughed your pants off? Share the laughter. Explain how you came to hear something so funny, and bring a smile to everyone’s faces.

Think about things you search the web for, and how many posts come up with brilliant tips and advice.

Make your own posts, as there will always be many people out there that need your opinion. If people agree with you and your opinions, then they are more likely to come back again and view your latest posts, as they will take a liking to your style. Get your personality seen through the way you write and you are guaranteed returning bloggers!

One Lovely Blog Award

I have been nominated for the ‘One Lovely Blog Award’ by the amazing lscott76! You can find her blog here

Thank you so much for the nomination!

The rules are as follows:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for the award.

2. Add the One Lovely Blog logo to your post.

3. Share 7 facts/or things about yourself.

4. Nominate about 15 bloggers you admire and inform nominees by commenting on their blog.

Seven things I can tell you about myself:

1. I have had my blog for almost a year, and could say that I am slightly obsessed with it now. I look forward to writing each post and am always coming up with new ideas for each one.

2. I am a little bit addicted to coffee now. I have only been drinking it for a couple of months but now am reliant upon it to keep me going.

3. I love driving. I don’t know what it is, be it the freedom, my choice of music that is played, or the sights on my travels. I get excited every time I jump in my car.

4. My hair is always down and I always have to have it pulled round to my left. It feels weird any other way.

5. I have to have big hair everyday. I will not go out of the house until I have hairsprayed, back combed and volumized.

6. I used me to attend drama school, and was full of confidence. I am actually quite shy now.

7. I actually really hate wearing make up, and only ever wear it if I am going out for the night.

I nominate:

http://sigurdurnordal.me

https://grandmalin.wordpress.com

http://pegoleg.com

http://janjansennetwork.wordpress.com

http://kimberlymringer.me

https://chestermaynes.wordpress.com

http://mbbendt.wordpress.com

http://paigedifiore.wordpress.com

http://xoxolovedee.wordpress.com

http://doodlemum.com

https://everydaypositivequote.wordpress.com

http://wingedprisms.com

Thanks again for my nomination!

Grammatical Errors

Spelling and grammar have always been something that has bugged me. I have always found myself to be quite good at spelling, and take care to make sure what I am writing actually makes sense and the punctuation is correct.
I am ashamed to say that several years ago when I was a young teen, I conformed to the craze of writing incorrectly.
I am ashamed and so embarrassed of how I used to write/type informally to my friends.
This is how it looked..

‘hEy hOw arE yOuu tOdAy??
iMm gOinG oUt lAtEr iF yOuu wAnT tO cOmE?’

*Facepalm*
Why oh why did my generation including myself used to type like this?
It shows nothing but stupidity and a lack of general English skills.
I can’t even look back and laugh as it is so embarrassing that I was a part of this madness.
That is literally how we would all speak to each other, including hundreds of other young people.
It didn’t make any sense. You would randomly change a letter in a word to a capital for no reason whatsoever. The only letter that would always stay small is the ‘i’. I don’t know why this was; I guess we thought it looked better staying small.
Adding extra letters to a word, such as one or two extra vowels, to ‘exaggerate’ the word.
And you can imagine how time consuming it was. A simple sentence would take triple the time to type, due to the constant changing from caps lock back to non capitals.
It is something that most young people did from the age of 12-15 in my generation. That is until we suddenly wondered what on earth we was doing.

I guess we all have done things that we look back on and just shake our heads.

Rethink Campaign

I would like to talk about a subject that is very personal to me. And that is mental health. I couldn’t count the amount of times, I have been depressed, anxious or paranoid, and others have told me to just ‘change my way of thinking’ or ‘snap out of it’ I don’t wish to share my diagnosis and my story at the moment; but I have been involved with mental health professionals for several years. And if it wasn’t for them, I don’t think I ever would have seen a light at the end of the tunnel.

Mental illness is so overlooked. And that really upsets me. If someone had a broken arm or a physical illness, then they receive sympathy, and because it is physically visible people notice. Mental illness is not always visible. People can’t always see what’s going on behind the exterior we put on. We’re not asking for sympathy, just for understanding and support. Imagine if someone had cancer and somebody said to them ‘it’s just cancer, stop thinking like that and you’ll be fine’ it just wouldn’t happen. So many people that have a mental illness are not believed, and are made out to be an ‘attention seeker’ and are made to feel that we are making it up and that we actually want to feel this way. This is so far from the truth. We don’t want to feel like this! It makes getting through each day so difficult, and without support and understanding it is impossible. We shouldn’t be made to feel like we can just change instantly. It is hard enough accepting the fact that we are not like everybody else and can’t think the same way, let alone with people putting us down even more and just laughing at us. It’s not fair. Society needs to change the way it views mental illnesses and stop ignoring it.

I was recently contacted and asked to sign a petition regarding stopping cuts to mental health services. This is the email I wrote to them:

Dear Monitor,

As a member of the public with an interest in the provision of mental health services, I am writing in response to the current consultation on the National Tariff Payment System 2015/16.

I would like to express my strong objection to the way the prices for mental health services next year have been calculated. Your consultation document says ‘We are setting a single efficiency factor for 2015/16 of 3.8%… based on data from acute providers, which suggested that this level of efficiency is achievable for the sector as a whole.’ (section 2.2.1, page p.83).

This means that crucial funding decisions about mental health services are being made without the right information. It is impossible to accurately assess the impact of these cuts from assumptions based on hospitals and other services. I believe these flawed methods will have a damaging affect on my local mental health services.

I am working full time and am currently seeing mental health professionals. I am trying my best to cope with daily life and am only doing this with the help of a mental health team. Making cuts would leave me back at square one.

These proposals are not fair and I would ask you to stop and reconsider your calculations. Mental health services are already struggling compared to other services and need significant investment, not blanket cuts. That is how we will achieve a truly fair system for mental health services.

Best wishes,

Lauren Green

This email was also sent to Lara Carmona. The associate director of Rethink Campaigns. This is the response I got.

Dear Lauren,

Thank you so much for joining the fight against funding cuts. We will be in touch about the outcomes of the consultation in the new year.

In the mean time, we still need your help to make sure our voices are heard. Please forward this campaign to anyone you think might have something to say. There is a template email below that you can simply forward to your friends.

With many thanks,

Lara Carmona
Associate Director – Campaigns, Policy and Innovation
Rethink Campaigns

As you can imagine I have shared this endlessly. I just want to make you all aware about mental health issues. And hope this article has opened your eyes to the reality of these issues.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Words Can Hurt

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me”

You know that saying?
It’s about being a strong person and not letting people put you down, but even if you are the strongest minded person in the world, there are still people that can hurt you.
Words hurt.
It’s sad but it’s true. People who don’t think before they speak can hurt you without even realising that they have done it.
All it takes is for someone to make a comment or a joke that you either take the wrong way, or too personally.
We’ve all done it, I make jokes with people, and they can laugh it off, but deep down their offended by what I said, and I don’t even know it because I was too careless with my words.
Someone I know recently saw me eating a big meal, and tried to ‘make a joke’ by saying that I will only go and make myself sick afterwards because I am watching my weight.
What they didn’t know was that, although I have never been bulimic, I had suffered with anorexia for years, and am now finally on the right track.
I am trying to put weight on, and look after myself, but I just can’t seem to gain weight.
For someone to make a joke like that, it may seem funny to them and they didn’t mean it horribly, and it wasn’t a personal attack; that’s what it felt like..
I went into a state of depression, and what they said really put me down.
I thought to myself ‘is that what everyone is thinking when they see me eat?’
Do they really think that’s what I do?
Because that is so far from the truth..

It is so easy to be careless with words, and I think we all should think before we speak, because we don’t know people’s pasts and what they have been through; so put yourself in the other persons shoes, and think of how you would feel if that was you.

“Be careful with your words, once said they can only be forgiven not forgotten”

MUA Make Up Review

I have been meaning to write this post for a while, and share my opinion on the MUA Make up range that I came across in the Superdrug stores.

Most of their products are a shocking £1! And I certainly have no complaints!
They range from foundations, to eye shadow, to nail varnish, to lip gloss and many many more must have items!
I recently went in and purchased their Pro Base Complexion Foundation Kit. And was extremely surprised with the results!
I have always had combination skin, and have found it really hard to find a foundation that compliments my skin.
In all honesty I never wear foundation.
I only wear it when I am going out for the night and want to look my best; so I needed a foundation that worked for me.
I would rate this product a 9/10.
It’s creamy texture, blends evenly over my skin, and I can barely feel it, when it’s on.
I like this product so much, that I contacted MUA to share with them my thoughts on the product; and agreed for them to share my review on their website.

This brings me to their blusher & bronzer range.
I always wear a light pressed powder that they sell.
Normally I then use their bronzer to dust over my cheeks, which gives them a healthy glow.
I recently tried their blusher; and I can say in all honesty I have never worn blusher before, so didn’t know if I would like it or not.
I chose the shade ‘candyfloss’ as it looked the right shade for me..
After buying it, I can say that I will definitely be using it in the future!
I can’t believe that I haven’t tried blusher before, and definitely loving this one.

I also use their chocolate brown eyeliner.
Sometimes I do wear the jet black, but if I just want to use a more subtle eyeliner then I go for this.
I chose their shade 4 mascara, which is a dark brown, which together with the eyeliner works really well to make my eyes stand out, without being too dark.

I have nearly every colour of their lipstick that they do..
Their only £1 each! Why not?

Nude, fawn fancy, pouty pink, peachy keen, scarlet siren..
Their all perfect for any occasion!
Also I have recently bought their ‘Out there plumping lip gloss’ which stays on for hours! And makes my lips appear fuller and glossier!

I then finish it all off with a dab of their Pro Brow Kit; to sharpen up my eyebrows and fill them in.

This range shows that make up does not have to be expensive; and you can look good on a budget!
For those of you who have not tried the MUA range, they have definitely got my vote! And I encourage you all to try their products!

Is Smiling At Dogs Weird?

Okay so this is another one of my weird and random posts..
Who else feels the need to smile at a dog when it walks past them?
Please someone tell me that I am not the only one..

Everyone I walk past a dog and it looks up at me, and stares for ages without breaking eye contact, I can’t help but feel the need to smile at it.
It’s just so awkward..
I can’t just look at it with it staring back at me, without smiling or feeling really uncomfortable

To be completely honest I don’t like dogs, they scare me..
They are so hyper and I’m always terrified they are going to make a hole in my clothing as they jump up at me, or knock me over.
They genuinely scare me..

Just today I parked my car at a local park and walked a short distance to work. On the way I passed several dogs, one was on a lead and was with its owner. And the other was just running along on its own.
The first dog looked up at me and tried climbing up my leg, to which I ignored it and awkwardly stepped away. It then carried on staring at me, and I smiled until I had walked past it. I genuinely would have felt rude not to have smiled.
The owner was in its own world and was on the phone at the time and wasn’t even paying attention to the dog.

With the second dog..
Well okay it was a little bit cute (but not a lot) and it came running up to me and just stopped at my feet.
I looked around and there was no owner to be seen.
It seemed really happy to have found someone, so I just sort of stood there looking at it..
It’s tongue was hanging out and it’s tail was wagging away, but I just looked at it with a blank expression on my face, not knowing what to do.
Eventually the awkward feeling was overwhelming and I felt that I simply had to smile!
After grinning at the poor thing for what seemed like ages, I eventually, casually strolled off.

Please tell me I am not the only one that smiles at dogs, as if they are human, and actually care if we smile or just ignore them…

If All Living Things Could Talk

Imagine how cool it would be if living things could talk. I mean take animals for example.. you could have any pet and you wouldn’t need to worry about being alone again.
You could have a pet goldfish and as it’s swimming around in its bowl, you’d hear it say ‘hey can you clean my water bowl? it’s getting kinda dirty in here’ and you could be like ‘oh I’m sorry buddy, I didn’t realise, shit.. I forget your not just a fish, I mean you have feelings and crap too’ and the fish could say ‘hey it’s alright, don’t feel bad about it man, I know your busy, but you know..when you get the time i’d really appreciate it’

And dogs.. If they could talk and even text! You can imagine being out and getting a message from your dog like ‘oh god, please don’t be mad at me but I erm heard a noise, and I kinda freaked out a little, and you know that new vase you bought, well I ran into the cabinet and it fell on the floor and smashed! Man I am so sorry!! I tried to sort of clean it up but then I panicked and took a shit on the floor.. And now, well.. It’s just a mess in here bro, I’m sorry.. If you want me to live in my kennel for a while I totally understand’…

You’d be able to understand your pets and know their thoughts, I mean, it would just be awesome.

You could be in the bathroom, and see a spider creeping across the floor and scream! Then the spider would say ‘oh, I didn’t know you was in here, I’m sorry, I’ll go wait outside until your done.. I just wanted to check out your new shower curtains.. I heard they’re pretty awesome’ then you could say ‘oh hey, don’t worry about it, you weren’t to know I was in here.. I’m nearly done bro, just stay over by the corner, I mean I don’t wanna step on you or anything’.. And the spider would say ‘of course man I’ll go right over here outta your way.. I’m really sorry again, god I’m so embarrassed’

And imagine if trees could talk..
You could be playing outside as a kid and decide to climb a tree.. You could approach one, and the tree would be like ‘oh not today, I’m sorry it’s just that my branches have been really aching today, but you know what? I’m sure my buddy over there with a lot of leaves wouldn’t mind!’

Imagine the awesomeness of life, if you could just communicate with all living things other than just humans.

Vegetarianism/ My Battle

I was a chubby child, not too extreme but I was bigger than the average. I used to snack endlessly when I could get away with it, and fill myself up on my Nan’s big dinners. On days out with my dad we would pig out on McDonald’s, and I was addicted to cheeseburgers. My dad actually nicknamed me ‘cheeseburger head’ for years.
When I stayed with my nan, every morning I would be awoken with a bacon sandwich.
Family’s meals out, I would order as much meat as I could..

One Sunday when I was ten my mum was cooking roast beef dinner, I remember how much I was looking forward to it.
Whilst waiting for dinner I was watching the program ‘kill it cook it eat it’ which happened to be on.
I watched the people on the program hang a cow upside down, slice it’s stomach open and pull it’s guts out whilst the cow was still alive.

From that moment my whole thought process on what I was eating changed, I sat and watched whilst a burger was made and I saw the remains of the cow rot away.
When dinner was ready I looked at my plate, pushed it away and said “no thanks mum, I will never eat meat again as long as I live”
No one supported me in my decision as they felt it wouldn’t last due to my eating routine before this moment.

9 years went past where I didn’t give meat a second thought, don’t get me wrong cutting meat out of my diet and the complete change made me severely ill. I lost over 4 stone during this period, and I became gaunt and freakishly skinny. I used to faint at school constantly and always felt run down and had no energy. I became anemic due to lack of iron, and my bones became weaker.

At first I took the loss of weight as a positive, and ended up cutting more and more food out of my diet, until the point I was diagnosed with an eating disorder and couldn’t cope with daily life.
I got help and in time I managed to regain a healthy diet and weight and I felt a lot better in myself, the support of my friends made me realise what I was doing, and without them I wouldn’t be where I am today.

My point is, the media scares me. It can influence you in so many ways and you won’t even realise it until it’s too late.

To whoever is reading this, you are perfect the way you are and only you can look after yourself, do it, before things get out of control like they did with me.

Look after yourself!