Time To Start Again

Hello there,

It's me; I guess you could say I'm back. I've taken quite the hiatus from this blogging business for no reason what so ever but here's to starting again.

So here it goes...
I'm Amy. This is a picture of my face.

I am a self confessed Social Media addict with an unhealthy addiction to both Twitter and Instagram. I'm a Health and Beauty Sales Advisor, and more recently, a Barmaid in a Theatre bar.
Music is my escape; I'll listen to pretty much anything you put in my headphones and find a way to be completely consumed by it. I like music. A lot. Music speaks to me on a completely different level; music inspires me.
I over use certain phrases and emojis but I assume it's something you'll get used to.
I like pasta more than I like most people, and getting lost in a novel is probably my favourite thing in the world. Music is my escape; I'll listen to pretty much anything you put in my headphones and find a way to be completely consumed by it.
I like One Tree Hill, Real Techniques make-up brushes, and boybands.

From here on in, I'm not sure what this blog will be about. Maybe I'll talk about music, maybe beauty or maybe it'll just be escape place. I don't really know yet. I just know that today I was inspired to write, and long may that continue. I want to write content that people want to read, but I also want to write content that I enjoy, so we'll see what happens.

All the best,
Amy.

Music Monday - What I've Been Listening to This Week

Hello there, 

So I guess it's been a frightfully long time since we've seen each other, and I take full responsibility for that. How are you? I've been having a mental few weeks trying to organise where I'm going with life, and as standard, I've let my writing slip. I regularly have this great thing called 'writer's block' and rather than just type something horrific and meaningless, I just stop writing, so sorry about that. It's difficult because sometimes I do have things I want to say, but often don't have the confidence to write them... So sorry about that!

Something I don't worry about writing about, though, is music. And I know a lot of people do this, but I thought I'd give you a little insight into what I've been listening to this week. I guess if people like this, I'll keep doing it, but in some ways it'll also be a nice little diary for me so I can look back and see what I was listening to a particular time.

First off, if you know anything about me at all, you'll know that I adore One Direction. I can't help it, it's happened, it's a thing and it's not going away. And I'm happy about that. This week I have been listening to an awful lot of One Direction, in particular their most recent album, Midnight Memories. I have the deluxe edition, and I just find it a really feel-good CD. You have a couple of classic ballads, but I've really been enjoying the upbeat numbers because they sound like summer. 

Don't Forget Where You Belong is a favourite of mine because lyrically it's so beautiful. It was written by another group of my favourites, McFly, and you can tell. It sounds a lot like something they'd perform, and I think 1D do it justice very nicely. I've been loving Happily, Does He Know?, Little White Lies and Half a Heart this week.

Now it's been a while since we last saw anything from this guy, but Conor Maynard crept back into my life this week. Occasionally I will leave my iPhone on shuffle while I'm getting ready, and one morning four Conor Maynard tracks played in a row, which was unsuspected and actually quite odd. Apparently my iTunes wants new music from Conor as much as I do. I really loved his first album so I'm super excited to see what's next for him.

There have been a few tracks I've had on repeat this week. Sometimes a song will come on shuffle or I'll hear it on TV and I'll realise I've missed listening to it, or it's new and I become obsessed with it. Here are some I've been loving...

John Legend - All of Me

I heard it again on Dancing on Ice this weekend and fell back in love with it. It's such a beautiful song and I love the depth of John Legend's voice. I don't think there's a track of his that I dislike, purely just because I love his vocal on anything.

Karl X Johan - Never Leave Me

Occasionally I find myself going through my Shazam tags looking for music that I want to rediscover and I came across this. I can't remember how or when I originally found this song, but this week I've been loving it. It's chilled and I just fell in love with the beat.

Jonah Green - Cocoa Butter Kisses (Chance the Rapper cover)

I really like the original of this track, but I just adore what Jonah has done with it. I've been watching his videos for a long time, and I particularly like his covers, even though there aren't that many. It's a tough song to cover, but I think he's done it justice.

Bruno Mars - It Will Rain

Following his win at The BRIT awards last week, I've been listening to an awful lot Bruno. I was lucky enough to see him last year on his Moonshine Jungle tour at the o2 arena and he is honestly one of the best performers I've ever seen. He is a true showman with such passion for the industry, and his vocal performance is always right on point. His lyrics have the power to move me to tears, and often do, and that is a quality that not a lot of artists these days have. His music has the potential to lift a bad mood, send me to sleep or hype me up when I'm having an already brilliant day.

Thanks so much for sticking around for this one. I've really enjoyed writing about music this week, so I'd like this to be a thing. Maybe I'll do this every now again. I'm looking for new music to listen to at the moment, so help me out. I like most types of music, and I'm open to new things so give me a shout if you know of something I might be interested in.

Hope you're all well.
Take care, stay beautiful and dream big.
Thanks for stopping by,
@amyjcollins
xox

50 Random Questions | @amyjcollins

Hello friends,

I know it's not been long since I last posted, but I'm super bored on this Saturday evening because I'm ill and have no friends and thought I might as well channel my brain somewhere (slightly) productive.

I'm being really lazy (sorry!) and doing yet another tag post! It's pretty text heavy, but yeah! I hope you like it and maybe you'll learn a little something about me. I also tag any of you who write your own blogs to give this a go and let me know you've done it so I can learn a bit more about you. This also feels very 2008 and extremely MySpace, woohoo, CHILDHOOD! Let's get started...

1. Where were you 3 hours ago? Three hours ago I would have just been finishing work and heading to Tesco... Such a fun life.
2. Who are you in love with? My family and friends... And Harry Styles.
3. Have you ever eaten a crayon? I think everyone's eaten a crayon at some point, haven't they? And if you're sat there saying you haven't... you're lying.
4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? Shampoo bottle, face wash, sports bottle, Superdrug carrier bag and a One Direction toothbrush.
5. When is the last time you went to the mall? I work in a mall, so today.
6. Are you wearing socks right now? Yaaaaaaaas.
7. Does your family have a car worth over $2,000? We have two cars.
8. When was the last time you drove out of town? I don't drive.
9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? I was supposed to go yesterday, but didn't in the end which sucks.
10. Are you hot? Smokin' baby.
11. What was the last thing you had to drink? DIET COKE, duh.
12. What are you wearing right now? Black leggings and a grey Hype sweater.
13. Do you wash your car or let the car wash do it? I don't have a carrrr :(.
14. Last food that you ate? Nanny Mave's Slimming World Shepherd's Pie and it was fricking awesome.
15. Where were you last week at this time? Probably the same place I am now... In bed watching trashy YouTube videos and dreaming about pizza.
16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? No clothing, just phone cases and make-up!
17. When is the last time you ran? On Wednesday evening in Insanity class.
18. What’s the last sporting event you watched? I just caught the end of Aston Villa v Liverpool when I got in from work.
19. What is your favorite animal? I love pigs and elephants. I also really like French Bulldogs. They're so cuuute and I want one so bad.
20. Your dream vacation? I'm super desperate to get to Dubai or Hawaii. They're both places I'd like to visit before I die. Obviously for any of you who know me, you know I really want to get to LA, but I look at that more as a long term thing rather than a holiday.
21. Last person’s house you were in? My own.
22. Worst injury you’ve ever had? I broke my leg when I was like two. My friend and I were jumping on a bed and I fell off. I was in plaster from my ankle to my thigh when my little sister was born. Here's a photo!
     
23. Have you been in love? No.
24. Do you miss anyone right now? I miss all of my Uni friends every day. I have a best friend called Aidan who lives in Ireland and I miss him more than words could ever begin to describe. I miss my sister when she's at Uni, but we talk every day which makes it easier.
25. Last play you saw? It was called 'Whose Coat is that Jacket?' and it was in Cardiff. It was actually a lot better than I was expecting and I recommend it to all of you!
26. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? My extreme awkwardness and my innate ability to constantly make a complete fool of myself :).
27. What are your plans for tonight? Sleep for the longest time, although in reality I'll be awake until 3am on Tumblr.
28. Who is the last person you sent a MySpace message or comment? I actually went on MySpace to check this, but it wouldn't let me view my old messages. I miss MySpace, though man.
29. Next trip you are going to take? I'm planning a trip to Florida in late March at the moment. It's all money dependent but I really hope I can make it happen. I've been so desperate to get back to the US for the longest time, so I'm super excited!
30. Ever go to camp? I went on Brownie camp about three times when I was younger. I literally loved it so much! I wish I'd been American so I could have gone to Summer Camp every year growing up. I've been thinking a lot about doing Camp America this year or next, so watch this space!
31. Were you an honor roll student in school? I was not.
32. What do you want to know about the future? If I should be as afraid of developing technologies as I am. The digital future both excites me and petrifies me. The thought of robots and what not really freaks me out. Other than that, I'd rather not know.
33. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne? I'm currently wearing Paco Rabanne Lady Million.
34. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor’s visit? Hopefully not.
35. Where is your best friend? My best friends are all over the place, but I imagine they're all in their respectable homes at the moment.
36. How is your best friend? I think they're all pretty good, thanks!
37. Do you have a tan? I really don't and the though alone is heartbreaking. Take me back to this tan please. I want summer all over again!
    
38. What are you listening to right now? Jacks Mannequin - The Resolution
39. Do you collect anything? I actually collect Mugs. It's a crazy thing for me to collect actually as I don't drink any kind of hot drink, but I've been collecting now for about 8 years. Every time I enter the Disney store, I leave with a new one. I bought my latest because I love Sebastian, but also because the quote is just super cute!
40. Who is the biggest gossiper you know? Probably myself and all of my friends.
41. Last time you got stopped by a cop or pulled over? Literally never.
42. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw? Quite a few times, actually.
43. What does your last text message say? 'We are the famous CFC x x x' This was from my Dad ahead of Chelsea's clash with Man Utd tomorrow.
44. Do you like hot sauce? No, no, no, NEVER.
45. Last time you took a shower? I had a bath this morning.
46. Do you need to do laundry? Just did some.
47. What is your heritage? Oh god, so boring. English and Welsh. No fun in me.
48. Are you someone’s best friend? I'd like to hope so, yeah.
49. Are you rich? Today I was ecstatic that my food shopping came to less than £10 because it meant I wouldn't be struggling all week for money. I think that answers your question, haha.
50. What were you doing at 12AM last night? Watching TV with my Mom and Brother.

So there we've established that I'm extremely boring and apparently have nothing better to do with my time. I hope you've learned some positively useless information about me. Like I said before, I tag you all to answer this on your blogs and link me to it in the comments. I promise at some point soon I'm going to write something of purpose and meaning, but for the time being please take these filler posts as me making an effort even at times of torrential writer's block.

Thanks so much for stopping by, 

Take care, stay beautiful, dream big.

@amyjcollins

xox

New Year Tag || Better Late Than Never

Hello wonderful people, 

I'm suffering from a severe case of writers block (nothing new there) and decided instead of writing something new for you this week, I'd head over to my drafts and look at the very few random ideas I've had. This was something I intended to post a little earlier in the month, but I guess it just slipped my mind. I'm going to give it to you anyway, because I'm super kind, but also because 'tag' posts are super easy for when you're out of creativity. Enjoy! 

1. What did you do in 2013 that you'd never done before?

I graduated University and that's something I'd never done before, hah! But in all seriousness, I think I put more effort into things. I've always been a 'sit back and relax' kind of person, and never really worked too hard for what I want, but in 2013, I really upped the ante. I started saving (horray, America) and properly started looking for a full time job. I don't have one yet, neither do I have enough money to go to America, but I'm still working towards them both so roll on 2014! I've also put a lot more effort into friendships because they're so few and far between as you get older, and I want to keep as many amazing people around me as possible! 

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I think my resolution for 2013 was to cut back on Diet Coke, and well, I didn't stick to that one at all.

3. What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?

A successful relationship. And dreams that I actually follow through. In 2013, I set myself a lot of goals that were super unrealistic and I always felt down on myself when I didn't achieve them. For this year, I've made plans that are achievable and I have so much to look forward to if I can stick to it.

4. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I've said it a million times on here, but probably graduating Uni. It was a huge thing for me because, towards the end especially, I really didn't think I was going to do it. In my third year, I sort of became a nervous, awkward hermit and I didn't enjoy going to class or being a student. Obviously everyone has good and bad days, but I was super proud that I did it! 

5. What was the best thing you bought? 

A money bank that can't be opened. In fairness, I have opened it now because I do have something that I'm physically saving for and in reality I need to know where I'm at with money, but it actually meant I've saved a lot more than I thought I would be able to.

6. What was your favorite TV program?

In 2013, I started watching Glee and it's fast taken over my life. I absolutely adore anything related to musical theatre so when my friend Ellie introduced me to it, I was hooked. Now I'm back home from Uni, I have a few guy friends who are also obsessed with it and we sometimes have marathon Glee sessions. Don't judge us, we're amazing. 

7. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.

For the longest time I've battled with lack of self confidence and self belief. I don't think I'm good enough to achieve things which in turn makes me lazy and I don't strive for greatness as much as I possibly should. In 2013, I made had so many dreams and didn't stick to them, but it's only spurred me on to do more in 2014 and in years to come. In 2013 (with some help from good friends and Keep it Bright), I learned that no matter what life throws at you, if you work hard and believe in yourself, you can achieve great things, and you will. 

So there you have it. I hope this isn't too much like my 2013 recap and I do hope you enjoy it. Why don't you answer one of the questions above and leave it in the comments?!

Thank you so much for stopping by,

Take care, stay beautiful and dream big!

All the love in the world,

@amyjcollins

xox