5 GOALS FROM FEBRUARY TO FEBRUARY

Grab a cuppa, its a long one! 

Goodbye January, hello February. You are very welcome here.

 As a February baby, I am biased in giving February the golden month award. Let's be honest, its a new beginning after the January lull, days start to become longer and lighter, moods pick up, not to mention you don't have to wait a bloody lifetime 'til your next pay check but most importantly... ITS MA BIRTHDAY MONTH! 

Shout out to all my February babies out there!

I've never understood people that don't like their birthdays or don't do anything to celebrate. I get the part about not wanting to be older or not throwing a massive party but I think reflecting on the past year and acknowledging this next stage in your life is important for growth. In a couple weeks I will have my 23rd birthday. 

Which, ladies and gents, brings to reflect on what I've learned this year... 

- Somewhere, somehow, shit just works out. Stop worrying. We're a lot stronger than we think. When you're about to give up just keep going you'll be amazed with what we can get through!

- Consciously take the time to speak and check on the people you love - we all get so caught up in our busy lives that sometimes its hard to remember other people may need you too. 

- Its okay to tune out and ignore the world every now and again. Whether you need a social media break, not responding to everything right away, or you're tired of hearing people tell you how to live your life just tune out! Its okay and also as my momma says "you're not a slave to your phone". 

 In the same breath, cut out all toxic relationships or anything that doesn't make you happy *cue Marie Kondo* Does it spark joy?? If the answer is no, CUT THE TIES!! And don't feel bad about this, you have the right to live your life the way you want to.

- How to manage finances/living within my means - this is something I'm still working on but would be happy to go into detail on another post

     

- Its important to maintain the relationships you care about most and to know that its okay to ask for help or advice from those around you  

I also think its important to recognise your achievements, here are a few of mine from this past year...

- Graduating university with a First Class Honours in International Business with Spanish degree 

- Getting a job straight out of university - I work in legal marketing for barristers in London for anyone thats interested

- Passing my driving test first time around &  buying my first car

- Being financially independent and contributing to our home - barely but independent nonetheless. Did I mention I also managed to pay for all my travels?! Basically, getting a job has allowed me to freely cover my costs - who would've thought?!

- Maintaining the relationships that matter to me most. Some may argue this isn't an achievement but to me, if it takes work then it bloody well is! 

  

And last but not least, I'd like to set myself 5 goals for the year ahead...

1) Start my own company/run a successful "side hustle" - This has been a goal of mine that for some reason I have yet to act on. I've now put it out there and officially accountable!

2) Being more mindful and taking care of my mental health and helping others around me with this.  More in this in future posts.  

3) Blog more and just doing more of what I love in general including at and with my job, travelling and eating whatever I want without feeling guilty about it

4) Potentially move out - this one is a difficult one for me for many reasons I won't bore you with but long story short - Im too attached to my home

5) Continue to build and maintain the relationships I have

Do you set yourself birthday goals? 

xx M

ULTIMATE PRAWN AND AVOCADO CEVICHE

So, my random Sunday craving led me to the Tesco fish counter ordering raw prawns and then going on to buy a whole load of limes to then creating this delicious, tangy and refreshing prawn ceviche.

 For those that may not know, Ceviche is a raw seafood dish that I believe originates from Peru. The fish - in this case the prawns - is marinated/cured in a citrus juice making it well, “cooked” I guess. It can be served on its own, as a starter or a main with tacos or I think some people even have it with rice. 

I love to have it with tortilla chips! You could serve it like I've done when you’re hosting a party, it’s super easy but looks very impressive. Just be sure to use the freshest fish possible! Its light, refreshing, healthy...not really a winter dish but hey, give the body what it wants! The best thing is that you can play around with the ingredients and what you add in, I used avocado and mango for a sweet and creamy texture but some people like to add tomato or bells peppers. So its totally up to you ;)

Hope you enjoy the recipe below. I'm no expert but it came out pretty damn good if I do say so myself ;) If you do make it be sure to tag me in your photos! Xx

  

This is about half of the amount I made, the recipe below serves 4 people. 

Ingredients

- 400g raw peeled king prawns, roughly chopped

- 4 limes (juiced) 

- 1 lemon (juiced)

- 1 to 2 cloves of garlic, minced

- 1 to 2  birds eye chilli (depends on your taste buds)

- 1 spring onion, finely sliced

- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

- 1 to 2 tsp salt

- Half a large firmish mango, diced

- Half a large firm (but ripe) avocado, diced

- Handful of chopped fresh coriander

- A quarter of a red onion, finely sliced

Method

1.  In a bowl, add the lemon and lime juices, the salt (start with 1 tsp and see how it goes), the chilli, some of the coriander and half of the red onion. You can taste this now before if goes on the prawns. 

2.  Add the prawns to a sealable container, or a bowl that you can cover, pour the lemon juice mixture over the prawns, cover and leave in the fridge for about 10 minutes to "cook", give it a shake/stir and replace in fridge for 5 minutes until fully pink and/or opaque. (If after the 15 minutes the prawns are still not quite opaque then leave for a further 2 minutes until you think they're alright - I'd say, no longer than 20 minutes or the texture won't be quite right.)

3.  Add in the mango, avocado, the remaining coriander, spring onions, red onion and olive. Stir and taste, add more salt if necessary.

4.  Serve alone or with your choice of side, I recommend tortilla chips, and enjoy!

EVERY FUR HAS A STORY

Hello hellooooo, happy Sunday beautiful people! 

If you read my last post then you'd know I've promised a whole lost of content. Which is still coming don't you worry, I just thought we could kick off with a fashion story...enjoy! 

Lets talk FUR.

 I know, controversial. 

I've never purchased any real fur or leather products myself, partially because I feel like I've been a broke student my whole life but also because I'd rather spend money on faux products,  I think they look just as nice! Although...ask me again in a few years when I'm  a millionaire, I might think differently! 

Jokes aside, I've been gifted real leather/fur products before and I loveeee them. So I can't sit her and judge anyone for their views, supportive or non supportive of real products. If anything, I love hearing everyone's thoughts and listening to all your views.

Now. You may know by now, I am partial to a fur coat (real or faux). I'm a strong believer that every fur coat has a story behind it. Last summer I got gifted this beautiful white fox coat by my boyfriends mom. It was hers in the 80's and she no longer wore it, in fact she had it rolled up in a bin bag and hidden in the attic (My heart!) and it just so happened to be my size (we tenk God!!). Fur coats are lifelong pieces, especially when you live in a cold country and look after them properly - rumour has it you should keep them in a cold room - but I just have mine in a suit bag in my closet. I think its stunning and it is so warm. 

When I tell you this thing is warm, I mean it is bloody warm! My faux fur coats have nothing on this one. I have to layer up when I wear those, no matter how fluffy. 

You can dress it up or dress it down as well, an all black outfit with trainers or dress it up like I've done here. My jeans and turtleneck are from Primark and the shoes are from Missguided. I'm not sure where the purse is from - it was a Christmas gift, sorry! Crazy how something so chic can dress up an outfit that isn't worth anything close to its price huh!? Hahah. 

Wishing you all a great positive week ahead! 

REGROUPING

Well guys, I guess I should start by saying I hope you had a great start to the New Year! 

Oh how I have missed you and the therapeuticness that writing here brings me <3 

Enjoy some recently discovered pics of mini me :) 

I'll admit, it hasn't been so much of a good start to the year for me or end to the last either. I was sooo ready to start off the New Year with positivity and making progress but there hasn't been much of that and I'll get in to all of that in another post. This one is all about hitting refresh on that 2019 button, pushing for positivity and channelling the passion I had two weeks ago, before things went south. 

There's some big changes coming my way in the coming months and with some uncertainty ahead, I felt the need to regroup and ground myself back to where my passion lies...here! 

 I guess what I want to say and/or let you know is that I'll be bringing a different vibe to my blog, sharing a little more of what I'm going through and how I deal with it. The last time I posted was 6ish months ago and that makes me sad, I'd hate to let my blog go after 6 years just because I "don't have time for it or to be all dressed up" anymore. So I thought, hmm Maria, why not expand! I already have the categories I want to share, so why not fill them in more?! During my 6 months of silence, I learnt a lot of things that I think have and will continue to shape me into the future me, and with my busy brain it seemed only natural to write them down and share it with the world. Who knows, maybe I could help a few people too!?

What I want is for my blog/readers to grow with me or to see my progress rather. Which, for the most part, has been the case. The vibe from post one to post 122 is madness! Looking back and seeing your progress is everything and I think part of the growth process. I've always said how this blog is for me to express my passions and to share those with you (if you're interested!), nothing more nothing less. Just a hobby not a chore. This all started out with a fashion focus but I want to do moving forward is share my life experiences and how I got through them. I want to inspire and be inspired so you'll be seeing a lot more personal posts - into the nitty gritty we go. I'm talking setting goals, dealing with loss and uncertainty, managing finances, how I stay motivated, fitness, beauty industry theories, recipes, as well as my usual fashion posts and more! 

So, now that I've filled you in a little bit, I want to wish you all a lovely lovely Sunday and I guess I'll see you in my next post, lets kick this year's ass with a whole lot of positivity!!!!

xx Mimi