Four Days in Amsterdam

I missed you guys soo much! First off, I would like to wish you all a very happy new year filled with peace, positivity and laughter. In case you haven’t read the last few posts from 2018, I announced a small break from my blog over the new year as I was travelling to Amsterdam and I thought why not share my trip with all of you, including some of the things I got for myself.

Just a quick side note before I forget: I haven’t yet posted about what I got for Christmas yet because I still need to meet my best friend to give her hers and her boyfriend’s gifts so I’ll wait for that and then publish the post, but in the meantime…

And can we admire the beauty of this photo?! This is the Alps as we passed over them on our way to Eindhoven Airport…

DAY 1

I woke up at around 4am because the flight was at 8am. I needed to pack the last few things before heading to the airport. Once we were all checked out of the airport, we headed to Efteling Park, – luggage and all – and spent the whole day there. I probably had the greatest time in a park ever that day. One of the rides gave me such a fright the photo taken was me crying with my eyes closed! Everyone had a laugh at that, including me. It was terrifying, to say the least! The park’s theme is mystical and forest-y (it’s not a word but there’s no other way to describe it). Before went to the hotel, we watched a mesmerising fountain show, which was very beautiful and colourful.

Been up since 4am, how tired I look on a scale from 1 to 10?!

The quill moved as if someone was writing and the whole incubator with the book rotated

This is as soon as we passed through the entrance. Isn’t it pretty?!

DAY 2

We were all pretty knackered after spending a whole day at Efteling Park, so we spent most of the day. In the evening, we went to a place where we could play VR games. I wasn’t the best – in fact I was the worst in my team – but it was a lot of fun and an unforgettable experience!

This candy store wasn’t the cheapest, but there were a lot of brands and products which I’d never seen before… like purple Oreos!

I’m obsessed with these rubber ducks; I’ve seen a lot of them in London and to see them in Amsterdam was amusing! I decided to name all of them Robert

NYFA has always been my dream, and to actually see the one in Amsterdam in person made me super emotional. I couldn’t attend for personal and financial reasons, but maybe someday I will!

DAY 3

This day was the reason we actually planned the holiday in the first place: New Years’ Eve! The original plan was going partying at a very swanky and exclusive club and then head to one of the many bridges of Amsterdam (just several minutes away from the club) to see the fireworks and actually put up some ourselves!

Things didn’t exactly go to plan because all fireworks were sold out so we didn’t get to use anything, and we only spent several minutes at the club and didn’t go back in. But we still saw the fireworks and it was magical and out of this world. The fireworks people put up themselves went up until TWO IN THE MORNING. Seriously, we arrived at our hotel room at 1am and they were still going on!!

I was very tired on that day so I didn’t take too many photos.

DAY 4

Our last full day! /sad face/ After the previous night, we decided to just take things easy and not do any extravagant things. I had some girl time and went souvenir shopping (correction: only I did a spree!) and then headed to Body Worlds – which was amazing! – before meeting back with the boys. Afterwards, we went to a bar which had a Glow Golf course under it and it was… interesting. Again, I wasn’t the best but we had a laugh and it was a great night, like any other.

I won’t be including pictures of Body Worlds because it might upset some people and there’s some graphic content within it like dissected brains and skeletons. But in case you’re intrigued, everything displayed in the museum is REAL. Exhibitions consist of actual dead people and it impressed me a lot at how well-preserved they were. There are interesting facts with every display about the body and diseases. I learned a lot and some displays were… interesting, in a very weird way.

“DAY 5”

I put it in quotation marks because it’s the day we all travelled back home. We woke up at around 5am to pack the last few things before we waited for our taxi driver to drive us to Eindhoven airport.

Overall, it was one of the greatest holidays ever. I’ll definitely visit Amsterdam again in the (hopefully near) future.

HAUL

In the banner of the post, which you can read above, I listed that I will include a “mini haul” of what I got.  There are some things I didn’t find online to link them in case you wanted to buy them, and I’m feeling quite poorly so I won’t post any photos, just the links, and then list the things I didn’t find and describe them as best as I could.

• Pink wireless Bluetooth headphones from Primark
• A 2-pack cucumber facial cleansing wipe from Primark
• The book William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope (which is basically A New Hope written in Shakespearean) from a comic store
• A large n.43 Vintage Blossom jar candle in the scent ‘lily & honeysuckle’ from Primark
• A black portable fast-charging power bank from Primark
• A small Newton’s cradle by Legami Milano from YoYo! Fresh Tea Bar
• Glow-in-the-dark band-aids from Yoyo! Fresh Tea Bar
• Black Friends hoodie with How you doin’ (a.k.a. the most iconic Friends quote ever) written on the top left from Primark
• Blue denim high-waisted ankle grazer skinny jeans from Primark
• Grey cropped Friends jumper with the infamous logo (and the dots are tiny pompoms!) from Primark
• Two pairs of plain joggers in black and grey from Primark
• A striped Harry Potter nightdress from Primark

Products not listed above include:

• Two fanny packs: one plain with two zippers and another one with one zipper and a chain across the middle/ The first one is for casual outings and the latter for more formal occasions.
• A collapsible shopper bag with Amsterdam-related things all over it, such as tulips, the name written and bicycles.
• A Totoro coin purse from a comic store.
• A Slytherin jumper with green and grey horizontal stripes and the house crest on the left side.
• Several souvenirs, pairs of socks and round cotton pads.

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I hope you enjoyed this post, apologies for it being very long and full of photos but I believe pictures speak for themselves in my case. If you’re thinking of travelling to Amsterdam in the future let me know in the comments below! Where are you planning to visit? How long will you be staying? Let’s start a conversation!

New Year’s Resolution for People with Mental Health Problems/Illnesses

Even if you weren’t among the people who denounced this particular trip we all took around the sun, it’s hard not to feel a little optimistic about the start of a new year. I won’t give you the “new year, new you” spiel, because I’m one of those who doesn’t believe in this shindig.

2017: A Summary

Let’s be honest: a year is always better than the one before, but worse than the next. We all say that a year is full of ups and down, and that the next is going to be a good one. In this post, I will take a look at how my year went – what should and shouldn’t have been fixed – and what I am looking forward to next year.

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• E V E N T S

This year was full of events for me as a blogger and person.

The first event I attended in 2017was in February. It was a Beatles tribute put up by the Malta Philharmonic orchestra in aid of Qalb it-Tfal (Children’s Hearts). It was a remarkable even even though I had a meltdown. I recovered quickly.

Then in March, I attended my first event as a blogger, which I talked about here. I saw several other local bloggers, but since I had just started attending blogging events, I didn’t approach them.

In April, I attended a Michael McIntyre/Andrew Bird comedy show, and they sure delivered! They were realistic while, of course, funny.

This is not exactly an event in itself, but in July, I travelled to London with my BFF of over 10 years. Whilst there, I attended these plays/musicals:

1. Hamlet – where I met and took a photo with the main actor, Andrew Scott (yes, Moriarty in the flesh!)
2. School of Rock
3. Harry Potter & the Cursed Child
4. Annie – where I met and got Miranda Hart’s autograph!

August was when the biggest blogging event of the year occured. I was asked by the NFYWL Malta to take part in this event. All I had to do is get my picture taken without any make-up and write a testimony on mental health. Myself, along with 99 other amazingly remarkable women, were then featured in an exhibition. And I met the queen that is Tamara Webb ❤

• L O V E

This year, I celebrated my first anniversary with my boyfriend. I wrote this letter on my blog about how thankful I am to have met such a beautiful soul. If you like crying, I suggest you give it a read.

• B L O G G I N G  A W A R D S

This year, I was nominated SIX TIMES for blogging awards! One of them – Blogger Recognition – was nominated to me twice.

Sunshine Blogger Award!

The Leibster Award!

Blogger Recognition Award!

Mystery Blogger Award!

The Versatile Blogger Award

Blogger Recognition Award! [2]

• M Y  T O P  1 0  M O S T  L I K E D

Mazia’s Favourites Subscription Box – UNBOXING

Beauty Products I LOVED in 2017

REVIEW: Charcoal Teeth Whitening 2/5

REVIEW: Holler and Glow purrfect pedi Sock Mask

Why ‘Stand by Me’ is the best coming-of-age movie

What I’ve Learnt during my First Year of Blogging

Things to do on a rainy day

The Skinny on… my first Event as a Blogger

“It’s what I want to do.”

PSA// I am doing a thing!

• F U T U R E

What does 2018 hold for me? Another year of ups and down, blogging events (please invite me, I get lonely!), new friends (talk to me, I get lonely about this too!), collaborations, wishlists, hauls, MY FIRST VACATION WITH MY BOYFRIEND *which may include our friends too!), more education, more courses, more love, more hate, more loss.

You know, like every year.

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With this, I bid this year farewell. You were a pain, but also a good kind of pain, you know? This is the last post for the year, so I will see you all in 2018! Happy new year!

 

New Year, New Series: Changes on my Blog

We’ve all heard of the cheesy, cliche saying “new year, new me”. I used to believe that up until a  few years ago and decided to change it to “new year, better me”. I will be using this ‘saying’ for my blog, too.

With my blog growing since last year, I will be introducing some new series that will be taking place on my blog starting 2018.

2017 Goals

Happy new year to all! Well, for being the first post of the year anyways, as it’s been over a week since the new year began… so… But anyways, hope everyone is doing well, and celebrated the new year in style just like myself! So as usual, the start of the year comes with new goals to reach by the end of the year, and I have listed mine below…

1. Publish my first article – ACHIEVED 8-1-17 (was so tempted to write 2016 like you would NOT believe!)
2. Publish my first paid article – ACHIEVED 3-1-17
3. Travel with best friend – SOON ACHIEVED
4. Buy a professional camera
5. Get off my meds
6. Celebrate my first anniversary with my boyfriend
7. Finish my TA 10-week course
8. Reach 20 followers on my blog – ACHIEVED 29-1-17
9. Reach 250 Instagram followers – ACHIEVED 29-1-17
10. Learn a new language
11. Lose weight
12. Eat healthier (BIG JOKE!)
13. Read all HP books – 2/7 as of 8-1-17
14. Watch all Star Wars movies
15. Take part in the school panto… again

If I can actually think on any others I will add them. My brain is so friend right now I can’t think straight!

See you in the next one!

2016: A Summary

2016 was probably the most eventful year of my life…

Starting from the downs…

I was in and out of hospital for a whole week due to depression and severe anxiety.

I lost the people I considered my family during that time.

I was arrogant and hard-headed towards my family. This cost me a lot.

I had such low self-esteem I was unable to get out of bed, and would sleep at 5pm, waking up the next day.

I was dumped by a person I thought loved me during this difficult time.

… and ending with the ups 🙂

I met Chris, the most amazing and bravest man I’d ever met my whole life. He accepts me for who I am, supports me in every decision and… well, he’s proper badass to be honest.

I got a new job as an LSA in an all-boys school, which I love with all my heart and introduced me to new, great friends.

I started this blog, which is doing quite well if I may say so myself.

I realised my family loves me more than anything in the world.

I went to Rome with two friends, and my hero from my favourite show ‘Supernatural’, Jared Padalecki, who himself overcame depression, and also some amazing people. You guys rock!

Me with Jared Padalecki, who also battled depression

I went to Budapest with my sister – only our second bonding trip!

Looking for our third bonding trip sestra!

I took part in the school panto to overcome my stagefright, and boy was it fun!

The amazing Panto team of 2016

I got a C in my secretarial course, thanks to the best teacher, SJ!

Proud moment

What does 2017 have in store for me?

I will be going to London with my BFF, our first bonding trip after 11 years of friendship, where we will be watching Cursed Child.

This girl stood by me through thick and thin for over a decade

I will be celebrating my one-year recovery in March

I will be collaborating with fellow Maltese bloggers (so watch this space!)

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So you can probably tell my 2016 was an eventful one, with both good and bad things. But you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way. The bad led to the good, and it helped shape me into a better person.

 

From all this, I can tell 2017 will be a good one 🙂

Happy New Year from me to you 😀 xxx

What I Got For Christmas

Merry belated Crimbo everybody! Hope you had an amazing time with your family and friends like I did! It’s the first Christmas in a long, long time where I am genuinely happy, and my family is one.

But anyways, this post isn’t about that… it’s about all the good stuff I got!

… starting from

Work

So as to avoid spending excessive amounts of money, my class and another (the crew, as I like to call it) decided to go for lunch instead of giving presents. In my opinion, it was a great idea. We got to laugh and chat about life, and it was nice. We went to Palazzo Preca, just a few doors away from where we work. The service was excellent, and so was the food.

From all the students in my class (my cheeky little monkeys, whom I love with all my heart!) gave me vouchers, which I can redeem at a lot of local shops. I appreciated their thought… and being the sensitive person I am, I was almost reduced to tears.

The student I help in class gave me the most beautiful necklace from perfumes&more. He almost gave me a fright when he told me he needed to talk to me outside of class, but when he took out the wrapped box and card, I laughed so hard he thought I had gone cray. The pendant has a twisted thingy with crystals embedded, and the end has a pearl attached to it. I promised him I’d wear it for Christmas Eve… and I did!

BFF

From my BFF, who knows me more than anyone else (sorry, fam and bae), bought me a
Loki Funko POP… and it has a freaking bobble head! Even though it was more than enough, she called the gift a “little something” and promised she’d get me something more special from London. I freaking love her, needless to say!

In-Laws

Even though I haven’t met them in a while, they still managed to amaze me with their gifts, because it was like they knew what I really wanted (ahem… bae… ahem…). I spent Boxing Day morning at his, and we played two PS games, one which I don’t know the name of and Injustice. I actually beat him at Injustice one time… and I’d never touched a PS in my entire existence! I was proud of myself there and then!

His parents gave me this amazing camel wallet from Parfois. And just a day before on Christmas, I was thinking of buying a new wallet from the sales!

His sister gave me a perfume from Zara. It’s called Floral from their Day Collection, and it smells DIVINE. The packaging was lilac, one of my favourite colours after purple and green.

 

Family

First up are my parents! After almost giving me a
positive heart attack with a SINGING DONKEY – yes, you read right… Singing. Donkey. – they gave me a pair of festive socks and money. Thankssss!

Next up are my sestra and boyfriend. They got me four – yes, that’s right… 4. Quattro. Quatre. – presents, starting from the funny one to the one I wanted badly. The funny one is this floating pug plug for the bath. I called him Robert Jr., since the duck plug we bought from London is called Robert Sr..
Second gift I got was a jammy set; the top says Cupcakes for Breakfast (YASSSS), and the pants have lots of hearts on them, and are longer than my legs with my Cookie Monster fuzzy slippers (Fact)!
Third gift is this beautiful heart-shaped, two-storey jewellery storage box, which I will be filling with earrings, rings and pins in the future.
Last but not least, is the MEGA gift, which is a SilverCrest hairdryer. I’d wanted my own (first-hand and not full of sticky tape) hair dryer in forever, and so they got me one.

Bae

Leaving the best for last, as he’d been showering me with gifts – both abstract and concrete – since we first started dating back in March. He first gave me a cute brown dog with blue sparkly eyes, which I named Dean, and then he gave me a rare Beatles LP from Budapest, and several games, namely The Sims 4, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us and Hearthstone. And I enjoy playing them, especially with him.

Now for the Crimbo presents…

Part 1 was a game I’d wanted since forever, which is Mortal Kombat X. I’d say ‘Fatality’ every time he fails at something or as a joke, and now I can the game itself!

Second, as he told me, is “something of everyday use”… it turned out to be a mouse pad, with a pug staring hungrily at a crumb of food. Looove it!

Last one was “something of almost every day use”… The result? This beautiful camel crossover bag from Parfois, which matches the wallet I got from his mum.

 

 

You

Yes, you, reading this post down to the end of it, which is this part. You gave me the present of understanding and inspiration to write more and more of these posts. You give me hope and a reason to do what I love doing more than anything else in the whole, wide world, which is writing.

Stay safe this festive season, and I will see you in the next one!