Galway Part 2 | Salthill Aquarium

When I found out that there was an aquarium in Salthill, I had to go while I was out in Galway. Salthill is not too far from Galway City, probably about twenty minutes or so. I adore aquariums, they're probably one of my favourite places to be. Its probably all the water and the movement of the fish but they're so relaxing I could have stayed here for hours. Actually I wanted to but hunger got the better of me and we left in search of a café! Anyways, I love seeing aquarium pictures so I hope you all enjoy these as much as I do!

Galway

I decided to do a post about my little getaway this year. I took so many pictures, I didn't realise I was so snap happy so this post might be a little photo heavy but I'll let the photos do the talking! I went with my mam and my sister for three days to Galway City. I'd never been to the west of Ireland so I was super excited to go and explore. The weather could have been better but I really shouldn't have expected sunshine and blue skies in Ireland at the end of August! Now that I'm home three days wasn't nearly enough and we're already saying we'll go back next year. It was such a lively city and I feel like I haven't seen even half of what it has to offer! I'll stop rambling now and just let you get on with having a nosey at some of the pictures I took.

'If I wasnt so poor I'd dress nicer'

1. Boohoo  // 2. Amazon  // 3. Fujifilm Instax Mini 7S White // 4. Boohoo
5. ASOS  // 6. Topshop // 7. Topshop // 8. Boohoo 

Forever browsing online for clothes, even though my bank balance wont allow any online spending, sob! I really want a instant camera lately, seeing a few people with them is just making me want one even more. I think its cute because nowadays we really don't print as much photos as we should, they're all stored on memory cards or hard drives and that's it, never to be seen again. It'd be nice to actually have some pictures to hold for once!
My eyes keep getting drawn to patterned dresses more and more recently. I really love the sunflower print on this one from ASOS, especially as it detaches as a separate top and skirt too. Great idea ASOS! I've had my eye on these boots I came across on Amazons ages ago but every time I check they never have my size, boo! I've also been lusting after this denim jacket after seeing it on the lovely Zoella in one of her vlogs but I cant see myself getting much wear out of it as I've way too many jackets already! 
Of course new underwear is always a must, especially when its as cute as this bralet. I actually want half/more than half of Topshops underwear collection at the moment, oops. Finally I've been wanting a new handbag for absolutely ages as I'm just getting tired of the one Im using currently, I want something different than black and came across this one on Boohoo. I love the colour of it, but it might be a little too dark for spring/summer? (Who am I kidding I wear black 90% of the time anyway!)

My Skincare Routine

I am the worst person for remembering to take off my makeup and cleanse and all of that. All of these work for my skin (combination verging on the oily side) and what may work grand for me, may not on you! It also may help you, who knows haha. I've also had pretty decent skin my whole life, except for dark circles under my eyes and redness around my cheeks and nose - spotwise I only get the odd huge one.

  

To be honest, I dont have a proper routine I take off my makeup most nights with just wipes (I know this is frowned upon, sorry!) and most of the time forget to moisturise my skin daily. I started using Simple products when I was about 15 (so long ago now!) and loved them ever since. I don't like anything too perfume-y going onto my skin and I'm very fussy on what smells stay on my skin so these were a perfect choice. I use their cleanser every time I'm in the shower so every other day, their facemask every time I feel like my skin needs a deep clean and their makeup wipes most nights (again oops). I exfoliate once or twice a week, using a exfoliating glove very very gently, focusing on my T-zone particularly.

  

I recently got into using Soap and Glorys skin care range too. This had been sitting around the house for a good while, my sister got it and never really started using it so I decided to rob it one day and give it a go. I think I'll have to purchase it myself soon! Their Peaches and Clean cleanser leaves your face feeling so so fresh and almost tingly because its so clean! I enjoy using this a lot because it smells divine and is great at taking off makeup. Although you do need to do it twice or maybe three times for heavier makeup looks to get everything off. 

  

When I get the odd spot, usally my chin or forehead I use the holy grail product that is Sudocrem on it over night. If its still there the next morning, I use my tea tree and witch hazel concealer which I think I've talked about before on a previous post (HERE) underneath my makeup. If I'm having a no-makeup day i.e. staying indoors I put more Sudocrem on or sometimes toothpaste depending how angry, red and big it is (gross) 

And that's pretty much it, I don't have any neat tips or tricks to share other than that fairly basic routine. I try my hardest to drink a lot of water and eat healthily but generally that doesn't go so good when you love pizza and fizzy drinks as much as I do! Hope this helped a few people, or if you've similar skin type to me I hope it might have given you a few new products to try.

Goodbye 2013. Hello 2014!

Better late than never with a post like this! I'm never one to say 'this year is going to be my year' or anything of the sort but (I don't want to jinx it) I do have a good positive feeling about 2014. Last year I didn't achieve all that much in comparison to what I wanted to and having to repeat a year at college is a bit of a kick in the teeth but onwards and upwards! 
In the past year, despite some setbacks, I've felt I've grown a lot as a person and gained a lot more confidence in myself and my abilities. I'm finally coming into my own and loving who I am and generally trying not to care so much about what other people think. I'm doing more stuff for me and not in a selfish way, its just how everyone should be (within reason of course!) but to put your own happiness first. I don't want to be preachy but you are the controller of your own happiness and if you're feeling poopy, go and change it! Toxic people in your life? Get rid of them. Bad habits? Stop them and replace them with good things? Feeling lazy and lethargic? Change your diet and drink more water (I'm not too good at this one) I've totally gone off on a little spiel here but you get my drift, 2013 was the year of me becoming happier by changing little things even if there were a few bumps along the way.
Now onto resolutions/goals I hope to achieve and things to do this year. Some are small, some might not happen but I hope they do because who knows what can happen within a year. These are in no particular order and I'm sure there are lots more I could add but its enough for now:

• Volunteer at dog shelters/rescue centres.
• Get into uni and work my little butt off.
• Save money and travel more.
• Get more piercings.
• Get a tattoo for my dad now I have it finally planned in my head.
• Stop worrying because it gets you absolutely nowhere except into a big ball of anxiety and stress.
• More positive thinking, less negative thinking
• Make more lists, things get done if they're written down into lists, fact.
• Drink more water and take better care of my skin, nails and hair and body in general
• Eat healthier with more fruit and less takeaways and Dominos!
• Take more photos
• Stop biting my nails (gross habit I know) 

Its quite a few but I hope to look back at this post at the end of the year and have the majority of them crossed off. Writing them down here will hopefully force me to follow through with them now that I've put it on the internet, here's hoping! I've also lots of ideas for posts lately so keep your eyes peeled, I really hope to start blogging more in 2014 and posting more than just once or twice a month. 
Let me know what your resolutions/goals are for the coming year if you've made any! 

Five things that have made me happy this week

(Image found on tumblr its not mine)

Quality family time - Its not often all my family are together and I always appreciate seeing them around Christmas time. As me and my cousins have gotten older we dont talk as much or catch up so seeing them this week has been really nice! As well as seeing my nana and all my aunties and uncles!

Seeing snow fall - There's something strangely magical seeing snow fall from the sky, even if its only a dusting and hardly sticks! It was so nice to see it around Christmas, made everything feel more festive! Lighting fires and being cosy - There's something so homey about a real fire, hearing the crackle of the coal or wood, watching the flames dance and seeing the coal glow red. I'm such an old woman at heart when it comes to fires. I can make a pretty good one too, so I've been given the name 'Chief Firestarter' in my house! Haha it just makes me think of The Prodigy's song really. The crisp coldness of winter air - I have been a little bit of a hermit lately but in between all this stormy weather we've been getting I've really been enjoying the crisp bright sunny days. Perfect winter weather for cosying up in a thick jumper, a warm scarf and boots! Wrapping Christmas presents - I do complain about wrapping presents, I think everyone does but I love seeing the finished result and piling them underneath the tree. Although I have to admit I'm really not the best wrapper in the world, but hey its the thought and effort that counts right? Hope everyone had a great Christmas and ate lots of turkey and chocolate and food in general! My camera is sadly out of action and I had planned to post a bit about my Christmas and a few nice little outfit snaps, but me and technology never get on!