LIFE | Stuck in limbo

People, who have been following the news (or their twitter/facebook newsfeed) may have noticed that a certain company I work for had gone into administration. Not very nice thing if you are affected by it. There also was a lot of outrage over certain store policies that had been overrode by the administrators. As frustrating as this was, all the anger and disappointment had been taken out on the people working in the stores. Since I am one of them, here's my point-of-view on this whole thing.

I had been considering a departure from this place for a while now and had decided, it was time just before the news broke through. I personally found out on facebook what was about to happen, so did most, if not all of the people I work with. A lot of people were fearing for their monthly wages at this point, since, believe it or not, not only "degenerate, drug-taking students" work at this retailer. In fact, at the moment we only have a few students working part-time. A lot of people have to worry about rent, bills and food, even families. I think it is sad that these people get attacked, since all they do is practice what they have been told from "above". Most decisions are out of their hands, yet they are the ones on the frontline, taking all the beating (in one case- I hear- literally taking a punch!). 

I do agree that prices in store are rather questionable in some cases in comparison to online prices, and I personally do buy stuff online, too. But I do love spending time actually browsing through the shelves, whether that is my store or another store/retailer, and finding things I had not thought of buying. If that is taken away, I will have to sit there and browse through stuff online. Well, that will help with the whole obesity crisis, won't it?! :)

We have been stuck in limbo for a week, keeping our heads up and moral as high as it can get in a situation like this. We are, as they say, "polishing a turd" right now, and are not sure what we well be doing the next few days. I am glad I work with the people I work with, because it makes it easier to get up and go to work every morning, knowing what you'll have to face. But most of us are trying to be positive, keeping each other in a good mood. According to recent news, the companies debts have been paid by a a company that had previously bought out stores in Canada (see, more reason to love Canada!!), so hopefully this is the start of something new and good. 

In the meantime, I am still hoping to find a more degree-specific job. Not been good at the old job-hunt, though, which sucks, since job-hunts are rumoured to actually get you closer to finding a new job. Funny that! 

So, here's to hoping that after this rather crappy start to the year, in terms of career (kinda rhymes! woop), it will be better from here onwards. Not just for me, but for those retailers that were hit by the same fate as we did, too! Everyone affected by it: Keep your heads us, something good must come out of this! Make the best out of your situation! keep spirits and hopes high! We'll be fine!

Thank you for reading!

x ♥ x

BEAUTY | Glossybox Jan 2013

My Glossybox came through the post today, which I am really excited about. And since I said I'd blog more, I thought I'd blog about this one! 

The theme is "Detox". In the box I got a sample of the Premae Skincare - Balance Rescue Face Tonique, a Jason - Lips Bee Healthier Balm, which I already received with a Joliebox a while back, so I know it's good :), a sample of Renu - Flash Relax Mask, two sample sachets which are part of the Sanctuary Spa - 2-Step Thermal Transformation Mask and, a brand that I already love, Vichy - Normaderm 3IN1 Cleanser. If you want to know more about the products, I have hyperlinked the names to the websites, so just click on the product name!

Looking forward to trying out the new products!

Oh! Before I forget: They included a lovely sleeping mask, too! That's great timing, as I can't find mine! :) 

So, there you go! I haven't done a post like this before, so hope it's not too bad.

Thanks for reading!

x ♥ x

Happy New Year and how it has been so far...

Hey All!

Yes, I realise I am late with this, but I would like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year! I hope everyone achieves their goals they have set themselves for the year and gets to be happy and healthy and surrounded by friends and/or family (whichever one you prefer!). I know a lot of people will have new years resolutions. Losing weight, being more active, quit smoking, new job.... I don't really do resolutions. Why? Because they are the same every year and they are just not a challenge anymore. Also, if I wanted to change certain things, surely I shouldn't wait till there is a new year. Just start changing whenever! I DO want to lose weight and I DO want to be healthier and more active, but if I really wanted to make this work, I'd do a complete lifestyle overhaul. Stay away from the chocs, no matter how tempting, be more aware of fruit and veg- heavy foods and all that jazz. If you have new year's resolutions, and you have managed to kinda stick to them, then I tip my hat to you! If that works for you as a motivation, then go with it! Just not for me!

Started the year off with a film at the cinema, with none other than Charlotte (may be referred to as "Chazza" in the future). Went to see Life of Pi at Showcase (£5 entry with the Insider card, don't mind if I do!). I did not know a thing about this film before we went to see it, so I had no expectations. I believe, this is the best way to see a film! It was such an amazing film, too! Visually absolutely stunning! Some scenes reminded me a little of Avatar, which is a good thing, as Avatar was a "pretty" film, too. The CGI was a little off in parts. Obviously I didn't know what was supposed to be real and what wasn't, but, without wanting to give too much away (this means: CAUTION!! POSSIBLE SPOILER): the first time you see him trying to interact with the lion, there was something odd with the way that lion moved across the floor. Just saying. :) Apart from that, absolutely woth a watch, if you don't mind watching a film that requires you to use your brains and your heart. 

We also exchanged Christmas presents. While I only had some shiny earrings and a model of the car from Dr. No (Chazza is a massive Bond fan!), she got me a lovely bracelet, a heart-shaped picture frame (BFFs, init!) and THIS!!! :

Sweetest XMas present this year

How bloody lovely is this!!! Such a  great idea, too! (Which reminds me, I should probably make them soon. Don't worry, the egg had been placed in the fridge ages ago. Probably gone now...) 

Oh, I did make some cakes for New Years, cause, you know, that's how you rock NYE these days...

Cakes to ring in the new Year

They are Double Choc Chip and Eggnog. I love making the Eggnog ones! I made some earlier that month as a treat for the work mates, too:

Treats for my chums at work

Top left are (semi-)vegan chocolate cake with mint icing, bottom left we have Eggnog and on the right we have (semi-) vegan chocolate cake with white chocolate icing. I say semi-vegan, because when I started baking my vegan cakes I realised that the cocoa powder may not be vegan. But it was too late to find a substitute so had to give up. Also in this picture: One of the two cake tins and the plastic container that had been accidentally thrown away by our cleaners. R.I.P., you served me well! 

Ok, I think there were quite a few things I wanted to write about, but don't want to write up a whole million-page essay, so I am going to close with a couple of pictures from my presents I got from my family.

First DIY Style project

First: the I Spy DIY Style book that I had on my Amazon wishlist for ages now. I am not a stylish person, I do not understand fashion. I am one of those that wears clothes just to be clothed. If it fits the way I want it to fit and I like how it looks, it's mine, regardless of whether it goes with anything else I own or not. (Colour-coding? What's that?). I had seen some of the things they had covered in the book and thought it would be a fun guide to have! I like making my own stuff. I got the faux-fur gloves from my sister, too, which are from ASOS. I had bought studs from ebay after watching Beautycrush's "How to: DIY Stud" video (I absolutely love her channel), so I added some of those to the gloves.

Mum got me one of the coolest presents from my wishlist, which is this stunning Jessie Steele apron (also available from ebay)

Lovely Jessie Steele Apron

I think that wraps up the old year quite nicely. I think I will try and post more this year (pretty sure I said this before...) and make more use of this blog. 

Thanks for reading! Have a lovely day!

x ♥ x