Changes

I’d like to apologise for my little blogging hiatus. I’ve had a few of them this year. There has been a lot going on behind the scenes in my life, I was unwell for quite a few weeks and that coupled with my lack of motivation to blog has resulted in my blog being abandoned for a little while.
I thought today I would write a little update post. I finally have an ‘office room’ so now that it has all been decorated I finally have a place to properly sit and blog. Above is a little snippet of what it looks like, how predictable is the colour scheme haha.
Other than that my lack of motivation to blog arose from a few different reasons.
As you may know last year I purchased a DSLR, stupidly I thought this would solve all the problems  I have been having with the lack of daylight. noob. But I have been getting to grips with all the settings and feel a little more confident in using my new camera now. Lighting wise I just need to make sure I make use of brighter days and take blog pictures in bulk like a few bloggers have suggested.
Another reason for my hiatus is that I just feel like I don’t quite know what niche I want to slot into with my blog. My blog is beauty and lifestyle and forever will be, I know that much but the style of posts is something I am working on. I want there to be a ‘theme’ almost in my blog (that probably doesn’t make sense, but it does in my head) 
Blogging for me is a hobby and forever will be. I never want it to get to the stage where it feels like a chore but lately I have. I am working on organising a schedule and putting aside some time each week to blog. I am all for quality over quantity, and I will only ever put up posts I am happy for others to read but that also makes me put a lot of unneeded pressure on myself. I feel If I spared time out specifically to blog that would allow me to write up posts and stick to a schedule somewhat. I have downloaded the WunderList app and hope this keeps me on track.

Moving forward, blog wise I will still be blogging about beauty and lifestyle - the style of the posts might change a little, don’t worry nothing drastic! I am also working on another little project will I will share with you in May hopefully.
This is turning into a longer post than I initially thought but I just thought I would get my thoughts out onto a blog post. I don’t even know why I wrote all this to be honest but to conclude, I will be blogging more regularly again especially now that I have my own space.
I want to thank you all for sticking with me, I am so lucky to have my blog and it makes me happy knowing you enjoy reading aleelily x
eta: I’ve just re read this post and its mush. Oh well. 
♡

St. Helens Farm

A little bit of a different post from me today, as you may be aware I am currently *trying* to have a more healthy balanced diet, so today I thought I would let you know one of the ways I am trying to achieve this.

St Helens Farm got in contact with me a while ago and asked if I would like to receive a hamper full of goodies made from goats milk. Other than fruit and veg, dairy is also really important for your diet; calcium is good for your bones, magnesium is good for muscle function and more.

So with me being somewhat lactose intolerant to everything apart from cheese (thank goodness I am okay with cheese) I was a little apprehensive in trying out goats milk - after doing a little bit of research I found various sources stated goats milk is easier to digest than cows milk and it was also lactose intolerant friendly. So I just had to say yes.

The hamper arrived in a Cool Bag and was full to the brim with lots of goodies to try along with a little bearded goat beanie. Oh the little things.

Goats Milk

Previously I really struggled with drinking cows milk as I always found it made me feel unwell after. I received Skimmed, Semi Skimmed and Full Fat milk. I tried the milk first and found there to be a distinctive goats milk taste. This might put some people off but it takes some time getting used to. If you are lactose intolerant you will get what I mean by saying it didn’t feel heavy on the stomach, it definitely is more easier to digest goats milk than cows.

On a side note, the cat absolutely loved it and kept begging for more. Don’t worry, I researched before giving it to him, it is fine in moderation and easier for them to digest than cows milk. (I don’t know how this post has turned into me talking about cats but there you go!)

Goats Milk Yoghurt

I was able to try out the Live Natural and Low Fat yoghurt. We really enjoyed these with fruit, cereal and also in smoothies. The distinctive taste isn’t noticeable at all in these yoghurts and they feel very light on the stomach.

I wasn’t too keen on the flavoured yoghurts but others enjoyed them. The yoghurt itself was quite thick with a fruity later at the bottom (which I loved). I just  found the texture of the yoghurt part odd, it was almost mousse like and there was a distinctive aftertaste.

Goats Cheese

My absolute favourite has to be the cheese. The Mild and Creamy, and Mature cheese were so yummy and I have since purchased another one of each. I really enjoy popping these in salads and also heated up cheese and tomato toasties. I also made Grilled Cheese and Courgette rolls the other night and they went down a storm. The texture of the cheese is quite smooth and when paired with other foods it really brings out all the distinctive flavours. I have been using the cream cheese in pastas.

There are so many recipes online that use goats cheese so I will definitely be trying those out and if they turn out well I might even include them in a future blog post.

Goats Butter

I haven’t had butter in years so this was a little treat. Nothing compares with this butter spread on freshly popped warm toast! It is really creamy and so, so delicious. I didn’t notice a difference between this and regular butter.

Overall, I really enjoyed these products especially the cheese, plain yoghurt and butter. I feel the distinctive goats milk taste of the other items put me off a little but I’m happy I have come across the brand and have already repurchased a few of the products! Products are available in supermarket nationwide.

Hope you enjoyed this review, let me know if you have tried anything from the range and what you think of these kind of posts, would you like to see more?

♡

LoveSales

For the majority of last year I was on a spending ban - I’ll be honest and say that it was really difficult. This year however my savviness has gone up a notch after discovering the website LoveSales. This way I can essentially buy what I want whilst make a saving too ... so my purchases are now totally justifiable, right?

Lovesales is a website where you can save items you are currently lusting over to a board, a bit like Pinterest but the added feature is that you will be notified when said item goes on sale. This allows you to save some money! 
I absolutely love this concept and have already added so many items to my ‘watch list’. I have in the past tried to find a similar website to no avail. By using Lovesales I am able to collate everything I want on one site rather than bookmarking everything. The website is well organised and easy to navigate through which is an added bonus. If you don’t want to add items in yourself you can use the site to see their top picks, all the items are from popular stores and the discounts vary from 25% - 75%!
Have you used Lovesales before? What do you think about the concept?
♡ *sponsored content

Wishlist #7: Spring

  Elise Ryan Grecian pink trim dress - Dorothy Perkins White mini tote bag - New Look @ ASOS Nothing to wear tee - New Look Pastel blue faux leather jacket - Dorothy Perkins Olivia Burton Big Dial dusty pink watch - Tophshop Striped tee - Topshop
My last wish list post was in October last year, so long ago! Spring is just around the corner so I thought today I would feature a few of things I want for the warmer weather.... well actually, whilst adding the links for the items I went ahead and purchased a few of them, oops. 
Pastel colours make me happy - this comes from someone who lives in black, white and grey clothes. I do however like to wear say, a pastel top with a pair of light blue skinny jeans and my white converse when Spring and Summer hit. I feel I can do the same with the light blue faux leather jacket pictured above. I am so excited for this to arrive and hope I can get a decent amount of wear from it. 
I absolutely love the ‘Nothing to wear’ tee. I have seen so many people wear this in real life and on the tv, would you believe its only £7.99 from New Look? It also comes in 3 other colours. I ordered the white and grey, is that a little excessive? Maybe, maybe not. The monochrome look is really in this Spring so these will do nicely and can be paired with anything, a must have! 
Hope you enjoyed this post, let me know your faves!
♡