10 Annoying Facebook Friends

I feel like in the last week I've noticed a lot of annoying Facebook trends. We've all had that moment when we look at the computer screen, roll our eyes and think, please shush!

1. People who Check-In in their beds/on the sofa/at my house/in my cosy home.

2. Diet and exercise braggers - most people post the occasional status or tweet about weight loss or going to the gym or eating clean - that's fine. What's not fine is twenty consecutive tweets about getting up at 5am for a ten mile run, what you need to work on in the gym, how many miles you ran on the treadmill, how you've replaced food with green tea and how you just don't know what to eat any more because you've cut out all carbs, fats and sugars. Unfollow.

3. The pointless status - self explanatory really but in a nutshell - no one cares.

4. Subtle self-complimenters - an everyday status which has an obviously hidden compliment.

Such as, "Really annoying when I'm in a rush but get stopped in the street because some girl wants to know where my entire outfit is from and her friend wanted my number." 

5. The political ranter - Twitter has 140 characters for a reason, so don't spam my feed with ten continuous tweets about how you disagree with whatever legislation or politician. Also never tell a political ranter to shut up - it only spurs them on as they love a good debate.

6. Parents and their babies. I love babies, I really do. And it is cute when someone you know has a baby and posts a picture on Facebook. But nobody, except maybe the immediate family, wants to see hundreds of photos of that baby doing the same thing as in the previous photo, there's just no need for it. Equally no one wants to see a status like this...

7. Private matters made public. It's not okay, it's just uncomfortable and very awkward.

8. Friend Requests from people in China who have three friends and a manga art profile pic - how did you find me?

9. Attention seekers...

10. People Who Type Like This And Put A Capital Letter At The Start Of Every Word - it's actually so much effort to do this, you might as well just type normally and not be annoying. 

Suits, Sandals, Satin and Adidas Originals

This week, Topshop’s New In section has left me weak at the knees. Despite the arrival of their new collaboration with Adidas Originals – Topshop X Adidas Originals collection, which was exciting enough (and made me actually want to go to the gym), even MORE breath taking garms’ have landed in store. A beautiful and fresh Spring collection of silk shirts, pastel cami's and some jaw-dropping additions to Topshop's Boutique.

It was a difficult job but I managed to narrow them down and show you my favourites!

Trefoil Print Sweat, £50 - Topshop X Adidas Originals

Orange Runner Shorts, £32 - Topshop X Adidas Originals

                                     

Formal Satin Joggers, £42  

Satin Scallop Shorts, £35

Solar Patent Platform Shoes £52

Contrast Cami by Boutique, £45

PJ Wrap Kimono Jacket, £55

Long Weave Coat by Boutique, £160

Satin Wrap Board Shorts, £38

Silk Shirt Dress by Boutique, £85

Chiffon Hem Sweat, £32

Mega Cut Out Boots, £38

Bandeau Skort Playsuit, £48

Textured Gathered Knee Midi Skirt, £45

Ribbed Sweat by Boutique, £45

Geo Print Cami by Boutique, £55

Geo Print Short by Boutique

Lilac Crepe Mac by Boutique, £160

Ella, Ella, eh eh

As soon as she stepped on the X Factor stage, I fell in love. Who is this trendy gal? Ella looked so chic with her quirky little quiff and 60s style eyeliner. Then she started singing. WELL. After that, I was hooked; I just wanted to hear more. I couldn’t get over how powerful her audition song was, (now known as Missed).  I felt completely mesmerized with the lyrics, it was one of those songs like Adele’s Someone Like You or Beyonce’s Best Thing I Never Had; every girl had a piece of their past which that song could relate to.

In celebration of her soon-to-be-released new album, with debut single Ghost, here are my top five Ella vid’s. 

1. My number one favourite, Ella's beautiful cover of Cher's Believe.

2. Ella Henderson and Labrinth, Beneath Your Beautiful

3. Hold On We're Going Home/Love Me Again

 

4. Covering Minnie Ripperton's Loving You - who could forget those high notes?!

5. Missed in full

For my gurls (L) xox

Recently I’ve been very much enjoying dragging up the past every Thursday to celebrate #tbt. It was only last week that I came across a photograph hidden away in the depths of Facebook from about five years ago, of me and the girls looking ridiculously different. It was one of those cringey moments when you look at an old picture of yourself and criticise everything about your appearance, which shortly led on to an in depth discussion of certain other life choices. 'Look at my hair’, ‘What is that dress?', ‘Why did I think my make-up looked good like that?!’ We all came together in a sea of comments and hated on ourselves for the decisions we had made half a decade ago. Darwin once said, ‘It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.’  I couldn’t help but strongly suspect that in five years from now, I will look back on my most recent photos and yet again question every decision I made. Is this fair though? Don’t we act on what’s going on around us? When I look back on myself, I feel completely different. The decisions I make today (or rather the decisions I made then) are completely different to the ones I would make now. Sure I’m older, and dare I say it wiser? But isn’t it about more than that? We grow up in a world that’s so fast paced and so incredibly diverse, that we adapt in accordance. Darwin said that the ones who survive are the ones who could adapt to change. We restyle our hair depending on the trends we see, we throw out old clothes and buy new, to follow what’s en-vogue. We let go of people who hold us back, those who aren’t worthy of our time, and we surround ourselves by the ones who appreciate us and make us happy. Most of the time, we look back and feel superior to our old selves - is this because we knew that we had made hard decisions, learnt tough lessons, let people go and let people in, all to make us who we are today? We look back on past relationships, people who treated us badly and we criticise ourselves, ‘why did I put up with that for so long?’

I realised that as a group of girls we had been friends since we were six years old and we had helped each other through so much. The world spins and we all move together, some race ahead and others move more slowly, but it’s reassuring to remember that the ones who are closest in our hearts, are running at the same pace and we’ll always pick each other up if one falls down. 

#nomakeupselfie

When I first saw a no make-up selfie on my news feed, I didn’t know what the hell was going on! A bare faced selfie? Was this a mistake?! I’m sure you’re all aware of the no make-up selfie trend that is gripping Facebook and circulating amongst Twitter and Instagram. If you haven’t, firstly where have you been? And secondly, I will fill you in. In a nutshell, a Facebook friend is nominated to take a selfie photograph with not a scrap of make up on. They then nominate their friend to do the same and that friend nominates another friend who nominates another friend who nominates another friend...Get it?

Many people have been accompanying the selfie with a donation to Cancer Research; others, have opted not to take a selfie at all and to just donate directly to the charity. If you’ve been keeping you’re eye on Facebook, you might have noticed some heated status’ begging the question of what the no make-up selfie actually does for Cancer Research. I love a selfie, but I must admit when I first saw naked faced friends appearing on my news feed I was slightly skeptical – is this just another excuse to post a selfie? My immediate thoughts were: What is this doing for cancer research and will it turn into a competition as to who looks the best with no make up?

I slept on it and woke this morning feeling completely differently. There’s nothing wrong with this campaign. If it makes the tiniest difference to someone’s life by encouraging them to go to the doctor about a lump or a stubborn cough; if it makes you think, yeah, actually I’m going to start checking my breasts regularly, then what is the problem? If this social media trend can save the life of even one person in this world, then every single selfie is worth it. It’s certainly not hindering the cause. Accompanying your selfie with the £3 donation (txt BEAT to 70099) is a great idea, but if you cannot afford a donation, you’re still showing your support, you’re still getting people to stop and think about cancer. I don’t know about you but it’s been on my mind all day and yeah, it’s made me sad because I’ve thought about family members: those who have lost a battle to cancer and those who are currently fighting one now. Cancer affects the lives of everyone. Who doesn’t know someone whose life has been devastated by cancer? Putting cancer at the forefront of everyone’s minds – how can this be a bad thing?

Here’s my #nomakeupselfie. Txt BEAT to 70099 to make a £3 donation and visit this website for help and information on signs and symptoms of breast cancer.

http://www.newhealthguide.org/Symptoms-Of-Breast-Cancer.html