HOLA JULY! A MID YEAR UPDATE AND MY PLANS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR.

Sunday 1 July 2018

I feel like just yesterday I was still wearing my Primark parka jacket and Joni jeans and now here we all are (even in the UK) in sundresses and flip-flops. I stopped doing monthly updated a while ago just because some months are busier and others I just work, go to the gym, go out and blog. On a whole, the first half of 2018 has been pretty alright. I've squeezed in quite a bit of travelling - including Barcelona, Krakow and Malta. I've finally got down to my goal weight after a year and I've managed to find a balance between my work/social life. I just wanted to check-in with you guys to let you know what I've been up to and what my plans and goals are for the rest of the year.

tea with gi

My accomplishments and highlights so far. 


I think it's just as important to look back at the things you've already achieved and not just what you want to do. No matter how small or insignificant they may seem. 

I've travelled to 5 new cities. 

The great thing about having paid off your overdraft and working a FT job is you actually have money to do things! Sure now I have to be a bit smarter with annual leave but thankfully we have a lot of bank holidays at the beginning of the year so it's made it possible. I've travelled to 6 different cities over 4 trips and they have all been with a different mix of people and they've all been memorable in their own way. I reunited with my best friend in Madrid to see Lana Del Rey after 4 years, went on a mini euro trip with Mariah and Joanna that was filled with constant laughs, and then pulled together my sister, Mariah and my other friend Gabriella for Malta. Funnily enough they didn't know each other that well prior to the trip but it was probably the funniest 4 days I've had in a long time. 

I've lost 14kg and managed to keep it off. 

It's exactly a year since I embarked on my 'fitness journey' and even though I could have done this in 6 months I still wanted to enjoy life so didn't want to be eating leaves every night. The best part about this is that I've actually grown an appreciation for food and what I feed my body. I haven't drastically cut down my calories, I enjoy going to the gym and I'm in a good place. There are elements I preferred when I was a bit plumper (I'm not as curvy and I could do with injecting some more fat into my face) but it's just getting used to a different kind of look. Even my fashion choices have changed because of it. I always find it funny when people make comments about your weight and that they 'preferred when you had a bit more/less lbs on you' because at the end of the day it's your body and your opinion that matters. If you're looking on a bit more info on how I lose 10kg (at the time) click the link. 

I've earned over £800 from my blog. 

This might not seem a lot to some bloggers and I won't be going full-time anytime soon, but when I started blogging 3 years ago I definitely wasn't thinking about making any money from it. I don't rely on my blog for my income so it's always a nice addition and surprise when an email lands in my inbox about a sponsored post, or somebody uses my booking.com affiliate link to make a booking (please do). It always gives you that extra bit of motivation when you're being paid for the stuff you write and feel valued. 

I've managed to read 2 books per month.

As I said on my reading list, joining the library means it's kind of forced me to do this so I can return the book in time, but I've got into the habit of reading every night before bed instead of using my phone and it's definitely help me sleep better too. 

My friend moved over to Gibraltar! 

What's better than having blogger friends? When someone who you met on Twitter/through blogging moves to the same place as you! Becca moved over here just under two months ago and it's so great having someone new/different to hang around with and of course, to go on blogger outings with and take 500 photos of our food. 

Our weekly cinema club. 

This one sounds lame, but having something to look forward to weekly brings me joy. It's funny because even though we go every week none of the staff (there's about 4 of them) have ever mentioned 'you're always here!' which kind of makes it more embarrassing for us because they probably think we don't have a life or we're not that memorable. After every film we say 1 line to sum up the movie and that line usually ends up on my one-line movie reviews post. 

My goals and plans for the rest of the year. 


Get my driving license!

Ok guys so I have been putting this off for the longest time because I don't feel the need to drive here and if I ever need to pop over to Spain for anything, there's always my mum, sister or lovely pals. That being said I know I can't rely on them forever and want to have my own independence when it comes to driving (even if I'm a little bit scared of it). Fingers crossed I can publish a post at the end of the year saying that I got my license! 

Reach 10K followers on Twitter.

I've been hanging around 7,000 followers for months now because I haven't actively been trying to grow my Twitter following. However we all know now that numbers are more important than ever in the bloggersphere so I want to dedicate more time to engaging with other people on Twitter, joining chats and finding new people to follow. 

Reach 5K followers on Instagram. 

It will be a miracle if I accomplish this because I feel like with Instagram I gain 10 followers and then lose 15. I'm going to make a real effort to grow my engagement here over the next 6 months and hope for the best, and if not pray that someone with a huge following does me a solid one and gives me a shoutout. 

Reach 1000 likes on Facebook.

I only just hit 500, so another 500 is doable right?

Read 25 books by the end of the year. 

As long as I keep on track and spend a few more hours reading on the beach in the summer this should hopefully be an easy one. I'd love to know what summer reads you recommend! 

Be up to date with all my TV shows. 

Does anyone else feel like they have their life together when they're caught up with all their TV shows? I'm dedicating this month to watch the final season of The Originals and next month to catching up with Gotham because I did quite enjoy them but Love Island has taken over my evenings. 

Visiting another 2 cities. 

Currently my only travel plans left for the year are Portugal with the family, and then I'm heading to Milan in November for a concert with Sarah-Jane (because it was cheaper to fly there than the UK) and then I'm treating my mum to a weekend in Brussels/Bruges for the Christmas markets and such! If any of you have any travel guides or tips for these places send them my way!

Get down to 20% body fat and increase my muscle mass. 

If you're not an avid gym goer then you might read this and be like eh? I'm not really focusing on losing any more weight, but I'd like to take this second half of the year to change my body composition - building muscle and losing some fat so I can look lean and mean like Mulan. 

Make £1000 from blogging. 

Probably very ambitious of me, but if I practice the law of attraction/manifestation hard enough maybe it'll happen. 

Have £5000 in savings. 

I've already cut down buying my iced skinny vanilla lattes to twice a week, so that's a start. Before buying any more clothes/make-up/materialistic things I try to ask myself 'is this going to add any value to my life?' Another Pandora ring would be nice but do I really need to add another one to my hand and then cry when it falls off on a night out because I was waving my hands too quick in the air? 

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That's about all that I can think of right now guys, nothing too exciting unfortunately. All I really want for the rest of the year is a chilled, fun, memorable, easy-going, adventurous, successful and accomplished 6 months - so not a lot to ask for really. I'm off to Portugal for a week with my family this weekend and I'm looking forward to having sometime to chill, read, get a tan and play hotel bingo. As much as I love reserving my holiday leave for exploring new places sometimes you just need some time off to relax and unwind. 


How has 2018 been for you so far? What have been your highlights and what are you looking forward to for the rest of the year? 

G









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