I have separated them into different areas and I have highlighted in bold the ones I have already achieved, and that are currently in motion to happen soon. I will look back over this list as the year passes and update how I’m getting on, so here it is, my 30 before 30 list;

Fitness

1. Improve my fitness levels as a whole

2. Start Pole Fitness classes
I am currently looking into this with two of my girlfriends and once we find the best day and price to suit us all we plan to book on to a package course

3. Run a 10K or beat my 5K time

4. Raise money for Friends at Centre Stage in a fun run

5. Lose weight

Food and Drink

6. Go to Afternoon Tea

7. Splurge on a once in a lifetime restaurant

8. Improve my cooking skills

Classes

9. Take a cocktail making class

10. Take a ballroom dance class

11. Take a calligraphy class

12. Take my theory test

13. Start driving lessons

Travel

14. Visit a country I’ve never been to
Whilst I have been to Orlando before I have never been to the Bahamas where we stopped off in St Maartan, St Thomas and Nassau. I’m also going to Ibiza next year for my friend hen do so this can be ticked off multiple times

15. Visit somewhere new in the UK

16. Go on a road trip

17. Go to The Atlantis Hotel in the Bahamas
As I mentioned above I went on a cruise around the Bahamas, which I actually got back from this morning, and one of our stops was The Atlantis Hotel. It has been my dream to go to this hotel since I was 13 and saw it in a film and I finally got to go on a half day trip with full access to their water park. I still want to go and actually stay there, just need a lottery win to do so

18. Explore more of what London has to offer

19. Book another charity night at The Comedy Store

Blogging

20. Create a media kit

21. Post more frequently

22. Continue to love every minute, opportunity and person that comes into my life because of blogging

Life

23. Get a secure job
I am currently on a contract at work and on the 6th September I’m having a meeting to hopefully find out if I’ll be made permanent or need to start job hunting. Keep your fingers crossed for me as I actually do like my position and the company I work for, I’d just like a more secure future

24. Move out

25. Get a new tattoo
I have already decided on what tattoos I want, I just need the wuss in me to man up and get inside the tattoo shop. I have a feeling this will happen when I go to Magaluf across my 30th next year. I want a Prosecco glass on the side of my finger and the word love in an infinity sign on my side

26. Continue working on my make up skills

27. Take better care of my skin and body

28. Have a fancy dress night out
I absolutely love fancy dress and whilst yes I’ll be dressed up for Halloween weekend, which this year is being celebrated in Brighton, I also want a fancy dress night out for no reason other than the fun of it.

29. Live every moment, laugh every day, love beyond words. Enjoy life and just be happy!

And of course I couldn’t leave this baby out, can’t say I haven’t done it before but…

30. Spend my birthday in Magaluf and go Skinny Dipping

We’re only a few days into 2017 but I am already excited for the upcoming months as I already have a number of fun plans pencilled in, including blog events, birthday nights out, hotel stays, holidays and the major development of this year being the year I should be moving out.

On Tuesday I went for dinner with the family to this cute little restaurant called L’ulivo which is located down the side of Charing Cross station, on the walk down to Embankment Underground. It’s an Italian restaurant and I had the most amazing Lobster pasta starter, which I could have happily had for every course, and followed it with a Lamb Shank in a honey and red wine jus with mash. We then went to see Kinky Boots at The Adelphi Theatre, and oh my god it was incredible. They were given a well rewarded standing ovation and I would literally go again tomorrow, if you are considering seeing the show you really should, this year has already started better than last year that’s for sure.

Also this month I have my friend’s 30th, which is a superhero themed night out, and I will be staying with her for the weekend. I am so excited to see her because, and I can’t even believe this but I haven’t seen her in about 2 years. I also love fancy dress and can’t even remember the last time I did fancy dress apart from on Halloween so it’s going to be an amazing weekend, I just need to find an outfit. Additionally I have my first blog event of the year on the 14th, my Dad’s birthday and as soon as I’m well enough I will be getting back to the gym.

February is looking to be quite a busy month for me with a really random selection of plans already made. I am starting the month with my Christmas present from George, we are going to a Crystal Palace football game. Another one of my Christmas presents, this one from the fam, was two tickets to The Lily Foundation Charity Comedy night, where Amy and I will be seeing Seann Walsh, Romesh Ranganathan, Joe Pasquale and Jon Richardson. I’m most excited about Romesh but it’s a great line up all round. The whole family is going to Harry Potter and The Cursed Child which my Mum got us all tickets for last Christmas as my sister and my stepdad are big fans. And finally I am going to the Big Easy again, this time with Aaron and Abi, for the Unlimited Boozy Brunch, two hours of unlimited prosecco with either a lobster dish or the Big Pig Gig.

March is looking like a hotel month for me with a trip to Maidstone with Amy, her boyfriend and George, currently in planning, and a Travelodge already booked for Lauren’s birthday where I will be reuniting with a bunch of my lovely blogger friends. As I still live at home I love breaking up nights out by staying in a hotel on them, the getting ready and pre drinking together with everyone fighting over what to play on the speaker that hopefully someone remembered, and the bonus of not worrying about waking anyone up at stupid o’clock when you get home.

My holidays for the year are practically planned and paid for. I don’t usually go away with the family anymore unless it’s for a big birthday or special occasion, but when they told me their plan for this year I had to crash. In August we are going away for two weeks; the first to Orlando, who doesn’t want to go to Disney and we will be there on my birthday. Then it’s on to a cruise around the Bahamas, which includes a stop at THE ATLANTIS HOTEL, it has been my dream for years, around 15 years to be exact after falling in love with it on the Mary Kate and Ashley film Holiday In The Sun. I am also going to Greece and Magaluf, shock I know, for a week with Amy at some point in July, she is going on an island hop holiday with multiple people so I can’t actually remember exactly when this is planned for but I believe we are paying for it in a few weeks.

And as I mentioned above this year is the year I plan to move out. Yes I have just told you about all these plans I have already made for the year BUT alongside that I will be saving anything I can so that come mid year I can start looking at flats to move out with Abi, fellow blogger and friend of around 10 years. Obviously these are not my only plans for the entire year but I love having things to look forward to and I am feeling positive about this being a good year. You will definitely be seeing loads more from the #twoportugueseagingerandasmurf hashtag this year! I want to be with those who make me smile, laugh as much as I breathe, live life to the fullest, make the most of what I have, give everything and have no regrets. You only live once but if you do it right, once is enough!

2016 Highlights

January – I went on a night out with some girls from work and one of them brought their best friend along with her and I didn’t know that a few months later I’d be working with him for 6 months and class him as one of my best friends. I had a reunion night out with a few girls I went to school with and I am now planning on moving in with one of them this year. I went to the Ice Bar in London, organised by LDN Meet Up.

February – Through working at Bare Minerals I learnt a lot more about make up, through training, help from other counters and watching YouTube videos, and so I got to be a part of a make up event in the middle of Bromley Shopping Centre, promoting the brand and getting to show my skills to a wider audience.

March – I saw the school crew again and we went to the Big Easy for the Unlimited Boozy Brunch in Canary Wharf. Unlimited Prosecco, loads of meat and lobster, winner all round! I also planned a big night out with work where we stayed at the Travelodge and had a very eventful night that we still look back on now in absolute hysterics.

April – I went to Venue in London, which I hate might I add, for my friend’s birthday where I ended up losing everyone I went with, made a completely new set of friends who I had an amazing night with until I got a call from one of the guys I actually turned up with saying that everyone had been kicked out and I needed to meet them so we could go home. I also backed the winner of the Grand National and won myself a little money.

May – I went to see Hairspray The Musical for my sister’s birthday and I left Debenhams after working there for nearly 6 years. My Aunt and Cousin, who I hadn’t seen in 16 years, flew over from America and stayed with us for a few days before making their way around the rest of the family.

June – I had my annual trip to Magaluf; booze cruises, trips to my favourite bar Panamas, days on the beach and staying in the same apartment I do every year and seeing my Spanish family (not actual family, the people who work in the hotel that I am very attached to after however many years I’ve been going). I attended the Bloggers Ball and got to see Ana, my date to all of Scarlett London‘s events.

July – I ran the Race For Life 5k in 40 minutes, cheered on by some lovely bloggers, and raised £180 for Cancer Research. I attended the BloggerExpo and a number of Christmas In July events, with Co-Op being my favourite as always. My best friend came home from university and instead of the usual trying to squeeze plans in before term starts again she was staying for a year to take part in a placement year.

August – The month of my birth, and let me tell you I always celebrate for the entire month. I went out for dinner three times; with the family, with Abi and with Aaron. I had a night out with a couple of my closest friends, and I had a BBQ at mine with some of my favourites. Next year I just need a bloggers birthday celebration and it will be complete.

September – One of my best friends was 21 and after months of planning and sorting all our friends out we had an amazing night out in Maidstone, I can definitely recommend Strawberry Moons if you’re looking for somewhere new to go. I attended the Bloggers Festival where #twoportugueseandaginger was formed, the hashtag for myself, Ana and Cat, the day our friendship was thoroughly cemented I’d say! I also attended Karma Moments with Ana where we drunk made jewellery and got to have a good old catch up with Scarlett.

October – I got so drunk on a night out that my best friend had to get his girlfriend to pick me up from the club, and he had to carry me to the car and then to my door to made sure I safely made it into the house. I’m still amused by this! I went on my first blogger trip, at Center Parcs in Longleat, and got to really get to know some bloggers I had met at numerous events across the years and make some brand new blogger friends, what a great few days. And I rode a bike again for the first time in god knows how many years, and was rather successful at it!

November – I started my new job at Debenhams Head Office, yes I went back but made the move from store to HO. I went to #bloggersxmas with Ana, Cat and Abi where our hashtag grew to #twoportugueseagingerandasmurf, and I went to Trace’s SS17 Preview event where I got to create my own signature cocktail and see Xtine, Sarah and Kayla after god knows how long. I also got invited to the Cosmetics Christmas Meal from my old store, showing that I haven’t been forgotten since leaving.

December – What a busy month. One of my best friends birthday, two work Christmas parties, my first trip to Winter Wonderland, blog events, Christmas shopping and dinner with the bestie, two birthday meals, Christmas meals with the family and two with friends, and a bloody ton of drunk nights out.

Before writing this if you’d have asked me about the year I would have focused on all the bad stuff, our family dealt with loss, cancer, accidents, hardships, so much that we really were there saying what more can you possibly throw at us, so I’ve actually loved writing this post and looking back at all the fun things I did as well. Sadly setbacks, tragedy and failure are a part of life, but you have to persevere through the toughest adversaries to find joy and success, and it can make you appreciate these all the more. 2016 may have been tough, but I mustn’t forget that it also gave me a new job, the push to drive the negative influences out of my life, a heap of new friendships that have grown and flourished throughout the year, and a new appreciation to enjoy and make the most out of life. Life is short, make the most of it!

Before I plunge myself back into blogging I feel like I should catch you all up on what I’ve been up to over the past few months, and give you a cheeky preview into some of the upcoming posts you’ll be seeing over the next few weeks.

Above is a look back over my recent Instagram posts, which despite a blogging hiatus I managed to keep on top of and I finally hit and exceeded 1,000 followers. So let’s do a quick recap starting way back in August, which now seems like a lifetime ago, when I spent the month switching between birthday celebrations and being ill. I turned 28 and I had a night out with my closest friends, and I also had an indoor “BBQ” thanks to the rain leaving us housebound. Birthdays really do show you who cares and who will actually put the effort in with you, I’d rather have a smaller amount of close friends that I can know will be there for me 100% than a large group of friends who make you feel popular but don’t make you feel loved!

In September I went to the Bloggers Festival with my future housemate Abi and two of my favourite bloggers Ana and Cat, we had such a great time and I can’t wait for us to be reunited in two weeks when we attend #BloggersXmas, is anyone else going? I also got to see Ana at the Karma Moments event, two events that I somehow managed to find the time to post about, both ran by the lovely Scarlett who it’s always a delight to see. September was quite the planning month for me as one of my best friends turned 21 and we went away for the weekend. I helped get everyone in gear, sorting out the hotel, presents, cake, I’m quite the party planner even if I do say so myself, and we then danced the night away and made sure Amy had a great birthday. I also have about half a dozen family birthdays in September as well including my Nan and my Mum so it’s always a mad and very poor month for me.

October came and after starting with off straight away with another two birthdays the countdown was on to #bloggersinvadecenterparcs organised by LDNmeetup. This was the third trip for them, but I was either away or unable to get the time off work for the previous ones, so I was so pleased to be able to make this one. The day before we went I attended Trace PR’s SS17 preview and got to create my own cocktail and catch up with some bloggers I haven’t seen in forever. At Center Parcs I rode a bike for the first time in years, almost crashed into a kid and a tree but then it somehow came back to me and I was riding around on my own at some points. You really don’t ever forget! I am so not the outdoorsy, sporty type so I was quite pleased with myself across this weekend, along with riding the bike, I was on the winning team at bowling and I won on the arcade basketball game. Yes technically not sports but a win all the same! We went swimming, down the rapids and flumes, went to an American diner and had fancy cocktails, it was a lovely break and I will be blogging it more in depth soon.

October is one of my favourite months outside of any month filled with sunshine and August because of my birthday, and that is down to the wonder that is Halloween. I get so excited, planning for weeks what my outfit will be, making out in my head I’m going to magically possess amazing make up skills and have the best look of all. This year was no exception with the whole weekend planned well in advance, yes I do the whole weekend even if I’m the only one in fancy dress. But then I had a fall out with one of the girls it was all planned with, it completely fell apart and my Halloween weekend went to pot, absolutely gutted! Roll on next year!

Tuesday saw me start my new job and although I’ve only been there a week so there isn’t a lot to say, I’m so much happier than in my last position and I just feel more positive about life! On Wednesday I went for a Prosecco dinner with Amy to celebrate the new job and she gave me my belated birthday present and my early Christmas present, two beautiful Urban Decay palettes I have been lusting over for months. Pictures coming soon! And then this weekend was a bit of a reunion weekend as we went to a triple leaving do and a birthday celebration from our old job at Debenhams. We got to catch up with old friends, including Alison who at the last minute we convinced to come after not seeing her in something ridiculous like a year. I got to see my favourite boy who never fails to put a smile on my face, met one of my girls new boyfriend, Amy brought her boyfriend to meet everyone, saw a lot of old faces from work and just had a really great night with no drama. That’s never guaranteed with us unfortunately but we did it, and so this brings me up to date. Here’s to my second week at work, here’s to amazing friends who have helped me through a stressful time, here’s to my return to blogging and here’s to the future. Let’s make it a goodun!

Neglected! I’m sad to say this is definitely the word that comes to mind when it comes to my blog of late, BUT that is all about to change as I have an announcement. I have a new job. A new thirst for life. And the passion I haven’t felt in a while in wanting to blog and be a stable part of this community again.

For the past few months I realised a part of me was just not happy, and sadly in large part it was due to work. I was spending over 3 hours every day travelling there, and due to an upcoming relocation I was constantly on the edge that they would announce the move date and I would be instantly unemployed as it was too far for me to travel. Off the back of this I was constantly tired, I was not very well which could have been down to stress and I majorly neglected my blog off the back of this.

On Tuesday I started my new job with Debenhams, who I previously worked for as a supervisor in one of the stores, but this time round I have moved to Head Office and my new title is Implementation Fixture Coordinator. I’m so happy to be back working in a company I feel at home with and I have a new challenge that I am ready to throw myself into.

Although I have not been able to find the time or the drive to blog I have made sure to keep active on social media, and I went on a bloggers trip to Center Parcs about two weeks ago so I didn’t quite go completely MIA. I love the blogging community, the people I get to meet because of it, the opportunities I’m lucky enough to have on behalf of it and just having my own little part of the internet that has been mine for years now.

Another great thing that comes out of the new job is I can finally make a solid start on saving and moving out in the new year with my friend Abi. We have been friends for about 8 years now and she recently started blogging herself so we have already decided that we will have a blogging/vlogging room in our new place. I even invested in a filming and photography set from Amazon in preparation for this, it’s got lights, backgrounds, green screens, the lot! This year has not been the greatest for me, there’s been more lows than highs, so I’m happy to come out of it on a uplifting note.

It’s exactly 4 weeks today until my birthday and people have already started asking what I want. Does anyone else find that as you get older it gets harder to think of things you want? I have really struggled to pull a list together but here’s a few things I would be more than happy to be gifted. 

Krptikik Rose Retro Cat Eye Sunnies, Guess Lady Luxe Leather Satchel

Lipsy Michelle Keegan Collection

Victorias Secret Underwear

Mermaid Tail Blanket, Disney Tinkerbell Watercolour, Michael Stokes Veteran Calendar

Of course I have make up on my wishlist, what blogger doesn’t! As you can probably guess I couldn’t be more excited for the Urban Decay Moondust Palette that is being released on the August 4 and have already got my name down on the waiting list in my local Debenhams. I have a slight obsession with sunglasses and own about 8 pairs so when I saw the unique style from KrypkicRose I knew I needed to add those to my collection, especially as I broke two pairs this year and haven’t yet replaced them.

I am a massive fan of Michelle Keegan’s Lipsy range, there’s always a number of her clothes on my wishlist. I bought a blue and gold dress from her collection two years ago for my birthday and if I had unlimited money I’d probably buy about 80% of her current collection! I would also splash out on a massive Victorias Secret haul, I’m still in my pretending I have unlimited funds stage, as they have such pretty designs, even for the larger sizes which are normally boring or hideous.

At the beginning of next year I am planning on moving out with one of my friends Abi, who is also a newbie blogger, so go check out her blog. We have known each other for years and have given ourselves 6 months to get some money behind us and get everything in order, so I had to add some home pieces on my wishlist. As a proud Ginger I feel a resounding connection to Ariel, I basically am her, so I really want a mermaid tail blanket for the winter months. How can you not want to curl up on the sofa and pretend you’re a mermaid! I also love the Disney Watercolours that are all over Etsy right now, I have a feeling our house will be filled with these within no time. And finally I have decided on my calendar for next year, and I’m after the Michael Stokes Veteran Calendar. Michael is an amazing photographer and the amazing photos he has captured of the veterans is breathtaking!

What’s on your wishlist right now?

Another year, another trip to Magaluf! Leaving the rain for 26-39 degrees. Two Booze Cruises. Pink Panther Cocktails. €15 for two hours of drinking. Pirates Reloaded. Sex On The Beach by the pool. Shoulder of lamb. Pedalos on the beach. Katmandu Park. Full Moon Party. Zoo Printed Body Glitter Spray. And of course it was selfie palooza!

Not only does it have everything a standard diary would include, there’s also a Monthly Ideas Space, Content Planner, Monthly Stats Tracker, Blog Roll, Twitter Chat Schedule, just to name a few. You have to wait 3-4 weeks for delivery as it’s made to order and printed in Germany, but it couldn’t be more worth the £29.99 I paid, and you can pick the month that your diary begins. You can choose between a hardback or paperback, choose between their cover titles or you can even pick your own, so you could have your blog name across the front. My front cover was a special edition across the Christmas period, and each month has an illustration included too. You don’t even have to get a Blog Planner; they also have Day Planners, Menu Planners, and To Do Lists, so they cater for different types of bloggers.