Kayleigh's Blog

Valentine's Day Inspiration ♡

20:20

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day Everyone! I hope you all had a brilliant day!

At my school, we have this thing called the Rose Ceremony. It's basically where different schools from all over the city can send roses and saucy letters to each other.

When it comes to the 14th of February every year, I was always the one person who never got roses or chocolates or even had a lover but now I'm 100% ok with that.

I wasn't always like that though, but that's ok because when I turned 14, the year of my first ever Rose Ceremony, I can't say I wasn't jealous at how my friends were getting roses from boys and I wasn't. The next year, the same thing happened and again I felt upset. The 3rd year was when I decided that I wasn't not going to let the fact that I didn't get a rose, ruin my day.

Last year was my 4th year and this year was my last year. I can honestly say that even if you don't get anything you can still feel happy on that day. It's all about how you see things. If you see the fact that you didn't get a gift as something negative, you won't be very happy. You'll be very upset quite literally. On the other hand if you think of it as a day where you are happy and spend a great time with your friends then you'll have a blast.

Also if you did have a valentine then I hope you got spoilt rotten. If it wasn't by gifts then I'm hoping you got showered with cuddles. :) I hope you had a great time celebrating your love for each other in any way you did. Wherever you are, whatever you did or who ever you spent the day with, I hope you all felt special.

I know that some of my friends felt very upset because they didn't have a boyfriend or they didn't go out for a lovely dinner but I told them the same thing that I am about to tell you. No matter what your history is or what your future is, you'll always have someone who loves you. Trust me on that. I know of so many stories where people have had a terrible time and they thought that no one loved them when in actual fact, they had so many people around them who loved them so much.

Even if you are struggling to see who loves you then always know that I love you. I may not have ever met you but I still love you because lets face it, what's not to love about you. I don't care about what hardships you've through. I don't care if you're a beggar on the street or if you're in the upper class. You're all pretty amazing to me. Sure we all have flaws but that's what makes us pretty lovely. Anyone who says they are perfect are either drunk or just upright incorrect. The only way you could ever be perfect is if you are imperfect.

So if you ever feel down or you feel like no one loves you, know that I'm here for you and just to make sure you know that, why don't you all leave a comment saying something you're proud of or love about yourself. I want anyone reading this to see how you can be proud of a flaw you have. I can start it off by saying that I have two different sized ears which I love. I feel like it adds character to me. Good luck and I can't wait to see what you're proud of! :)

Love you all soooo much

Health

Story of My Sunburn

16:42

Hi there! :)

Recently I went on an outing at school. We went to a village to gather stats for a task we had to do in school. I was unaware of how long we were going to be in the extreme heat of the sun and didn't bother with putting on sunblock... The results were horrible.

Basically when I got home I noticed how red my arms and face were. I could see I was burnt and I knew it was going to be bad. The first thing I did was put on some Aftersun. This felt amazing on my skin and was such a relief. It also smelt good. I used the Sola Aftersun Soothing Gel by Spar. I spent most of the evening re-appling the gel.

At the same time I bought a mini sunblock to keep in my handbag :)

When it came to showering time, I heard quite a bit about either having a hot shower or having a cold shower is better, so I did some research and found out that hot water releaves the skin but doesn't heal it, cold water heals it but doesn't make it painless. I figured, I'd rather have healthy skin and a bit of pain than having painless terrible skin. The cold shower was very refreshing and cooling. When I got out I put the Aftersun back on and climbed into bed. But nothin could prepare me for the next day...

The next day I was horrified at the sight of my face... Not at the sight of my FACE but the sight of what had HAPPENED to my face, I noticed that I actually had blisters on my forehead a nose and my face was as red as a fire truck, literally!

My shoulders hurt really badly and I battled a bit with moving about at school. But then I came home again and put on coconut oil on my face and arms. I have heard that it does wonders for your skin and thought I'd try it out. The results were amazing.

And thankfully, the next day, the redness had gone down slightly and the puffiness had also slightly gone down. My face didn't hurt as much either. I carried out my day as usual and all was a lot better.

During the weekend my face started to peel, it wasn't pleasant but surprisingly it was over quickly. I think this is because I kept applying the Aftersun/coconut oil. And finally on Monday it was all cleared up. I was really happy to have my face back to normal and feeling healthy again.

Things I have learnt throughout this experience are:

1. Don't go anywhere without sunblock... Even if it is cloudy.

2. Always apply Aftersun or coconut oil immediately in the event a sunburn does occur.

3. Do NOT force your skin to start peeling... This will only cause wrinkles much later!

4. As hard as it is, trying to cover up the redness is not going to work, it will either bring on more pain or it will make your skin really dry.

I urge you to all make sure you have a mini sunblock tune in your handbag, or if you're a guy, you're backpacks. Getting burnt is honestly not an experience you want to go through. It is painful and makes you looked like a tomato.

If for some reason, you do find that you have been burnt then please treat your skin properly, if not done correctly, you could lead to numerous problems later including Skin Cancer.

Good luck and stay safe!

Love you all

Health

Monthly Monday Mission Ep6

16:46

Welcome to the 6th Monthly Monday Mission (on a Tuesday) for this month you'll be getting your health part of life in check with doing a bit of exercise. Please don't leave after seeing the dreadful word "exercise." I know it seems like something that is a lot of work and you don't really feel like doing it but let me tell you something... It's gets better and it gets hot bikini bodies so for those of you who are going into summer then this is the perfect time for you to start! But for those who are currently in summer, like me for example, you can still do this because when it comes to summer when everyone else is frantically going to the gym to get that bikini body, you'll be taking it easy with your already toned muscles! ;)

What I am asking for you to try and do is have at least 4 running sessions. For those of you who don't typically do exercise, this is perfect because it's not too much to ask and it's fun to do with a couple friends. I'm also not asking much because 4 a month means only one running session a week. And when I say running session I don't mean taking a quick jog around you kitchen while there is an advert on TV. What I mean is, taking a proper run in your neighbourhood.

I understand that it may not be very safe to run in the area in which you live so either run with a couple other people or if you're still not confident in doing this, find a gym with a treadmill or your local running track area.

A few tips I have learnt since starrig running are:

1. Running with friends or family makes the session go by a lot quicker by having fun and talking with your friends/family.

2. Don't run the same route. Your body will get used to the same route and it won't be working as much as if you change your routes. Also you can see different scenery.

3. Don't take a water bottle for short runs. I know you don't want to leave it behind incase you get thirsty but if you leave it then it will be a lot easier to focus on your running without having to worry about dropping your water bottle.

4. Eat an orange before you go. Not surprising this works in hydrating you and giving you more energy to complete your route.

Don't forget to stretch after your run because then you'll have to go through the next few days with sore legs. Trust me, it's not pleasant. :/ Doing a warm up exercise will help your body burn more fat while running because your muscles will already be warm.

For those of you who already do a lot of exercise, 4 session isn't where you need to stop. If you want to run everyday or every second day, that's totally fine! Just remember not to overwork your body. You need rest too!

I am hoping I have inspired you to run and exercise because only you can make the muscle definition happen :) Even if you are happy with your body shape (which I am hoping you all are) doing this exercise is very important for your body development and to keep your joints moving.

Don't give up. You can do it. It gets better. Good luck! :)

Love you all

Disclaimer: None of the pictures used in this blog post are my own.

Beauty

Sorbet French Manicures

21:50

For Christmas I was lucky enough to receive a nail kit from Sorbet. For those of you who don't know, Sorbet is a beauty company who do manicures and pedicures and just your lovely pampering services. They have also made products so you can pamper yourself at home.

The kit I got was for a French manicure. It comes with a really cute baby pink and white bag to carry your two nail polishes which are Sorbet's Milky Way and Sorbet's Blush. I am obsessed with it and thought I'd share it with you. Sorbet's kit is so easy to apply and is long lasting. It also adds that finishing touch to your nails to really make you feel amazing.

I am not a nail expert so I am not able to just paint the white tips on as precisely so I also bought some guides to help me out which are from Nailene. They come with 96 guides and feel like they last forever.

I am so happy with how they turned out and they are perfect to wear practically anywhere. They also don't take that long to dry and PRO TIP! If you dunk your fingers/toes in cold water right after painting them, they dry a lot quicker! ;)

It's really easy to apply:

STEP ONE: Make sure your nail is clean/ there is no nail polish left on.

STEP TWO: Peel and stick the Nailene guides onto your nails where you want the white tips to be.

STEP THREE: Paint the space you left with Sorbet's Milky Way nail polish and wait for it to dry.

STEP FOUR: Peel off the stickers carefully.

STEP FIVE: Paint over the whole nail with Sorbet's baby pink Blush nail polish.

STEP SIX: (Optional) Top with a top coat and you're done!

If you were to compare prices, the nail polish bottles are quite big and they have a lot of nail polish in them so they last a while and the guides are also really cheap. In comparison to going and having them professionally done, it works out to be A LOT cheaper and they look amazing either way.

I still like going to get the professionally done but I think that by using the kit, you're saving a lot more money! Either way they are both amazing and I just love to look at my freshly painted nails. I feel so girly and dainty. ;)

If you have a dance coming up or you just want to spoil yourself, I recommend buying the kit because it means that if sometime in the future you want to do it again... You can!

Just remember that although you may have the guides, it takes practice to get them perfect. My first time using the kit was a little messy but don't worry, after about 2 or 3 tries, you get them looking almost perfect! :)

Hope I helped you save a bit of money!

Love you all

Books

Tea & Books Ep1

12:19

Hi :)

Yes this is another thing that I am introducing to my blog :) Basically we are having a little book club because I feel like this is a place where a can share my love of tea and so why not what book I'm reading too :) I don't really have a certain time for when I will definitely be posting these so they will be like little surprises ;) So today's book is long overdue but I am finally reviewing The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

I read this book a while ago and I can't say I didn't feel attached. John Green has a way in which he writes that sort of forces you to feel connected to the character. For those of you who haven't read the book, it's basically a love story between two cancer patients (Hazel and Augustus) who share a love/hate feeling about the only book written by an author. There are twists and turns and highs and lows throughout the book.

Although I don't have an experience with cancer as terrible as Hazel or Augustus or anyone in the book, I felt like I did throughout the book. I felt like I was reading the story of a friend. My emotions went through a roller coaster ride. Never have I ever read a book that has captured me as much as John Green's book. From the minute I started reading the book, I was hooked. I would spend hours going into the night, reading "just one more chapter" which ended up being another 4 chapters.

The story was so amazing because one minute everything was going well and you were so happy for Hazel and then BOOM! John hits us with something huge that changes everything. It's a book that really makes you think without you knowing it. You cry, you laugh and you smile throughout the book.

When I went to buy the book from Exclusive Books, the guy at the check out point started telling me about this girl who the book was based on. He showed me the actual book about her story and I was very interested. Now, after reading The Fault in Our Stars, I am really interested and I really want to read all about her. I just think it would be really benefitting to read and learn about how serious cancer is. Before The Fault in Our Stars, I can honestly say that I didn't think cancer was that serious. This is mainly because my aunt had breast cancer and she survive. I figured that cancer was just an illness that you get definitely better from after a lot of medication. This is what I realized was not the case at all.

It scares me to look at how many people are dying from cancer and how many have already died. Just looking at the stats and how many different types of cancer there are, just blows me away. Also the scariest thing is that more than often, cancer is only found in the later stages of it. And to make it even worse, it can be found at any age. Small children can get it and elder people can also get it. Cancer has been killing way too many people for way too long and I think that John Green has just let another large amount of people more aware of it with his book. His book may have been a life saver for people because they could have had a check just incase and found out that they have cancer. Cancer can be healed as long as it is treated well and found before it's too late. I really recommend going for a check up if you haven't in a while or if you feel anything lumps or anything unusual about your body. It could save your life!

I really think that The Fault in Our Stars has changed and impacted so many lives. If you have not read it yet then I recommend it to you because it will literally change the way you think about Cancer.

John Green did a really good job and that is why I have been really excited to read more of his books. I've picked up Paper Towns and I think it's just as amazing. But I'll review that another time ;)

Happy reading :)

Love you all

Health

Monthly Monday Mission Ep5

12:23

Hey everyone!

It's a new month of a new year so this month's mission is to freshen up your life!

It's the perfect time to re-access your life, where it being in your organization skills, eating habits or just readjusting your life to suit a goal you're heading for.

Throughout the year (I am guilty in doing this) we somehow always go off track and our rooms become messy or we lose work or documents because of our messy desk or we gain a few pounds when it come to holidays, but the beginning of a year is always my favorite year to get re-oranised. it's like life's reset button :) With this being said, here are some tips for some things you can do to re-organize your life.

1. Just do it.

Yes it can be quite daunting to have to go and sort through your room or work area but it needs to be done at some point and trust me, it's better to do it now than later. You also don't have to do it in one day. Doing section by section is a lot more satisfying. Listening to music at the same time will make tidying up a whole lot more fun ;)

2. Don't need it, don't keep it.

When tidying up, one rule is key. If you find something that you have not used for the past 3-6 months and you are only keeping it because you 'might' use it, then it's time for it to go. It might be hard but it's cluttering up the space so if you keep it, the area is going to be so hard to find where everything is. This goes for wether you are at school, work or home.

3. Make sure everything has it's place.

Cleaning is NOT shove-everything-it-the-nearest-place. You need to spend time, making a spot for each item so that you know where to find it.

4. Make a plan.

Having a action plan of what needs to be done for that day/week/month can really help. It helps you stay organized and can help make sure you get everything you need to do done. This can also be a food plan, just instead of writing what needs to be done, write what you meals you're going to have for that day or when you are going to exercise. Also make sure you stick to it. :)

5. Keep it that way.

Ok so once you're done cleaning, keep it clean. I know it's harder than it sounds but it just means that the next year, you'll have less a job to do. Also it will save you from having another huge clean out about a month later.

Hopefully I've encouraged you to start cleaning even a little bit! :) Good luck and happy cleaning!

Love you all

P.S. I may have been forgetting to tell you all but I do actually have a vlogging channel :) You can find it here

Fun

New Years Resolution Tips

12:40

Happy New Year! :)

I know many of you may be struggling to come up with good New Year Resolutions that you will actually stick to, so here are a few tips to help you :)

1. List your goals.

Yeah, sounds simple but you don't know where to start right? Don't worry. Simply write down on a piece of paper these four categories: Live, Love, Learn, Leave a Mark.

Then start with the first category. What goals do you have to live for? For example, How do you want to improve your work, health or travel? Next move to the second category. What are you aiming to love more? For example, How are you going to love you friends/family/partner more? Then move to the third category. What do you want to learn? Example, Do you want to learn languages/ Do you want to go to university? Finally move to the last category. Leave a mark. How do you want to impact the world? Example, How can you contribute to a community, charity or the environment?

2. Set barriers.

It's very easy to make huge goals which you want to accomplish. But usually the part which leads us to failure the the fact where we think because we are achieving our goal, we are invincible and can do anything. This is why setting barriers will help you keep in line. Having a focus on what you are achieving is most important, which leads me to the next point.

3. Make an action plan.

Go though your list of goals and write up exactly what you are going to do, step by step, to achieve them. I am saying "write" for a reason because if it is written down then that is proof that your goal is real. Stick it up somewhere were you will see it often and it will help in making sure you don't forget about it. Another thing you could do is tell someone. They can help encourage you.

4. Write down dates in a daily planner.

If you write due dates/ dates to begin something then when you go about your normal routine you will know when each step is due. It will help put the action plan into... well action :)

These are my tips in making New Year Resolutions! I hope you achieve your goals and have fun doing them! In case you were wondering what my New Years Resolutions are, here is my list of Resolutions:

1. Read more. (I have a list to check off of the books I want to read )

2. Stop treating life like a competition. Love what you do, no matter how good or bad.

3. Pick up my camera and take more photos, not just videos.

4. Dance alone in my room more often :)

Happy planning and I hope this year is going to be the year you want to travel back to when time travel exists ;)

Love you all

Fun

Tea Merchant Teapots

21:22

Fun

Gingerbread house hysteria

14:27

If you have been following my 2nd channel on YouTube (if not then you can check it out here) then you will know that I have been making my first ever gingerbread house! Along the journey a couple things went wrong and here I can tell you what went wrong and how to fix it if it ever happens to you.

Every year my family has this competition with the whole family which is all across the world. My family has never taken part by making the house, only sitting back and watching the creativity take place. But this year, I thought it was time we stop slacking and start baking!

I take consumer studies as a school subject (which for those of you who don't know, it's like home economics. You learn how to cook and sew and all about fashion and nutrition.) This is the reason why I was put in charge of the whole gingerbread house operation. I was really excited about it because I know quite a bit about icing and decorating because I took a course in it.

So the first thing we did was find a recipe which worked. We found a good recipe and we tried it out a couple of weeks ago. We made gingerbread bears and didn't spend much time on actually icing them but rather testing to see how the actual gingerbread would turn out. The biscuits can out perfectly and we enjoyed 'naming' them.

So then it was time to start planing how exactly the house was going to look and to find a template to cut the piece out. This went well as we were all organized and we planned to bake the house the week before christmas because our competition was over on Christmas day. Thinking back, this may have not been the brightest idea for our first gingerbread house...

Our first problem came when our we had the issue of load shedding. We had to plan when exactly to make them in order to avoid them being in the oven when the electricity goes off. We did plan it correctly but then somehow the times changed and that meant that we had to take them out of the fridge earlier than they were supposed to in order to have them cooked before the electricity cut off. Big mistake.

This meant that the gingerbread was not ready to be put in the oven which had a domino affect. The gingerbread did not cook properly. Our oven itself is quite old which often results in our cookies burning because the bottom heats up more than the top which means the cookies have to stay in or they will still be raw inside but this means the bottom goes black. We didn't want to risk the gingerbread burning and figured they will harden outside the oven. And so we took them out... another big mistake.

We waited for them to harden but they never did. We did this on Thursday which meant we had exactly 1 week before the due date and we had wasted the whole day to no avail. Thankfully we had a back up plan.

We went to the shops and bought a kit which we did check if it was ok to do with "Judge Gran" which was approved. This kit was brilliant. It had all the piece already made including sweets, icing and instructions. We ended up not using the icing because we already made our own and we only used a few sweets because we had already bought.

We were paranoid that with our luck, the house was going to collapse or something so we stuck the walls together and left it for a day to harden, then we stuck the roof together the next day and let it harden for another day. Finally on Sunday, it was the day for decorating.

And what do you know? Another problem. Because of where we live, the house had become very soft and moist. To solve this problem, we stuck it in the sun for a little while, just to dry it out a little bit. Later on during the day, we were able to decorate. Thankfully nothing went wrong while decorating and overall the house turned out beautiful. :)

My tips to you is that make sure you test the recipe out and make sure you do the same thing to make sure you get success. Also don't keep the house in a place which is moist or too cold because your house will become way to soft. Also if, in my case for example, you have a time limit, make sure to not procrastinate ad start early enough incase you have a problem like me. And if all else fails, go to your local super market and buy and gingerbread house making kit. ;)

If you're interested in seeing the house progress then here are some pictures or you can check out my vloging channel here

Love you all

Fashion

Christmas Outfit Ideas

17:33

Hi everyone!

So there are less than 10 days until Christmas! That means that there will be Christmas parties and/or Christmas Dinners to go to! I'm so excited! The thing is, some of you may be all organized and really excited for your celebration but you may have one problem. What are you going to wear? Well here are a few ideas.

In the morning:

Ooh so I don't know about you, but my family always gathers around the Christmas tree and we all open and give our presents together. We also take loads of pictures/videos! So to avoid a picture of you looking scruffy and still half asleep, there are a few things you can do:

1. Choose your best pjs the night before.

You'll not only look really cute, but you'll feel the best!

2. Wash your face.

This is a given before bed but when you wake up, it's always nice to be able to have a fresh, clean face for photos.

Obviously, in my case, there is little time to change or put makeup on because my siblings are SO excited to just open presents already :D so I what I do when I wake up is quickly brush my hair and wash my face before going down because you'll feel more awake and fresh! :)

A Christmas Party/ Lunch:

This needs to be an outfit which is comfortable to move in and looks casual. My go to outfits would be a simple dress with accessories because wearing a dress is comfortable and just makes you feel incredible. Here are some tips to remember when composing an outfit:

1. You outfit should not be overpowering with too many accesories. Remember "Less is More"

2. It may be a special event but that doesn't mean a skin tight dress or pair of pants because it just means that for the whole day you are going to be pulling down your dress or adjusting your pants. It won't be a very pleasant day.

3. Yes it's Christmas but that doesn't mean you can wear every item of Christmas themed clothing you have. You shouldn't wear Christmas patterned pants with a Christmas patterned shirt. If you do, then you might look as though you've just come out of a Christmas cracker. ;D Rather wear just one item of Christmas themed clothing, for example, a Christmas sweater with a pair of skinny jeans. This will be way more affective than just piling all your Christmas themed clothing on top of your body.

4. Take the weather into consideration. If you live anywhere where I live, which is in South Africa, then you will know that the weather can change from hot to cold in a short time. This is why I normally wear something which can be worn if it is hot and then and layers to warm myself up. This can be different depending on where you live.

A Christmas Dinner:

A Christmas Dinner is normally a lot more formal than the morning or lunch. This is why your outfit should be a little more thought out. This can be easier if you wore a simple dress for the lunch party because then you can just dress it up with accessories. But if you haven't decided to do something like this then here are a few tips to help you with putting together a Christmas Dinner outfit:

1. Your outfit should be formal but that doesn't mean that you should overdo it. Again remember that less is more.

2. This isn't like the lunch because you can't really where your Christmas sweater because this isn't really formal. Instead, try focusing on the colors of Christmas. For example: red, green, gold and silver.

Hopefully these tips helped you in putting your outfits for the day together. I am wishing you all a wonderful day on Christmas full of fun and festivity.

Love you all

Christmas Outfit Ideas Video... ;)

Valentine's Day Inspiration ♡

Story of My Sunburn

Monthly Monday Mission Ep6

Sorbet French Manicures

Tea & Books Ep1

Monthly Monday Mission Ep5

New Years Resolution Tips

Tea Merchant Teapots

Gingerbread house hysteria

Christmas Outfit Ideas

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