Wheelchair Freedom

I've seen a few tweets from people who are struggling to come to terms with needing to use a wheelchair plus some of my Drs seem to think a wheelchair was the end of my life but they couldn't have been more wrong.

So I thought I'd write a post about all the ways using my wheelchair has made my life easier and allowed me to do things I wouldn't normally be able to do as well as some plus points

I am actually wearing shorts. 

1. I can go shopping and go around more than one shop without feeling like my body is going to crumble (well at least not until after a few more shops)

2. I can spend all day going around the zoo without spending more time focusing on how much pain I'm in & how exhausted I am instead of how adorable all the animals are.

3. I could go to South West Live and spend all day listening to amazing bands.

4. I don't have to carry my bag, my chair does it for me. So kind

5. I always have a seat with me plus it has a super comfy cushion. Praise the memory foam gods

6. I could go on holiday with my friends. So far we have been to Berlin and Nice and we are planning on going somewhere new next summer.

Willy the wheelchair having a break in Cannes

7. I can actually go out and leave the house on days where I struggle to even get out of bed because I can just sit back & enjoy the view whilst someone else does all the hard work.

8. I can wear super high heels and not have to worry about sore feet or I can wear no shoes at all which is great for not getting tan lines.

9. I can go out wrapped in a blanket when its too cold and not be judged, also great for telling people you are actually a mermaid.

10. I can do so much more with my chair as I don't have to worry about as much payback, I mean obviously I still get it (there's no avoiding it) but not as much as if I try and walk.

11. Less injuries, well kinda. I still manage to injure myself sat in a wheelchair but there are significantly less injuries.

12. It allowed me to finish my A levels when I was in the worlds biggest flare up, without it I would never have got into uni.

13. It gave me my life back. I never went anywhere because I was always in too much pain or worried about how far I could get before the pain left me stranded. My wheelchair gave me the freedom to love my life.

I know it's hard to accept that you are more ill than you thought. I was 15 when I had to start using a chair and I refused to use it a lot of the time. I didn't want to be different, I was stubborn and was convinced I didn't need it. I wish I had accepted it sooner because I caused myself so much unnecessary pain. Plus being different is awesome and you can give your chair a cool name.

Would love to hear what accepting that you need a wheelchair allowed you to do

Beth...x

Maybelline Super Stay Gel Nail Colour

I've seen this colour on a few blogs and when I saw a 3 for 2 deal on maybelline products it just magically appeared in my hand. I in no way need any more nail polishes and I have quite a few light blues but I just couldn't resist this gorgeous colour. Once I bought it I kept asking myself if I really needed it and never actually got round to using it but now I am so in love. 

The brush is one of the wider flat brushes which makes application so much quicker, easier and smoother. Its pretty much opaque in one coat I just did 2 to make doubly sure and it is such a gorgeous shiny colour and it totally matches my ring. The lasting power of this is pretty epic. I  had this on for 5 days and when I took it off to change colours I only had it chip on my pesky nail where the actual nail flakes so can't blame the polish. This is coming from someone who chips their nails within an hour of painting them so I am super impressed.

I love the Barry M Gelly range but I wasn't a fan of the Models Own HyperGel so I wanted to see how it compared. It is definitely up there with Barry M, actually think it beats it in staying power, although Barry M wins on price. However these are still only £4.49 and there's a huge choice. 

I will definitely be getting some more colours to add to my maybe too large collection.

Which are your favourite colours?

Beth...x

Books|| Karin Slaughter Criminal & Unseen

Criminal

"The past will always find you...

A woman is found brutally murdered in a sordid Atlanta apartment.

Her blood-soaked body bears a startling similarity to a woman found dead almost 40 years earlier.

Soon Special Agent Will Trent finds himself returning to the home he grew up in. And a past that could hold the clue to the killings …"

I love Karin Slaughter and I have read the whole series before now & I cried when a certain someone died and I'm not sure I'll ever get over it. I love the characters in these books and you go through the emotions with them. 

This book wasn't one of my favourites of hers because it kept switching between past & present and every time I got my head around which time we were in it switched again but that could have just been my brain fog. Once you can get past that its great because it gives so much back story for a couple of the characters which explains so much about who they are as a person. It also shows how different policing was back in the 70s. 

The murders are pretty brutal and Karin Slaughters books are never for the squeamish but it was so gripping I struggled to put it down as usual. It keeps you hooked until the last page. 

Unseen

"Special Agent Will Trent has something to hide.

Something he doesn’t want Dr Sara Linton – the woman he loves – to find out.

He’s gone undercover in Macon, Georgia and put his life at risk. And he knows Sara will never forgive him if she discovers the truth.

But when a young Macon patrolman is shot and left for dead Sara is forced to confront the past and a woman she hoped never to see again. And without even knowing it, she becomes involved in the same case Will is working on.

Soon both of their lives are in danger"

I think I preferred this one to Criminal as it had more of Sara in. It also has an old character in who I have mixed emotions about. I want to feel sorry for her but I also dislike her and my feelings towards her switched with every chapter. There is a lot of heartache and more of the past is bought up and you see the characters grow. It's a pretty tense book with Will being undercover and constantly finding more danger to put himself in. There aren't as many gruesome murders in this book as it's more about the character relationships and the mission and there's a plot twist towards the end that I did not see coming. Don't start this if you're busy because you won't get anything done.

Have you read any of the series?

Beth...x

Trying to Love Autumn

Now don't get me wrong, I don't hate autumn. I mean I love it a hell of a lot more than winter but my body was just not made for this weather. I am definitely a sun worshipper. I need the heat, my body needs it, We were made for each other.

With the weather suddenly turning colder my body has gone crazy and my joints are constantly freaking out. I'm shuffling around like a 90 year old more than ususal and in so much more pain now than I was in the summer. I mean I'm not pain free and cured in the heat but I am 10x worse in the cold and my Raynaud's flares up and my hands & feet are beyond cold & painful.

Anyway that' not the point of this post. I decided to write a post about the good things about autumn to look on the bright side and distract myself from the bad.

At least the sea is still awesome even if its too cold to swim in.

1. I can drink hot drinks without my body over heating. I can drink them all the time if I want to (I do) and GINGER BREAD LATTES (Sorry but its just so exciting)

2. I can wear my onesies, fluffy socks or giant hoodies and be all cosy.

3. I can hibernate in my billions of blankets and pillows and be part of a beautiful blanket burrito.

4. Darker nail varnish and lipstick. I can wear black nail varnish all the time and berry lipsticks and I am so in love with my new lipstick I am going to wear it all the time & you cant stop me.

5. Darker evenings means more time snuggled up with a hot chocolate and my very large DVD collection

6. HALLOWEEN - Need I say more. Gonna dress up with my flatmates and look awesome and spend the rest of october watching hocus pocus, casper, and horror films.

7. It is quite pretty with all the leaves turning orange and falling off the trees - We'll just skip past how slippy they can be and how much I nearly fall and die. And the sea is still a magical place to be. It may even be more awesome in the cold minus the fact its too cold to swim.

8. Food is pretty awesome when it gets cold. Everything is so filling and usually comes with gravy and who doesn't love gravy?

9. Beanie hats. This is definitely one of my favourite parts. I am known to be lazy with my hair (washing & brushing) and you don't have to do either of these if you can wear an awesome looking hat all the time and I have a lot of them

10. Fires and candles. We have an open fire at home and it's always so lovely to sit in front of with the candles lit. Also bonfires and toasting marshmallows.

Well that was a tad harder than expected. I just love summer but gingerbread lattes, beanies and awesome lipstick next to a bonfire kinda make up for it.

What are your favourite things about Autumn please let me know to try and make me more excited?

Are you a summer or winter kind a person?

Beth...x

Kiss Light Reflecting Primer

I picked up this Kiss Light Reflecting Primer on a whim when I went into Wilkinsons for some face wash and spent a fortune on a billion other things. That shop is lethal.

I mainly picked this up because of the packaging and the fact that it was only £4 for 30ml. I admit, I'm a sucker for cute packaging, but I'm so glad I did. I always used to be pretty lazy with primer & then I just used the Nivea express hydration primer to sort out my patchy dry skin before foundation but this Kiss one has taken over and is used daily.

I cannot begin to tell you how soft this makes my skin feel. I just want to stroke my cheek constantly but I resist because that would be weird. It makes applying foundation a dream and my makeup stays put all day. It even smells nice which is awesome because primer always smells a lil bit like plastic.

It contains the antioxidant vitamin E, Apricot oil and Baobab oil to moisturise & soften skin and Silica spheres to reduce the appearance of fine lines & wrinkles by diffusing light aaannndd All of this comes in cute pink packaging, what more could you ask for?

I really want to try some more of this range which includes face wash, a lip scrub, mascara, moisturiser and so much more and its all so cute and such a bargain.

Have you tried this primer or anything else from the range?

Beth...x

Body Shop Mango Body Butter & Body Mist

I was out shopping with my mum a while back. We walked past The Body Shop and they had a selection of the body mists outside to try. Having been shopping for a while we needed a smell top up. My mum went for the Satsuma one as she'd smelt someone earlier (not as creepy as it sounds) and wondered if it was this scent and I went for mango because I can't say no to anything mango.

We made the appropriate positive noises told each other they smelled good and left to carry on our shopping (headed to Greggs for a sausage roll). Half an hour later I finally gave in and dragged my mum back to the shop to purchase our scents. It worked out well as the Body Butters were on offer so we each got a body butter and a body mist for something like £16. Bargain. 

Mango Body Mist

Mango Body Butter

I cannot begin to tell you how amazing these smell. I smell so fruity and edible. They were great for summer and I'll carry on using them throughout our harsh winter just so I can pretend I'm actually somewhere warm and tropical and smell delicious.

I love The Body Shop body butters as they are soo moisturising which was great for after my holiday to prevent any tan peeling and making myself smell like the ice cream I ate in Nice. Oh please take me back. Only down side to these body butters is that because they are quite thick you do feel a bit slimy afterwards but it's okay because you are a delicious smelling slug and super soft the next day. Great for the harsh winter dry skin which is never a good look.

The scent from the body mist doesn't hang around as long as I would like but using it paired with the moisturiser helps and it's only £7.50 for 100ml so I don't mind reapplying and I may also use it to make my room smell amaaazzzing but shh.

My mum now wants the rest of the satsuma range for Christmas and my brother is obsessed with the Strawberry range because he says it smells like calpol (it really does).

So the important question, which is your favourite scent?

Beth...x

Film// Need for Speed

Source

I've been really bad at blogging recently and it's now nearly 3am and insomnia is making it's presence known so obviously that is the best time to get back into it.

I'm thinking of doing film reviews more often as I watch so many so let me know what you think & if there are any films you want a review on because I may have already watched it. So here goes...

I didn't speak to my mum and brother for about a week after they went to see this film in the cinema without me. Gorgeous fast cars and Aaron Paul, what more could a girl ask for? I mean there's even a bad ass female driver who doesn't give women drivers a bad name, although her fringe could be better but I'll left her off, she has more important things to worry about. 

This has everything from action, comedy, romance, speed and even made me shed a tear. Well, it would have done had I not been watching with my brother who would have taken the piss out of me too bad to make a tear worth it. It even had a scene that reminded me of the Wacky Races with Dick Dastardly and the gang, you'll know it when you see it.

Scott Mescudi is hands down my favourite character in this film. He's so funny and has some great one liners and you can't help but love him and his cheeky personality. 

If you loved the Fast & Furious films or just love fast cars with a side of friendship, comedy and romance you definitely need to see this. The storyline keeps you gripped to the end and I will definitely be watching this again, especially since I borrowed *cough* stole the DVD from my mum. Serves her right for seeing it without me. 

Let me know what you thought of it

Beth...x