Love from, Florence Grace

So I did have a really good blog post planned for today and then life got in the way, I had a hectic evening and I've only now just had the chance to sit down and write out a blog post. So there's been a slight change of plan on content for today's post but hey, it can't be helped!  As I mentioned previously on Twitter (I'm not sure if I mentioned it on my blog), I'm starting a new series on my blog as of tomorrow that will run throughout September. This will be #SeptemberStudies! Every year I write a post that is pretty similar in content about going back to school and revision tips etc, so this year I'm doing it differently. I have posts for every single day, all about the do's and dont's of revision, what you need to have in your school bag, dealing with bullies, balancing work and school and so much more! I've planned out every post and can't wait to share them with you all, as I know a lot of you are at school/college/uni.  ...

I am an avid watcher of the Saccone-Joly's on YouTube.  A family of four, they make the best videos about their every day life as a family with their two children and six dogs, posting a new one every single day at 6pm- it is always an absolute pleasure seeing the things that their children, Emilia and Eduardo, get up to.  A while ago, Jonathon posted a video explaining about some of the encounters the family had had with online trolls. People had reported them to social services saying that they abused their children, people had reported them to the RSPCA saying that they were abusing their dogs. The police were called about the way they behaved. Letters were sent to Emilia's ballet school. Their address was leaked all over the internet and hate mail was sent directly to their house. Anna's car was defaced by someone. It all sounded absolutely horrendous, and when you look at the love and affection YouTube sensations like Zoella gets, it seems insane that th...

Today is the first day in 2016 that I can remember sitting at home and feeling generally rubbish about everything. I haven't felt this unhappy and grumpy since the last time I argued with my ex back in 2015 ha! Everything today has just been totally rubbish, I'm tired after having two full hours of sleep last night and then having to work today, I had crappy customers at work and I'm all bloated because it's almost that  delightful time of the month so I'm just feeling generally gross.  Also watching Sam and Tiff and also Jess and her French man on MIC made me feel all bitter about being single even though I 100% do not want another relationship right now- there are just some bits I miss like the cute night's together and the inside jokes.  I'm also stressing because I made a lot of payments on Friday for my birthday gathering, my laptop and money into a savings account and now Ii'm broke with 5 weeks left before my next pay day and more...

We all know that going through a break up is tough and we all know that to get over it we want to cry into a tub of Ben and Jerry's while listening to Kelly Clarkson. However, break ups aren't all sad. At the start of this year I blogged about the different stages of a breakup , and today, I'm creating a playlist that provides you with songs for each stage! Enjoy... 1) Heartbreak When the break up is raw and you're crying your heart out, here's what you need... This Ain't A Love Song- Scouting For Girls Man Who Can't Be Moved- The Script  Broken Hearted Girl- Beyonce I Hate This Part- The Pussycat Dolls Don't Speak- No Doubt Love The Way You Lie Part 2- Rihanna featuring Eminem Love How It Hurts- Scouting For Girls  Impossible- Shontelle No Air- Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown Not Like The Movies- Katy Perry  2) Anger When the rage kicks in, make sure to stick these tunes on So What?- Pink Since You Been Gon...

So I am inspired by different people all  the time. However, this week I've been inspired by two incredible young women from the blogging community- Amy and Jemma of Blonde Amy and Dorkface Blog. This week, both of them have written very openly about their insecurities and I marvelled at this. They were so brave and so frank and yet when I looked at these girls, I didn't see any of these flaws. I still saw them as the beautiful, talented, loving girls I always have! But I could see these posts weren't for the benefit of how others  saw them; it was to help them confront their flaws themselves  and learn that they're okay . In fact, they're more than okay because they make them both who why are today! They're both talented, they're both funny, considerate, intelligent, beautiful and lovely, no matter what flaws they see in themselves.  I'm always picking out my flaws, so today I wanted to share my own flaws with you, inspired by both Jemma and Am...

I'm so  excited because I am back on TV again!  Okay, okay, not quite yet, but the new series of 'Last Fan Standing' starts on September 3rd on 4Music and I'm involved with it. For those of you who didn't already know, back in October/November, I participated in a show called "Shoutouts", the first ever  live TV show on 4Music. I got to meet Ollie and Toff from MIC as well as the presenters of the show, Will Best and Maya Jama and I also met some people who I have remained in touch with today, which is lovely! Now, I've been invited back to participate in another live show, "Last Fan Standing". LFS isn't usually a live show, so I was surprised when I was asked to come to the studio for it, but it turns out it's running a little differently this year. On September 3rd you'll see my face on screen as part of a home video recording, defending the BEYHIVE (obviously) as the ultimate fandom. After this, there is thre...

Do you know what is a massive  waste of your time?  Holding grudges. Honestly, what is the point? Where does it get you in life? Absolutely no where.  Now, I'm not saying you have to like everyone, have to be friends with everyone or have to get on with anyone; that's a pretty impossible thing to ask. But what I am saying is that you don't have to go through life constantly disliking people because you're holding a grudge against them. From my own experience I can tell you that it is absolutely draining . After a while it seems like you're only holding a grudge for the sake of holding one, eventually forgetting the original reason you were mad anyway.  The simple solution to this is to simply cut people off. I'm being serious! Why would you want to keep someone in your life but hold a grudge against them forever when you could cut them off? There is absolutely no way you can maintain a healthy relationship or friendship with somebody w...

I titled this piece "Sexism in Soaps" purely for the alliterative purposes. I only watch one soap and that's Hollyoaks, but my point is probably valid across all soaps.  So obviously sexism is everywhere, all the time. However, it was only the other day that I realised one massive, blatant act of sexism in Hollyoaks that really  wound me up. A female character, Leela, entered the show as a firefighter, which is a pretty cool career I thought. A single mum for a while, Leela was earning money to look after her two sisters (one of which turned out to be her daughter in the end...) and was basically the breadwinner for the family. This was a pretty cool #bossbabe and I approved.  And then Hollyoaks created this scenario; the fire station cut Leela's hours down and eventually got rid of her altogether. Of course, Leela wasn't going to sit around doing nothing all day. So what did she do? She became a house cleaner. She literally cleaned toilets and made...

Last week, I saw this image online. It really irked me and I had to share it on Twitter to see what some of my pals thought of the image. Luckily, their thoughts were very similar to my own; that it was ridiculous.  This is the image I'm talking about. The one that states that "A career is great but you can't curl up with it when you're lonely at night".  There is several things about this post that piss me off. Firstly, its the implication that a relationship is more important than a career. And okay, while for some people it might be, for other people it's not. Who is anyone to dictate to someone what should be a priority to them? If chasing your dream career is your number one focus in life, great. If settling down with the love of your life is your number one focus, brilliant. If it's neither of those, good for you. It's a personal opinion and totally down to each individual.  Secondly, why does there have  to be a competitio...

So for about a month now I've been doing this 'healthy living' thing. I was vegan for a short time, I've cut out sweets, chocolate and crisps from my diet considerably, I use vitamin supplements and protein shakes and I eat some form of salad almost every single day. I'm not exercising anywhere near as much as I should be, and this is the next thing for me to work on. But what has happened as a result of this? Let me tell you. I've lost just over half an inch from my stomach's widest point and have lost an inch from my waist. I have lost not one but two  inches from my thigh. And, according to my dad's scales, I have lost a stone! I'm thrilled, of course. However, I know my dad's scales have been a little unreliable in the past so while I'm not sure of my actual weight, I do know that whatever I did weigh, I know I now weigh a stone less than that. Amazing, right?! I'm so happy!  People have begun to notice too. When I sa...

I have been doing a happy birthday blog post for all of my little group of friends this year, and today marks the last one- its Alec's birthday! I knew Alec was odd when we first spoke at college- he likened my blue, fluffy jumper to a care bear. I'd never heard a boy  talk about care bears before, let alone be called a care bear by one, so I knew something wasn't quite right with him... Joking! Kind of, anyway...! Alec is the person I became friends with last in our little group, but I really wish we had become friends sooner because he is such  a laugh. I don't even really remember the specifics of how we became best friends; I just know that one moment he wasn't in my life at all and the next, he was. It's funny how friendships happen like that. Out of BJ, Carda and Alec, Alec is the most like me. We're both really  into music (not necessarily the same) and good films. We both love going to gigs, we both love to shock BJ and Carda with ...

The other day I was reading through a businesswoman/bloggers' social media feeds. I'd only just followed her, so I was having a browse, ya know? And while I found her incredibly inspiring by everything this woman was doing, I also felt a bit...gutted. This woman had been blogging/content creating for just a few short years and had managed to set herself up with a six figure salary. Six figures!! Her blog is dedicated to helping other bloggers to do the same as her and she made it sound so easy- it just made me feel worse!  Now, I know that is the wrong way to think, and as I said, I was inspired by this woman, but I couldn't help feeling a little bit 'meh' about how little success my own blog had brought around. I just couldn't help it. I wanted to have been able to utilise my skills the way she had, earning myself a six figure salary just like her!  The inspiration is the important part here though, and thankfully it quickly eradicated my...

So money is something that I think worry about a lot. I usually whizz through my entire pay check each month, usually with little to show for it, wondering where it all went. Often, I think about how I'll ever be able to afford to move out, live independently, pay for driving lessons should I choose to have them...the list goes on. Of course, the reality of the situation is that I realistically won't be able to save any real money until I have a full time job and then I can afford to save a couple of hundred a month to put towards moving out whilst still having money to spend on myself. However I've now encountered an obstacle. The obstacle being, my younger sister's earnings. Her wage is already higher than mine as it is, but she has an awful  lot of money in the bank right now, and she's just started to work full time so this amount will only increase! It made me sit back and think, boy, I would love  to know I had that much money sat in my account...

Last night, people anxiously sat at home, wondering what fate had in store for them. Of course, it was A Level Results Eve! Teenagers across the country who had spent the last two years of their life studying and working hard to obtain a certain set of exam results had approximately 12 hours left before they found out how they'd done- and their fate was sealed. It was at this time that popular drinks company, Innocent Smoothies, decided to make a joke that a number of people took in an oh so serious way- myself included. Here's the tweet: If anyone is worrying about their #ALevelResults tomorrow, remember there’s always a career in social media to fall back on. — innocent drinks (@innocent) 17 August 2016 Now, as an individual who works in the social media industry, this did irk me. Yes, I can understand that it's meant to be a joke and meant to be something lighthearted to put a smile on the strained and stressed teens of the UK but, really? Let me tel...

Last month, I decided to get back into my monthly playlist posts. We're over half way through August, so I thought today would be the perfect day to share my August playlist with you guys! It's a good 'un... Same Ol' Mistakes- Rihanna Somebody Else- The 1975 Prayin'- Plan B Pretty Girl Rock- Keri Hilson Alarm- Anne Marie Habibi- Eve-Yasmine Needed Me- Rihanna Return of the Mack- Mark Morrison  Who Do You Think Of?- M.O (on every playlist, always!) Cold Water- Major Lazor featuring Justin Bieber and MO Send My Love- Adele Moment for Life- Nicki Minaj featuring Drake My Boo- Ghost Town DJ's Ironic- Alanis Morissette Perfect Strangers- Jonas Blue featuring JP Cooper You Don't Know Love- Olly Murs Cruel- Snakehips featuring ZAYN Freak Like Me- Lee Walker, DJ Deeon and MNEK featuring Katy B Its My Life- No Doubt Bitter Sweet Symphony- The Verve What a brilliant playlist, right? It's full of some 90's classics as well as ...

Today's post is late, and it's also going to be a quickie because, as per usual, I have so  much work to be doing, I need to shower, I might even need to do some cooking for my lunch tomorrow (I need to consult my recipe book...) and it's almost the end of the day!  I thought I'd do something today that I have never done before; I want to share the cover of the next issue of Love from... with you guys on here, before it's shared anywhere else tomorrow! So, drum roll please... The cover for Issue 6 of Love from... magazine is here! Gorgeous, right?  I'm so  excited to have Eve-Yasmine as a cover star because she is a massive part of my career success so far! If you've read my blog posts for a while, you will probably have heard me mention her before. It's thanks to her that I started a blog and so, essentially, it's thanks to her that I'm where I am now! She is such an inspirational young woman, and her interview is on...

Today, Radio 1, 1Xtra and Radio 4 combined channels for half an hour to discuss being addicted to pornography, linked with a new documentary that has just been released and is now available on BBC iPlayer. I was eager to listen to the half an hour slot to see what was discussed- and I am so glad that I did!  Pornography addiction is a very real and very serious problem, as unlikely and as humorous as it might sound, and hundreds of people suffer from it every year, with ages ranging as young as 15 and as old as 79, in both males and females.  The radio show had live speakers who were just random members of the public, all with different views on pornography. One gentleman was very blase about it all, stating that it was like "real life on acid", that it was "just sex" and that people just needed to "learn to detach" reality from fantasy. One woman spoke openly about her ex boyfriends addiction to porn and how it had a negative affect on thei...

Sexism at the Olympics has been very, very  present. If you hadn't noticed the fact that several female athletes are being titled as "African American athlete" and "so and so's wife" by media outlets rather than being actually named when they win medals, you must have noticed the outrage caused by Helen Skelton's outfit as she documented the events of the swimming events.  Obviously, the lack of naming female athletes is disgusting enough on it's own. I can't believe that in 2016 media outlets are actually being so blatantly sexist. Well, unfortunately I can believe it, but still. How appalling! Why should a woman be denied being fully celebrated simply because she's a woman? Why is a males achievement more important? It's disgusting! The outrage continued when a writer for The Sun referred to some Muslim athletes as "burka wearing hags". I am stunned The Sun even thought to print that.  But worse than th...