Thought for Thursday | You Don't Need Bunnies To Be Beautiful | #02 2017

Hello lovelies!

A little disclaimer before we delve in: all opinions stated in this post are my own. They are my personal thoughts and beliefs, and I understand that not everyone who reads this post will feel the same way. I’d ask you to be respectful if you choose to make your own opinion public. Polite discussion is encouraged, but any disrespectful or abusive comments will be dealt with accordingly.

Right – now we’ve got the serious shit out the way, let’s crack on, shall we?

For a while now I’ve been investigating the possibility of living as cruelty-free a life as possible, and I think I’ve got to the stage now where am ready to open up and talk a little bit about my ethics and viewpoints on the subject.

Source

I’ve now been vegetarian for over eleven years. It began when I was about fourteen years old: my friend group all made a pact to go vegetarian after being shown a video about cosmetic vivisection in a PSHE lesson, and it was all we could talk about for the rest of the day. I haven’t looked back on that decision since and generally regard it as one of the best I’ve ever made.

Being vegetarian at university was surprisingly easy, not to mention economic: while my friends and housemates were paying a lot of money for meat every week (not to mention an amazing amount of Maccie Ds and KFC), I was surviving on Quorn, pasta, and vegetables. Plus the odd margherita pizza from Dominos, but I’m only human, after all…

I do make a point to only discuss my vegetarianism if someone asks about it: while I will happily chat about why I don’t eat meat or fish to help someone understand my point of view, I don’t believe in preaching or being too forceful when the subject comes up. I will also cook meat for J (although I don’t buy it myself). There have been times when I’ve been mocked or looked down on for my beliefs, and if you do that to someone, regardless of what those beliefs may be – religious, dietary, sexual, or anything else – you are a fuckwit. LPT: if you want to have a grown-up discussion about why someone is veggie or vegan, try asking them about it in an interested, mature manner; don’t wave a raw chicken breast in their face. 

My beautiful little adoptees! Pika (L) and Pixie (R)

Animals have always been a huge part of my life – I grew up with cats and a dog, and in October last year J and I adopted two gorgeous degus, Pika and Pixie. The lovely folk at Notts Nibblers rescued a large group of degus (including my two) from a garden shed, where they experienced negligible and inhospitable conditions, in April 2016; NN rehabilitated all of them and gave them a second chance at happiness. (NN do amazing work with rescuing and rehoming all small pets from rats to rabbits – if you’re in the Nottingham area, do go and check them out!). Adopting the girls instead of going to a pet shop to buy a pair of degus meant being able to give something back to those who believe animals deserve just as much as a second chance as humans. Our girls have flourished since we brought them home last year and are truly loved (and spoiled).

However, it’s recently been brought to my attention that I could be doing more as an individual to help promote animal welfare and protect vulnerable creatures from cruelty. I stumbled across this video by the lovely Hannah Witton a couple of weeks ago, and it made me realise that, even though I live by certain dietary regulations, the extent to which my beauty regime could be cruel had never really dawned on me. In the video Hannah mentions logicalharmony.net and its ever-increasing lists of brands which do and do not test on animals, and I’ve been doing my own research with the products I use on a nearly-daily basis.

My make-up bag and all its current contents. Look how few pink stickers there are =(

Everything in the photo above is currently in my make-up bag, and every item with a little pink sticker on it is cruelty-free (the one brush represents all my brushes, which are by Real Techniques and are therefore all cruelty-free). I was genuinely shocked at how many make-up items I own that are produced by companies which test on animals! It’s very sobering when you take a step back and realise something like that, especially when you have lived a certain way for a very long time.

So, having done that and also reassessing the products I use for skincare, hair care, and bath and shower times (Lush, you are my eternal babe and saviour), and almost a month after 2017 began, I have finally decided on my New Year’s Resolution. From hereon in, I am going to be attempting to live as ethically as possible where hair and beauty are concerned: no products which are tested on animals or sold in China, vigorous research into any new products, and actively searching out brands which are strictly cruelty-free. I’m going to use up all items I currently have open and not throw them away because that would be a waste of money, but once an item from a brand that doesn’t have approval from the Logical Harmony list has been used up I won’t be repurchasing it.

The number of well-known brands that still test on animals or sell their products in China (the only country in the world where it’s mandatory that a cosmetic product be tested on animals) is disgusting, unnecessary, and, in some cases, really disappointing. Collection, for instance, do – a massive shame because their Lasting Perfection concealer is a genuinely brilliant product. Nivea, the skincare I have sworn by for years, do. Tresemme and L’Oreal, whose hair products do wonders for my lacklustre locks, do. Whyyyy. At least Barry M are cruelty-free, thank the lawd.

So now I’m in need of some help! What are your favourite cruelty-free beauty brands? Any tips for someone looking to make a change? If anyone has any suggestions or recommendations leave them in the comments below. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

X x

Thought for Thursday | Bending and Breaking | 2017 #01

Hello lovelies,

It’s been another long while, hasn’t it. Almost a year, in fact. And what a year 2016 was…

To kick things back into action on here it seemed appropriate to start with a Thought for Thursday, because thinking is something I’ve been doing a shitload of recently. I’d like to share some of those thoughts here and now.

Sourced from Pinterest

Last year was, without a shadow of a doubt, the worst and most difficult of my life to date. It just seemed to be one thing after another after another after another, and not even necessarily huge things: it was a year of spilled wine and forgotten umbrellas and tangled headphones. Little inconveniences which on their own could have easily been dismissed but, in conjunction with the bigger things, just lent themselves to making a bad year even worse.

2016 was the year I moved to Nottingham, further away from my family than ever. It was the year my mental health took a tumble. It was the year I lost my wonderful grandfather to cancer we didn’t even know he had. It was the year my job was dangled in front of me and eventually snatched away. It was twelve months of loneliness, homesickness, tears, regret, and guilt.
On a more global scale, in 2016 the world said goodbye to David Bowie, Carrie Fisher, Alan Rickman, and George Michael, amongst numerous other stars. June saw Britain vote to leave the EU in Brexit, a movement which coined the eventual word of the year, and pussy-grabbing businessman Donald Trump was elected 45th President of the United States in November. (Side note: I’ll never forget waking up in a hungover haze at Glastonbury Festival, checking my phone for the Brexit results, and just bursting into tears at the shock and hopelessness of it all. Ugghhh.)

Black Mirror, anyone?

After the disaster that was 2k16, it stands to reason that 2k17 will be a year of worldwide success and joy, right? Well, I am determined to make this year better than the last; it really couldn’t be worse. Last year left me bent and bruised emotionally, but the thing about taking a beating is that, afterwards, you must stand up and dust yourself off – otherwise you’ll be lying there in the dirt letting the world treat you as its doormat for the rest of forever.

I’m proud to have already started by taking this year by the horns and turning it in a positive direction. I began cognitive behavioural therapy and a course of new medication in a bid to fight an anxiety disorder and mild depression which have ruled my life for years. Both are going pretty well for now – look out for a future post dedicated to all things mental health.
In October, J and I adopted two adorable degus, who have proved to not only be gorgeous and mischievous but also quite therapeutic in their own right!
Tomorrow is mine and J’s five-year anniversary (!).
I’ve started learning Italian with the help of Duolingo, and plan on learning Cornish later in the year.
Glasto 2017 is the main motivation to keep going to the gym we joined last summer (I know, right). 

So 2017 is already looking up! The importance of bending but not allowing yourself to break completely has never been felt more fully. There were times last year where I truly thought nothing would ever be good or bright again – but here we are, blinking in the hazy January sunshine after spending a year in a dark, shadowy cave. We are human. We weather the storms life throws at us and ride them out because we know there will always be sunshine after: a reward for not breaking in two.

Sorry not sorry for all the clichés in this post! Was your 2016 a storm, or were you walking on sunshine? If you have any ideas for future blogs or TFTs, let me know in a comment.
Also, please do check out the new blog I’ve set up for our degus and give it some love!

x

1st March 2016 - we're (finally) here!

Hello, lovelies!

Well, that was a hectic week and a bit…There’s a little bit to catch up on, so will try and give you the short version!

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So, Saturday before last (20^th) was getting to be one of the worst days ever by the time I eventually walked through the front door in good ol’ Kernow. It. Was. Hellish. Picture a fraught pair of twentysomethings, hungover and tired as hell, trying desperately to pack a tiny flat’s worth of possessions into a Ford Fiesta while the weather is as uncooperative as possible and working flat-out in order to catch various flights and trains. Add to that picture assorted emotions (sad, stressed, worried, hopeless realisation that not all the stuff will fit in the car, anger at losing a wallet, relief at finding it again) and remember that breakfast just hadn’t happened – it occurred to me later that I hadn’t actually eaten a proper meal in two days by this point – and you’ve pretty much got the gist of how horrifically awful Saturday 20^th February 2016 was. I missed the first train completely, and had to inevitably deal with rail replacement buses for half of the journey anyway. By the time I got home I was absolutely spent…

Cats and Chinese food helped the recovery process along, though. Can’t recommend highly enough the medicinal healing power of cuddling kitties and scarfing down hot noodles.

The rest of last week passed relatively uneventfully, and was mostly spent acclimatising to the new working from home arrangements. Tell you what, it seems amazing now that I ever had to go to work without slippers on! It all seems to be going well at any rate, if a little unusual that there’s no longer a commute to have to deal with. Plus it’s just a huge relief to not have to worry about where money will come from when there’s enough to be thinking about as it is…

And then, before we knew it, Saturday 27^th rolled around and it was officially time to move! After a freezing hour-and-a-half’s wait at Bristol station (seriously, why are there no seats or cafés to spend long waits in at that station!? Sort it out, BTM), J and I were reunited and set off on the drive to the Midlands. Right precarious drive that was, too: he couldn’t see anything out of the back window due to it being piled high with our things, and I had a suitcase perched on my lap for two and a half hours and cried on and off for multiple reasons for pretty much the duration of the journey. Yayyy.

After spending the majority of Sunday at IKEA (and failing to purchase anything of any decent use except three curtain poles), we’re more or less beginning to find our feet at last. Tomorrow we have some big, important things being delivered (a bed! A fridge-freezer! A washing machine!), so it’ll be my first proper day in the house which should be interesting. Can’t wait to have everything finally put away in its proper place and looking homely and cosy at last.

As the process of unpacking and making a house a home can be dull for some people, thought I might try and mix things up a bit by maybe doing a little house haul here and there, or documenting the process of turning our new place into something special. If there’s anything specific you’d like to see here with regards to home, decorating etc, let me know in the comments section below!

x

16th February 2016 – Grown-up shopping spree (and the true importance of pancakes)!

Hello, lovelies!

The weekend just gone taught me quite a few things about being a grown-up. I can now tell you the difference between a pocket-sprung and an open coil mattress (if that’s something you’d ever be interested in; frankly, I wouldn’t blame you if it wasn’t), and get actively excited at the prospect of having a washing machine which can contain 9kg instead of 7. I have perched on every type of sofa imaginable – comfy or otherwise – and positively marvelled over how tall some fridge-freezers can be. I was dwarfed by some of those beasts, dwarfed!

Of course, you can’t go on a proper grown-up shopping trip to buy proper grown-up things like beds and vacuums without a good, solid foundation, so before doing anything we headed to our favourite local caff for a spot of brunch. I highly recommend pancakes before making any important life decisions; a good basis on which to make aforementioned decisions, pancakes.

Pancake Power! Deliciousness courtesy of Lounge, North St

And I was lucky enough to spend Sunday (aka 14th February, aka Valentine’s Day) wandering around Argos and Curry’s gazing at shiny new technology, all aimed at making your home life just that little bit easier. Who said romance was dead, eh. It’s a good job I can’t stand that particular holiday and refuse to partake in any more than a card to commemorate its occurrence…

After 4 years, think it's safe to say we know each other pretty well...

This weekend was definitely the most adult I’ve felt…ever. And it wasn’t actually as boring as I thought it would be (to an extent. I mean, there really is only so excitement to be felt when viewing countless washing machines which, for the most part, look identical and, when it comes down to it, all do the same thing) – although that was probably due to it being an inevitability. At some point the big important house appliances were always going to have to be purchased, and that time has come for J and I. The new place is totally unfurnished which, when you’re used to solely looking at properties that are fully- or at least part-furnished, is quite daunting. But now we’re in a position where we have to get these things or otherwise starve in dirty clothes, the prospect of being an adult and buying adult things (house things; minds promptly out of gutters, please) actually all becomes less scary and more practical. Something you just have to do at some point in life.

Plus it’s definitely helping things relating to The Move become much more tangible. We’re picking the keys up on Thursday (two days!!) and it’s all becoming so much more real now. It’s my last day in the office tomorrow. We’ve started saying our ‘see you laters’ to friends we’ve made (it’s not really ‘goodbye’ if you’re planning on coming back someday, and that’s not off the table just yet). We’re really doing this.
Eek.

Have you had the joyous experience of buying your first furniture yet? Have you got any useful pro tips on moving house? Leave suggestions in the comments below!

x

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Is there anybody there!? - life updates and news

Hello, lovelies!

It’s me, Emma. The administrator and owner of Dreaming Between the Daisies. The one who is supposed to run and maintain this blog with frequent updates.

Yea. Sorry.

Things have been somewhat hectic since the last post in November (November, oh my god…). When you’re 24 you expect life to fluctuate a lot, but I never envisaged this amount of change in such a small space of time.

To give you the shortest of short stories: J and I are relocating from Bristol to Nottingham. Ah’m movin’ oop Nawth! This, as you can imagine, is terrifying for someone who, up until now, has lived solely in the South West and never once dreamt that anything other would be on the cards. How wrong I was. There’s been a ridiculous amount to sort out in the last two months, all on top of Christmas. Didn’t even get to write pretty festive posts or inspirational New Year ones, which was gutting! It’s been stupidly crazy, and this little corner of internet space has subsequently been neglected.

Again: sorry.

As we’ll be moving up to Notts at the end of February, and with everything mostly sorted and less mental as they’ve been since late last year, I thought now would be a good time to kickstart the blog with a life update and a bit of a general reboot.

2016 already looks set to be full of adventure - what will be around the next corner?

Although I’m lucky enough to have been able to keep my current job and will be working from home for the most part, I also want to be able to spend more of my free time concentrating on writing.

Do you believe in signs? Am not entirely sure I do – I hesitate to use the word ‘omens’, and am aware of the notion of a bias wherein you form an idea and then there seem to be lots of things relating to that idea everywhere you go; but, lately, there are a hell of a lot of things tapping into my passion for writing and seeming to point down that route. The last three books I’ve read – all by different authors – have featured journalism or writing in some form as a career. One girl was on the radio earlier this week discussing her job as a trainee journalist. All this, honestly, is pranging me out somewhat. The best and most enjoyable element of my current job is the creative side: having the opportunity to write articles which are publishing on the company website. Having the freedom to be really challenged and stimulate my mind after a considerable time is so refreshing, and it’s helped me understand that this is actually what I want to be doing with my life. Stories have been such a massive and important part of my being since I was old enough to hold a book that it now seems almost imperative that that’s what I focus my career around: relating information (fictional or otherwise) to others.

That’s the main reason this blog was started in the first place: to engage with an audience through a creative means. So we’re going to bring it back in style and take it right back to its roots (even though, granted, it’s still young enough to have barely really blossomed yet; the roots are practically still visible!). For the present time I might use it in the form of a diary, supplying it with life updates and the little snippets of newness every day will bring in the run up to and immediately following The Move. There will still be practical posts, as I really enjoy the kind of show-and-tell pieces –there are going to a lot of things we need to get for the new place, so expect a few house-related hauls! – and am going to try a new cupcake recipe for next week’s leaving-the-office cake fest, so, if all goes well, I’ll pen a little piece to share with you.

I’m genuinely sorry for letting this slip lately; even if it’s only small, it’s important to me. Am annoyed that everything got too much to be able to fully contribute and focus on it of late. This is my sincere and determined promise to really make a go of this blog from hereon in; no matter how complicated and stressful life gets, it’ll be good to know that there’s a little sanctuary of calm just waiting here.

In the meantime, I’d love to hear any ideas for things people want to see here. Does the format of a diary work for you, or do you prefer the structured, non-rambling posts? Any pro tips on moving house (or, indeed, what Nottingham is like to live in!) would also be extremely appreciated.

x

Keep up to date with my house move on Twitter!