8 Week Spending Ban

As I'm entering my 4th week of a beauty/fashion spending ban I decided it was time to speak about it on the blog. I started on the 1st January and it will end 28th February - I still may extend my ban though. I've lost count the amount of times I've told myself and others I'm on a spending ban and then before I know it I've popped into Boots and walked out with everything.. And still placed an order on ASOS. It's become apparent I've terrible at saving money so when I booked my holiday less than two weeks ago I knew I had to stick to this spending ban. I've set myself a few rules as follows:

• No buying anything beauty related unless it's an essentials (such as shampoo, deodorant, lip balm etc)
• Only repurchase products when others in my collection are empty
• Allowed to continue subscribing to Birchbox at £12.95 per month
• No buying any clothes unless they are for my holiday in September
• A trip to the hair salon half way through is allowed

So have I brought anything so far?

Yes. A Carmex lip balm for £2 as I was completely out of any lip balms. A top from Primark for my holiday, on sale for £2. Making my spending for the first 3 weeks in total £4 - not bad at all.

Has anyone set themselves a spending ban?

Looking Back At 2013 & New Year Resolutions

Looking back at 2013 I can it has been a fab year. Don't get me wrong there's been times where it's not been the best but overall it's not too shabby. Going through my pictures I'm usually with a beer in hand while pulling a stupid face, as lady like as ever. Some highlights of the year include seeing my favourite band 3 times, various birthday events, moving house, V Festival, the countless other gigs, my Uncle's wedding & in general meeting some of the most amazing people. I'd be silly to miss out starting my blog too wouldn't I?

This year I've also grown up a little bit and in the words of Alex Turner I needed to 'snap out of it'. I've put off driving lessons for so long and this year I finally put my mind to it. Not only that I realised who my friends were and didn't make the effort with those who didn't with me. Sure you might lose a few people you considered closest to you but this year has shown me a lot. As well as losing friends I've lost friends of the male variety, yes boys are still a pain in the arse (just a few that is). It has to be said though having a certain someone in your life shouldn't be your sole reason for happiness, realising that has made the majority of this year a lot smoother. So goodbye 2013 in pictures, here's to 2014.

(A lot of selfies of me and the best friend isn't there?!)

Now for the New Year resolutions:

General

• Spend more time with family/friends - I have a massive family and sometimes I feel like I just don't see them enough apart from family events. As for friends I want to be more spontaneous in plans.
• Control my spending habits - Do I really need that new pair of shoes that look similar to ones I already own? I'm planning on a spending ban for the whole of January!
• Put my gym membership to use/eat healthier - I'm stupidly conscious of myself and I've had a gym membership for 7 months that's been used once, yes once. Need to step my game up.
• Pass my driving test - I'm so eager to complete this one, it gives you so much more independence and would be so convenient for me for work and everyday stuff.

Blogging

• Aim for at least 3 blog posts a week - Posting more regular is my biggest aim, consistency is the key with this one so a more settled routine and stop being so bloody lazy.
• Set myself some blogging goals - I want a few goals to look back on in a year and be able to say I've done all of them, maybe even gone to further lengths.
• Redesign my blog completely - I'm fairly happy with how my blog looks right now but there is definitely a few things I'd like to change about it all.
• Speak to and meet more bloggers - Using twitter chats using the #bbloggers hashtag has allowed me to speak to some lovely people as well as discover new blogs. I want to continue this even more.

Beauty/Hair

• Paint my nails more often - Not so long ago I would paint my nails every other day. I've slacked so much and want to get back into the swing of pretty finger tips.
• Wash my make up brushes more - I already do at least once a week but improving skin care can always be helped with extra clean brushes
• Experiment with products more - I'm often stuck behind neutral shades so I want to try and be a little bit more bold in the products I use
• Make more effort with my hair - Not so proud to say I've become so lazy with my hair, I embrace my natural wavy hair far too much. Will those extra 15 minutes in bed really make a difference?

So here we are in 2014, what are your resolutions this year?

Weekend in Birmingham - Gigs, German Christmas Market & Old Friends | Lifestyle

First off I want to apologise for failing Blogmas yesterday! I planned for this post to go up yesterday but I had a bit of crappy time for a few reasons when I got home and I didn't want to write a half hearted post but better late than never right?! So on to the point of the post..

You may of seen me mention here and there that I was heading to Birmingham over the weekend just gone. It turned out I had booked a couple of gigs on both Saturday and Sunday night so we decided to stay over a few nights in the Hampton by Hilton on Broad Street. I went with one of my closest friends Hannah, since she moved away from uni we've hardly seen each other so a much needed catch up happened. Later on in the weekend we met up with my best friend Zoe and Niall too.

Our room was pretty cool and I loved the colour scheme. I wish I'd taken more pictures but we were in a bit of a rush when we got there to get ready and get to the gig. I've mentioned my love for The Courteeners before but I couldn't miss the Christmas Tour Party and went to see them live for the 3rd time. They didn't let me down and put on a brilliant show, possibly the best I've seen them now!

I got my hands on a signed poster from the merch stand and was pleased to see it was not a printed signature but a very much authentic autograph from the boys! Next morning we over slept and missed breakfast, heartbreaking I tell you. Hungry and ready for an afternoon shop we headed to the Bullring! Also, world's worst selfie in a lift coming up..

I told you! Sorry for the terrible quality (oops!). Meet Hannah too who is very interested as you can see *haha*  | Coat - H&M, Dress - ASOS, Bag - Primark |

After a quick wonder around H&M and then the Disney store (I picked up my gift for secret santa at work) we headed to the Handmade Burger Co which tasted unreal after 19 hours without anything to eat. I opted for the peri peri chicken burger. Just a little tip too, one bowl of chips will cover both of you just fine as me and Hannah found out. It was lovely though and something nice and new to try out! Then it was time to meet Zoe and Niall and to head to the German Christmas Market.

So that's beer, hot dogs and lots of cute gift type stalls. I definitely want to fit a few more Christmas like markets in next year as well! After that we headed back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes then just down the road we visited O'Neill's Bar which is an Irish chain of pubs. One quick drink and we were back to the O2 Academy to watch The View. You might remember them for their catchy song a few years back - "I've had the same jeans on for four days now.."

It was a fab gig and I met all of the band afterwards which was pretty cool and was a highlight of my year! Anyway I had a lovely weekend and can't wait for similar weekends next year!

What have you been up to?

Don't forget to enter my Secret Christmas Giveaway HERE. It features Models Own, Yankee Candle, Rimmel, The Body Shop, MUA, Natural Collection & more!

Christmas Lights Switch On | Lifestyle

On Friday evening I went along to a Christmas lights switch on at a local gardens in my area with a few family members. I really enjoyed this light switch on as usually they're full of rowdy youths and what not but this one was really family orientated and had a nice atmosphere to it. Before the lights came on we went for a walk around the garden centre there which is part of the Blue Diamond Garden Centres Company. They had all the Christmas decorations out and it made me super excited for the festive season. I picked up a few bits for my secret santa at work also. I'm going to go back after Christmas to because it has a stunning homeware section. I snapped a few photos on my phone as well..

I might have to go back and visit before Christmas to pick up a few last minute bits and bobs!

Fireworks and Santa! And terrible photo quality (oops!)

How are you getting into the festive spirit? 

& Make sure you enter my Secret Christmas Giveaway HERE!

Lifestyle - Two gigs in one week & Update!

A bit of a mixed post today but so far on my blog I haven't touched on any lifestyle really. So on Monday straight after work I ventured off to see Beady Eye at Wolves Civic Hall. I hadn't been to the venue before and I really liked it, totally different to anywhere else I'd been before. So now some of you might be like "wait, who are Beady Eye?" Basically, they are Oasis but without Noel Gallagher. Now a lot of people don't like him but personally I love his arrogant attitude but to see Liam Gallagher, my male hero was so amazing. I was really expecting him to not sound very good as he is knocking on a bit now but I was proved wrong and it's one of the best gigs I have ever been to.

Me and my best friend Zoe got to the barrier (why on earth do security stand in such stupid places though?!)

Then on Wednesday night it was off to Birmingham to see Arctic Monkeys at the LG Arena. Now if you are a bit clued up in the music world then you might know that originally this gig was cancelled very last minute. I was due to see them on Halloween but getting half way down the motorway to see they had cancelled wasn't leaving me very impressed. So they had a lot to live up and they certainly didn't let me down. A little young Irish band The Strypes were supporting them but after queueing for the shuttle bus from the car park and then for a few drinks it meant we only caught the last few songs (luckily I saw them back in July on their own tour though!) Back to the arctics anyway, oh my they were bloody brilliant. I do think it could be the best gig I have ever been to, certainly worth the wait. Everything about it, the atmosphere, the set list.. Everything. 

Managed to get a few pretty looking pictures as well on my phone!

Now for the next bit.. If you have read my blog before and remember it you might notice I've given it a little makeover. I was never really happy with it originally so I redesigned it and now I'm pretty happy, for now anyway. Along with my new blog design I've decided to make both a Twitter and Instagram pages for my blog. Most simply because I want to keep my personal ones separate from my blogging bits and bobs.

You can find my Twitter page HERE and my Instagram page HERE.

And don't forget I am going to be blogging everyday of December so following me on a few platforms will let you know when my posts go live or will be going live as well!

So what have you been up to lately?

What Lauren Says

I thought an introductory post would probably be a sensible place to start. After reading endless blogs and watching hundreds of YouTube videos for the past 8 months I decided this is most definitely something I wanted to try out. Even more so when I finished studying photography at college a few months back and felt a little lost and not sure what to do with myself. And so it begins..

So what is it that you do when you are no longer a student any more?

I decided against university as I just didn't think it was the thing for me (and the fees scared me a little bit). Mainly I didn't want to start my life as such with debt looming over me. I quite luckily landed myself a part time job as a retail assistant. I say part time, I tend to pick up a lot of hours recently to which I am not complaining at. A lot of people question me frequently asking me what I want to do with my life after leaving college and the answer is always well, I don't know. I have no idea what direction I want to go in but this is usually my reply to such questions; "I'm just an 18 year old girl who likes to earn a decent wage to cover costs of attending gigs and my habit of buying a lot of clothes/make-up".

What do you expect to see on my blog?
Well as the name of my blog states it's 'What Lauren Says'. A blog where I can discuss lifestyle, fashion, beauty and my massive love for music. Posts will feature reviews, hauls, OOTD's, music related or me just rambling on about something not even remotely interesting (sorry in advance!)

I tend to talk a lot so let's see how it goes.