Boost Your Energy With A Spring Cleanse: Guest Post By Mia Taylor

While spring is a colourful, vivid season where everything is awake and in bloom, we don’t always feel excited to experience it. With spring allergies and fatigue, seasonal changes can sometimes affect our bodies in bad ways. If you’re constantly sleepy, unfocused and feel sore for no real reason, you might need a good detox to get your vitality back and help you feel cheerful about spring flowers and nice weather. Read on for some tips to help boost your energy and make you feel good.

Change your diet

Heavy, winter food is delicious and necessary when the weather is cold, but spring is the time to eat lighter meals and help our bodies fill up on natural goodies. Artichokes, asparagus, zucchini, spinach and broccoli are all in season, and there are many delicious recipes for you to incorporate these healthy, powerful foods into your diet. It’s time to go easy on the meat and dairy and give your stomach a chance to rest. Eat things like soups and salads and avoid processed foods and canned goods. Eat rice instead of bread, and use healthy spices such as turmeric, nutmeg, fennel, ginger and coriander. It’s okay to eat meat, but stick to fish and chicken for a while and avoid anything sugary, or fried. You want nutrient rich food that will help your body recover and feel vibrant.

Remember to drink enough water as well. Green tea and black tea will help with the detox and you can drink up to three or four cups a day. Avoid coffee and soda completely, as they will only make you feel thirstier and besides the unwanted weight gain, you’ll deal with their negative effects on your body.

Get moving

No better way to get rid of the toxins than to sweat them out. We need about three hours of exercise each week, and with the summer coming, now’s the perfect time to shape up. You don’t have to go to the gym to work out, you can do it at home, on your own terms. Take up dancing, kickboxing, yoga, or any other alternative to the gym. Go out for a run, or take long walks, go hiking, or put on your roller blades and drive them around the neighbourhood. The best way to get fit is to find something you enjoy doing and then become passionate about it. It will help you stick to training and you’ll have the added bonus of having fun. Working out is also a good way to gain more energy and balance your sleep cycle.

Use the right herbs and supplements

Sometimes our digestive tract needs some help to stimulate the cleansing and detoxification process. Simple herbs like dandelion and burdock root can help with this, or you could try the Renew Life detox products which have a lot of all-natural cleansing ingredients that are a really good way to help your body flush out the toxins on its own. Combine these with dandelion, milk thistle and ginger tea mix and your body will be full of energy in no time. The recipe for the tea is: bring water with peeled ginger root to a boil, then pour over the dried herbs (dandelion, milk thistle and cinnamon). Add a little honey and lemon juice.  Let it cool and you have a delicious drink that you can sip through the day.

Get enough rest

Sadly, no matter what you do, you can’t skip sleep if you want your body to be well-rested. You must get at least seven hours of sleep every night and do your best to go to bed and wake up at approximately the same time every day. Your body enjoys a routine and a hectic sleeping schedule will wear it out pretty quickly. The effects of sleep deprivation are pretty serious, so keep your health in mind and take time to get enough rest every night.

Spring is a wonderful time to turn our attention back to our health and develop good habits if we haven’t already. Follow these tips and you’ll soon feel fresh, happy, and full of energy.

Mia Taylor is a fashion and beauty enthusiast from Sydney and

writer for www.highstylife.com. She loves writing about her life experiences. Travelling and enjoying other cultures and their food with her husband is a big part of her life. She is always on a lookout for new trends in fashion and beauty, and considers herself an expert when it comes to lifestyle tips. Twitter | Facebook

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The Upside of Unrequited Review: Guest Post By The Bibliophile Girl

It's 00:27 and I've literally just finished reading The Upside of Unrequited and I can tell you this: it had all the feels. My heart was crushed but it also soared because of how amazing Albertalli's writing is... Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love - she's lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can't stomach the idea of rejection. So she's careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie's orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly's cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Luckily, Cassie's new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster boy sidekick. Will is funny, flirtatious, and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she'll get her first kiss and she'll get her twin back.

There's only one problem: Molly's coworker, Reid. He's an awkward Tolkien superfan, and there's absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?

For me, the character of Molly is so relatable. When I was younger, I used to crush on so many people - just ask my best friend - I crushed on so so many people throughout high school, it was crazy. Unlike Molly, I have had long relationships but I could still relate to how Molly felt when she thought no one would want her because of her weight (I feel the exact same way), and I could relate to how Molly always felt left out when she was around other couples.

For me, The Upside of Unrequited is on the same level as Simon v The Homo Sapiens Agenda and even thought SVTHSA had a better storyline, I feel like the diversity within TUOU put it on the same level as Albertalli's debut. At least 50% of the cast was diverse. There were lesbian Moms, Cassie who is a lesbian, Molly who is heterosexual, Mina who is pansexual and Korean-American, black side characters, Jewish main characters, a main character that suffers from anxiety, and white characters. I mean, how awesome is that diversity? Sure, the main character - Molly - is heterosexual, but she's described as overweight which challenges other young adult books where the female protagonist is always described as gorgeous.

"When you spend so much time just intensely wanting something, and then you actually get the thing? It's magic."

- Becky Albertalli, The Upside of Unrequited

What was also amazing about this book was that it was around the time when gay marriage was legalised in the U.S.A and I loved it when Nadine drove Molly to the White House to see the building lit up in the LGBT flag. I thought it was such an amazing moment. And I also loved how we witnessed a lesbian wedding as that is something that we never see within young adult books. Another thing that I absolutely loved was that when given the opportunity *slight spoiler ahead* Molly didn't choose the 'attractive hipster guy', she chose the geeky, slight overweight Reid and she defied all expectations. She chose someone who made her feel comfortable with herself and who made her laugh - which I think is really important.

I know that I've just rambled on about the diversity within the book but please, how could I not? It was amazing to see this kind of representation in a YA book. I also loved the sisterly relationship between Cassie and Molly. Even though there is seven years difference between my sister and me, I could still relate to the turmoil that Cassie and Molly went through and I recognised a few of the arguments that they had. It was nice to see a sister relationship development arc be one of the main elements of a book instead boys being the main focus.

Overall, this book was amazing and considering that they're doing a film of Simon v The Homo Sapiens Agenda, I would love to see The Upside of Unrequited get a movie deal as well. I think it would be brilliant to bring the diversity to the big screen. Yet another fantastic book from Albertalli and I can't wait until she graces us with her next book. I'm eager for it already.

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Released 11th April

Huge thanks to Kirsty of The Bibliophile Girl for this wonderful guest post. If you enjoyed this one then be sure to visit Kirsty's blog where you will find plenty more book reviews. You can follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Bloglovin.




Image via Goodreads. Copyright not my own

8 Productive 'Blog Related' Things I Do When I Can't Sleep

While you're all snuggled up in bed dreaming of nice things, I'm often lying awake writing posts like this one. I didn't always have problems sleeping but over the last few years I tend to wake up on an hourly basis and sometimes I just cannot get back to sleep for love nor money. But rather than lie there worrying about the days events or counting sheep - seriously did that ever work?! - I make use of my insomnia by being as productive as possible.

I know, I know. You're gonna tell me that I'm not exactly helping myself. That any form of blue light emitted from electronics will keep my brain active and be bad for my health. Still, if I'm lying awake anyway then I'd rather get stuff done.

So what exactly do I get up to in the dark of the night?

1. Schedule Tweets

I love scheduling. It has been a life saver seeing as I work full time. I personally use Hootsuite and so far I can't fault it. It's absolutely spiffing! The odd time a tweet will fail but as it's a free app I'm hardly going to complain.

2. Catch Up 

I scroll through Bloglovin catching up on posts, bookmarking my '#SundayBlogShare' and '#MondayBlogs' favourites as I go. I tend to share any of my favourite reads on Twitter on a daily basis but on Sunday and Mondays I like to make use of the two hashtags mentioned as it helps to get my tweets noticed by more people.

3. Search For Blog Opportunities 

On Twitter I'll search for any tweets featuring the hashtag '#bloggersrequired and #bloggerswanted.' On Facebook I'm part of the UK Blogger Opportunities group but I also again search for posts with relevant hashtags.

4. Organise Images

As I don't always get chance to take my own photos I do still use Pexels for images as and when required. I find it easier if I've got some saved to my phone already so I know exactly which image will be used for which planned post.

5. Comment Spree

Commenting on other blogs is a surefire way to encourage other bloggers to check out your own. And quite often they'll leave comments in return which is always nice. I like to do a commenting spree at least once a week. Just make sure if you do this that you write authentic comments rather than just 'great post,' otherwise it'll come across like you can't be bothered or that you haven't actually read anything.

6. Write A Post 

I often write a full draft post so all I need to do is edit and publish it the following day. Bonus!

7. Jot Down New Ideas

Weirdly I get some of my best ideas in the middle of the night. And let me tell you, don't do as I used to do and plan to make a note in the morning because nine times out of ten the idea will be forgotten in the cold light of day. I could kick myself for this. Needless to say I now always make a quick note.

8. Network

By networking I mean I go through Instagram liking photos and commenting on any I really like. I do the same with tweets too. Fast forward a few hours and when I check my notifications I usually have a high response from people returning likes, follows and comments.


And that's about it. I do sleep sometimes honest! :)


Do you have problems sleeping through the night? What do you do while you're lying awake?


Until next time...  Justine xxx





Image via Pexels



Fun Bit *Choice of word 'Spiffing' used in this post as challenged by Peter of FinalCheck. Do you have a word you want me to feature in a future post? Please drop me a line and let me know! :)

Bring Spring To Your Bedroom*

I don't know about you guys but I personally cannot wait for the sunnier weather to arrive. There's something about the Spring season that literally puts a bounce in my step. Obviously the sunshine does help, but it's not just that. I love that this season brings with it new challenges and the opportunity for fresh starts. It's not just the perfect excuse to spring clean my bedroom, but also to give it that much needed makeover.

My bedroom is my safe haven, my 'go to' place when I need to escape from life. When I'm not at work or out and about, you'll usually find me curled up on my bed either reading a good novel or writing blog posts. As I spend so much time in this one room, it's hugely important that I create the perfect environment for myself.

I can't afford to go splashing out on new wardrobes or furniture right now and I know many people reading this are in the same boat, but that doesn't mean you can't change things up a bit.
Who says it has to be expensive? Just by altering the colour scheme or the duvet and curtains, a room can appear much brighter. Aside from the other life essentials (inspirational wall quotes and a glass of wine) a cosy bedspread or duvet is an absolute must for maximum comfort.

When I saw the beautiful range of bedspreads at The Yorkshire Linen Store I just knew I had to have one. I've always been a real 'girly girl' and a fan of anything neutral coloured so I fell in love with this Opulent Jacquard Champagne Bedspread as soon as I saw it. There's also matching duvets, pillow cases and cushion covers. All I'll need to do is put down a nice new carpet, add a lick of paint and 'Bob's your uncle' as they say!

Wayfair also have many pretty designs to choose from and at reasonable prices too. I seem to have relatively luxurious taste so typically was drawn to the Luxury Duchess Bedspread in gold. Both of the bedspreads mentioned are machine-washable and tumble-dryer friendly, although if we get some warmer weather I'll definitely be hanging mine outside to dry!

Photo: Opulent Jacquard Champagne Bedspread

Why not bring Spring to your bedroom with a gorgeous bedspread? If neutral colour isn't for you then you'll find plenty of alternatives on offer. What's more, The Yorkshire Linen Store currently have a sale on! What are you waiting for?


Here's wishing you all a lovely Spring.


Until next time...


Justine xxx


P.S. If you like the look of the Yorkshire Linen range featured above then you may also like these which, FYI, are all half price! Bargain...

Anna Black Bedspread

 

   Ethnic Floral Patchwork Berry Bedspread/Throw

Shelbourne Duck Egg Bedspread

*Collaborated post
All photos taken from Yorkshire Linen website

Five Easy Ways You Can Spread Some Positivity: Guest Post By Aimee Of AimeeRaindropWrites

I think it’s safe to say the past twelve months have been a bit of a disappointment, right? We’ve lost
some truly awesome celebrities; Prince and David Bowie, to name a few. We saw the country divided
over Brexit; and the fallout wasn’t pretty, either. And, to top it all off, we saw Donald Trump sworn in as President of the United States. So, now I’ve reminded you of all the reasons we have to be miserable and gloomy, I’m going to share with you five really easy ways you can spread some positivity!

1. Always share a smile. Now, I’m not suggesting you walk around with a permanent grin on your face, but a simple smile can make someone’s day. Try this; flash a smile at someone in passing, give your cashier/barista a big grin, or greet your partner with a smile when he walks in the front door (save your complaints for later!)

2. Leave little notes everywhere you go. Before you go out next time, grab a few Post-Its and jot down a few lovely messages. Think; “You have a lovely smile,” You’ve got this,” or “You are so brave.” Then, leave them somewhere! On a supermarket shelf, in a book at the library. The possibilities are endless, and your little note could make someone’s day!

3. Strike up a conversation. I know, I know. When you’re stood on a freezing cold bus stop, waiting for your bus to work, the last thing you want to do is take out your headphones and actually talk to someone. But you might just make someone’s day with a little bit of conversation; and for some people, that might be the only conversation they have all day!

4. Compliment someone. An oldie, but a goodie. You know how good you feel when someone pays you a compliment? Why not make sure someone else feels that way; compliment their outfit, hair or even their latest blog post! Paying someone a compliment takes only a minute or two of your time, but it can mean so much to someone!

5. Check yourself. This might be the most important way you can help spread positivity! About to spread some gossip that trashes someone else? Check yourself. About to moan about Brexit/Donald Trump/the latest celebrity death? Check yourself. By not spreading the negativity, you’re helping someone else stay positive!

The above are five really easy ways you can spread positivity; adopt them into your daily life, and I guarantee that you’ll start to feel more positive too! Because spreading love, happiness, and positivity doesn’t just give others a much needed boost; it gives you a boost, too. Try it, and see for yourself!

What are some of your favourite ways to spread positivity?




Huge thanks to Aimee for writing March's guest post. If you enjoyed this then why not pop on over to Aimee's blog - AimeeRaindropWrites. And if you missed February's guest post by Jemma of Dorkface then catch up here.


If you would like to see your own post on GGD then please email me - jamachin14@gmail.com