Lincoln Christmas Market

Hey Guys!

Apologies for being out the loop for a little while, I’ve been in hospital with a severe vitamin deficiency. Luckily I’m on the road to recovery now and aiming to get back into blogging properly again!

Yesterday I went to the Christmas market in my hometown of Lincoln, it’s a yearly tradition and one that I always enjoy a lot. This year we went just as the market opened which is definitely my favourite time to go, we could see most of the stalls and try samples of the cheese, gin and vodka they had on offer. I bought a small bottle of toffee vodka, if you’ve not tried it I’d definitely recommend it!

The market is set in the historic part of Lincoln called the Bailgate and you enter through the castle, there’s also a medieval market nearby which is always interesting to look round! 

I really love the atmosphere of a Christmas market and it definitely represents the start of Christmas for me! I’m looking forward to putting on some Christmas films and wrapping up with a blanket and hot chocolate!

How are you spending Christmas this year?

J x

Instagram: jessmcguire97 

Twitter: simplyjess97 

WIN A Brand New Zara Top

Hey guys!

So to celebrate the start of the month I’m holding a series of flash giveaways! This is to win a brand new Zara crop top. It’s a size large but would also fit smaller sizes. 

To enter comment on this blog post with your favourite thing about Autumn, for a bonus point you can comment on another post (comment below which one) and follow me on Instagram @jessmcguire97

This is a flash  giveaway and will end on 05/09/19 at midnight. The winner will be contacted via Instagram so make sure you follow me on there for the best chance to win. 

J x

Sometimes you have to get lost

Hey guys!

So I haven’t posted on here in a while and as much as I’d like to tell you that I have a good excuse for that, I don’t. I’ve been lacking a lot in motivation and feeling very uninspired recently but I’m hoping to get back into it. 

I absolutely love travelling and I’m looking forward to taking on challenges in the future that I never thought I would, such as travelling solo.

There’s a lot of pressure on bloggers to post regular content but sometimes it can be good to have a bit of distance, get lost in a new city and come of social media for a while. 

I’m starting to get back into a healthy routine now and hoping the blogging will come back with that. 

I’d like to thank anyone that reads this for sharing the adventure with me!

J x

Finding balance

As this week is Mental Health Awareness week I feel it’s important that we raise as much awareness as possible on this subject. 

As someone that suffers with anxiety like many others, it is a topic I feel passionate about and although I believe the stigma surrounding mental health is reducing its something that still needs a lot of work. 

One in three people will suffer from a mental health condition at some point in their lives. Young people increasingly face added pressures due to things such as zero hours contracts and universal credit. It shouldn’t be like this. 

Despite the additional awareness a lot of people feel that they cannot speak out about how they feel at the risk of being judged. It’s so important for me to find balance in my life. Whilst I work hard at work, I have learnt ways to manage stress and understand the importance of having hobbies outside of work. 

I’m very fortunate that I have a good friendship group that I know I can talk to. My main advice this mental health week and a small way you can make a difference is simply by asking someone how they are, taking an interest in their day and making them feel valued. It can mean so much to someone that is suffering. With the ease of communication today, nobody needs to feel as though they have no one. 

Getting my energy back with Virtue Drinks

Hey guys, so recently I’ve been knocked down with a chest infection and it’s only recently I’ve started to recover. I’m trying to be healthier both in wha I eat and drink but also with the amount of exercise that I do. Being in good fitnesss can have such a positive impact not only on your health but also your mental wellbeing, it’s definitely something I’m keen to work on!

I recently worked with Virtue Drinks which is a brand of energy water, aiming to bring positive energy to people everywhere! All the drinks contain zero calories, zero sugars and zero sweetners whilst coming in a variety of flavours, I was very keen to give it a try! 

My favourite out of the ones I tried was the Berry flavour, however with all the ones I tried I noticed that the flavours were very strong which is something I liked, it would definitely be more ideal for those that like sparkling water too.

Overall I loved the unique feel of the brand, I thought the packaging was very modern and I liked Virtue’s aims and what the company was trying to achieve, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to any friends that drink sparkling water however it may not be so ideal if that’s not your kind of thing! 

J x

Exploring York!

I have just returned from a lovely few days in York with my mum! York is a city which I had only been to a couple times before and that was when I was very young so it was great to go back and take in the sights. It is a beautiful historic city and we found that everything was within about a ten minute walk away which made it easy to fit in everything we wanted to do!

We stayed at the stunning Middleton's Hotel, which despite having a country charm, is just minutes from the city centre making it a unique hotel and perfect to get away from the bustling city as it feels so peaceful and homely.

 

 

 

 

 

Our room was a lovely family size room with three single beds, one of the main benefits about our room was how spacious it was compared to many of the other family rooms I have been in. The beds were really comfortable and we both got a good nights sleep on both nights that we was there. There was a separate dressing room within our room where we could hang all our clothes which was very useful and added to the spacious feel. The room was equipped with a fridge and we thought it was such a lovely touch that it was stocked with a few bottles of water for us. It was lovely to have a drink when we came into our room to refresh us from the journey and it was a very nice thought that not many hotels would think of.

 

 

 

 

After checking into the hotel we decided to have a short walk to explore the local area, we ended up going on a boat trip which showed us some of the sights of York and told us about the history of the area, luckily the weather was on our side and we chose a sunny afternoon to go on the trip!

The following day we started with breakfast at Middleton's which was delicious, I had the salmon and scrambled egg whilst my mum went with the full English. This was something that I wouldn't normally go for so it was great to have the opportunity to try new foods! Before we left on the Friday I even tucked into an Eggs Benedict which isn't something I've ever had before but tasted delicious! The breakfast was a great way to start the day off and the staff were so friendly and helpful throughout our time at the hotel.

We then visited the Castle Museum which was a great morning out, I actually took so many photos there that I'll be writing a separate blog post soon all about it! I really enjoyed the Shaping the Body exhibition which showed how aspects of our body has changed through the years focusing on fashion, food and life and the York prison was a great addition and something I really enjoyed visiting within the museum.

After that we took a short walk up to see the York Minster. This is something we was recommended to do and it is definitely worth seeing! It's an amazing building and one of the key aspects of York's history, definitely not to be missed if you're heading to York anytime soon.

 

 After our day out in York we headed back to the hotel for a much needed rest and to pack some of our stuff so we wasn't rushing to get ready on the Friday. On the way back home and after a final walk around York to take some last minute photos, we stopped off at York Designer Outlet for some retail therapy, the perfect finish to a lovely break away!

J x

We can strongly recommend staying at Middleton's if you're visiting the York area. Visit their website or follow them via Twitter or Facebook for more details.

*We worked with Middleton's for the purposes of this review, however all opinions are my own. 

If travel is the answer, what is the question?

For so long I have had a passion for travel, a passion that comes in waves. I have always known that one day I wanted to travel the world but when I am going through difficult times this passion becomes so strong that I begin to feel that it is not so much a passion anymore but a need to get away.

What I need to get away from I am not really sure. I have always felt so free when I have been travelling before, like the world is just such a big place with the opportunity to explore anywhere the heart wants to take you. I think it is just the stresses of life that makes me keep persisting with wanting a life of travel, always feeling held back by something and becoming so stressed and caught up within the life I am currently leading that I feel I will never be able to jet off somewhere for a break, thus making me more stressed.

I have never been lucky enough to find someone that would be willing to travel the world with me, someone that shares the same passion for travel that I do which is sad but at the same time provides a lot of new opportunities if I can be brave enough to take them.

The question is, can the girl that could barely put her hand up in class, now have the confidence to travel the world solo? There's so much that I want to see and I feel like if I just keep waiting my life will fade away before me, that's probably my worst fear actually, the fear of not living.
I've thought about couchsurfing and staying in hostels as a way of meeting new people along the way and sharing experiences with them, I hope that soon I will be brave enough to take the plunge and just go for it.

Life is too short for settling.
J x

Time.

I believe people fear living. I think it's something that people put to the side while they're busy simply existing. I do not want to exist, I want to live. We become so stuck in a routine of go to school, graduate university, get a job, get married, have kids, grow old and then that's it, time up, that's your life. I think people only really start to live once they begin to contemplate death because that way there are no consequences, there is very little to loose.

People believe that they will only begin to die when they are old because that's the norm, that's the way it's supposed to be but the sad truth is that time could stop for any one of us at any given second and the question I like to ask myself is If I didn't wake up tomorrow, would I be happy with the life I have lived? If the answer is no, change it. You want to travel the world? Go do it.

 

 

 

 

 

The only thing that will ever hold you back is yourself.

 

Don't settle for a job that you hate, working unconventional hours with a boss that you can't stand. That's not living. You have one life and I don't believe in wasting it being unhappy. Happiness can be found in every corner of the universe, in every passing smile, in every passing moment it will be there waiting for you, if only you have the courage to find it.

 

 

J x