Insta-Love: My Love Affair with Instagram!

Have you ever come across something that's really popular but you just don't see what the fuss is about?
 That's kinda like me and Twitter. A combination of me being stuck in my ways and my odd little mind's refusal to understand its concept means, after joining 3 years ago, I remain a Twitter novice.

Truthfully, Facebook has had my heart for the past 6 years and to it I remained wholly loyal and faithful. The possibility that my love for it would fade over this time never crossed my mind until 88 weeks ago (when I posted my first picture  -  that's 18 months ago to anybody who's confused!) That's when I discovered Instagram.

via instagram

The principal behind Instagram is simple. Millions of unique and cool photos taken from all aspects of daily life around the world. And who doesn't love photos?! For me, certain websites and apps became out of bounds when my hearing went kapput. YouTube, Spotify and  Snapchat (videos) are all pretty much useless to me as audio is a big part of them. But Instagram is Lucy tailored and therefore, in my opinion, fan-feckin'-tastic! Here's why:

It's visual!

Perfect for a gal with wonky ears! (Unlike me!) not everyone loves reading and they say 'a picture paint's a thousand words' which couldn't be truer when it comes to Instagram. You can get a peek at experiences and daily life from the perspective of millions of people every day across the entire world, all from the comfort of your own sofa. No stalking necessary to see what your favourite celebrities are up to or sneak a look at whats happening in people's lives that day all around the globe. Perfect for someone like me raised in a traditionally nosy country like Ireland! The added bonus of Instagram feeling totally accessible for me, where now many things are often not, means it firmly has my heart.

Share the love <3

Instagram is like a big lovely hug! It's an open and generally friendly atmosphere. Liking a picture is signified by a love heart and it's easy to make friends socially as you can follow people's days/experiences through pictures which makes you feel a part of it too. Trolls and negative people are common on social media but Instagram tends to attract less of these kinds of users from my experience (or maybe I'm just lucky?!)

Picture Perfect 

via twitter.com

Instagram has been accused of all sorts including extreme vanity after all the Queen of Instagram is well known to be Kim Kardashian, also known as the 'Selfie Queen'  who has 44 million followers. Now, personally, I think selfies are a bit annoying. Don't get me wrong; on occasion, they can be enjoyable to look at. But when every second picture you take is a selfie with a ridiculous duck face pout; then it gets boring.

While you'll probably stumble upon a few of them on Instagram, you will also discover millions of beautiful pictures of life all around the world. Most people won't get to experience the sun setting in Bora Bora or shopping in Beverly Hills but through Instagram, you can get a small peek. Choosing who you follow wisely means your feed is customised  to your favourite users so those annoying selfies can be avoided easily! While filters can be heavily used at times, the fact is photos are edited so much nowadays online which can seem manipulative and social media is no exception. Taken with a pinch of salt and a wise head that realises this, is the key to just enjoying it.

Like any social media platform, Instagram is adapting and growing everyday. Connecting people by giving a glimpse into each others lives and being invited by somebody to connect in such a personal way is a pretty cool thing if you ask me!

Right now, I'm on a shopping ban and have recently discovered the brilliance of thrift and charity shops. (No Cavan jokes please!) My favourite part of the day? Sitting down with tea and chocolate and browsing through peoples amazing and cool bargain discoveries all over the world!

What are your favourite things to peek at on Instagram? Or are you Insta-immune and don't get what the fuss is about?

Come say hi to me! I'm @lucyfromtheblog and I'll follow back!

Forever in the Sky (and on Instagram probably!),

Lucy x

The upcycling bug strikes again!

Well, it happened again!
 Last week, I came down with a awful dose that kept me under the radar for a good few days. Luckily a trip to the doctors wasn't necessary as I know from the symptoms, what my diagnosis was; the upcycling bug had struck again! (Click here to see how I caught the bug 2 months ago!)

This time I had one thing and one thing only on my mind. A bare space in our hallway had been annoying Neat freak Lucy for a few months. As a total bookworm, it didn't take long to envisage  a bookcase in its place. Measurements were taken and Adverts.ie and DoneDeal were scoured without much luck.

So what's a gal to do?! *sigh*

But then the D.I.Y gods looked down on me and sent me the leftovers of an old broken pine bed frame! Destined for the skip, a previous Pinterest ramble had given me an idea. My boyfriend and his dad were recruited and the remnants were made into a bookcase for me on a rainy Saturday afternoon!

(Since I have no woodwork skills AT ALL - I was on coffee duty for the day!)


The next day, work began!

After sourcing my leftover supplies from my last fit of upcycling, I cleaned the newly constructed bookcase with a damp cloth and after it had dried, I gave the wood a once over with some gritty sandpaper. The wood had no paint or varnish on it and I was going to use chalk paint on it (which works on most surfaces even plastic, fabric and glass) but I figured sanding would do no harm! I still had loads of Annie Sloan grey chalk paint left over from my last few projects so after a little water was added I began painting!

It took two coats of chalk paint (leaving to dry between each coat) to cover the bookcase completely and thoroughly.

Once the 2nd coat was completely dry, I discovered my stencil that I planned to use had feckin' gone missing! After ransacking my apartment, I admitted defeat in the search and got onto Google instead. I found an simple design that would be easy for an upcycling novice like me to print and cut out onto cardboard but my boyfriend helped out and did the honours for me.

Something I learnt from past experience in upcycling is that stencilling ain't as easy as it looks so, armed with a sponge and a small tester paint pot (Ivory Chalk - Woodies DIY paint €1.89), I banished my other half from the kitchen and set to work on it!

 Once you conquer a stencil (and use Pinterest to much!), its really easy to go mad with it and cover the piece your doing with stencilling. I attempted this on the last shelving unit I did for my bedroom and the results were dodgy to say the least and looked nothing at all like the 'easy' designs I had pinned the week before so this time I was more careful.

Then it was varnish time baby! I chose varnish to seal the paint as chalk paint is porous (so it absorbs dust and dirt in the air) so sealing it was necessary. Opening every window in the kitchen (the stuff is seriously strong smelling with fumes), I applied a thin layer of varnish and left to dry overnight.

Drumroll please.....

What do you think?

Now comes the really fun part for me - filling it with books!

Forever in the Sky,

Lucy x

My 'Ewww' Dictionary

I was always under the impression that hate is a strong word. Hating something is an idea that's thrown around a lot by people in a not to serious way -

• I hate Mondays
• I hate the rain
• I hate the singing chef in the Vodafone ad on TV

The truth is (with the possible exception of the Vodafone advert!), I don't hate anything - I just really really dislike some things. 

A research group recently compiled a list of words that women hate. This list had particular interest for me simply because I write and read a lot so I was curious to see what the results would be. The list consisted of 6 words that were the most despised by the fairer sex:

1. Moist
2. Squirt
3. Panties
4. Chunky
5. Curd
6. Flap

'Moist' seems to a constant chart topper for these types of polls. It won unanimously with 77% of ladies voting it the most hateful word in the English dictionary. 

via thegloss.com

Now, don't get me wrong here, some of these words are horrible to hear and ignite gross images; but I think likes and dislikes are a pretty personal thing.

For example, I deeply dislike the word 'Crisp'.

I can already imagine confused looks on faces as this is being read, so let me explain further.

I actually love crisps as a food. Tayto, Walkers, Pringles - I love 'em all. However the word 'crisp' used to describe something, sends shivers down my spine.

'A crisp Autumn's Day'

'A crisp white shirt'

'Burnt to a crisp'

 Now, honestly I would love to attribute a valid reasoning to this but I have no idea where my aversion to this word started. I didn't even realise I had a problem with it until a few years ago when I began to encounter it more and more online. Each time, without fail, I found myself frowning. I can't explain it at all!

'Fab!' is another word that can get on my nerves. On the outside, there's nothing to be annoyed about with this word at all. It's a positive and uplifting three little letters abbreviated from the word 'Fabulous' and it's used to describe something pleasing to the eye. I'm aware that by blasting this cheery little word, I run the risk of being labelled a cranky cow but, in my opinion, 'Fab' is an extremely overused word nowadays so much so that it's lost it's uniqueness. While well intended, reading 'it's fab!' and 'looks fab!' comments online always seems to conjure an unfortunate image in my mind, similar to this:

And lastly, amongst curse words, there are many people get offended by. The whole idea of a curse word is to be offensive or shocking but in the modern world, a lot of people have become desensitised to them. I'm one of these people. Curse words don't really bother me too much when they are used in banter and without malice. Irish comedy is known for this style of language with 'feck' thrown into routines regularly (or in every single bloody sentence Mrs. Brown) and it's a common occurrence in casual conversations in our little country. 

While I say, I'm relaxed about curse words - there is one that I'm deeply uncomfortable reading let alone saying. 

'The C word' 

Charlotte from Sex and the City had pretty much the same approach to these four little letters as I do.

via cosmopolitan.com

I never know how to respond when somebody uses this word in a conversation. No matter the content or humour intended in its use; the result is always the same for me. I just tend to not say anything in response while looking (and feeling) a bit awkward. In a free adult world, I don't like to judge anybody who does use it because everybody has a different view of things (which is an awesome thing!) It just happens that something inn my brain won't let me use this word. I feel silly at times but, when I absolutely have to use it, all I can manage to refer to it as 'See u next Tuesday'. Completely juvenile and silly but it's the only way I feel comfortable using it.

I'm sure everybody has different additions to their own list of words and I hope I haven't caused offense to anyone in the words I've chosen to add to mine and the reasoning behind each one.

What would yours be?

Forever in the Sky,

Lucy 

High Heels, No Chance!

Jimmy. Christian, Kurt. Manolo; They're all a sound bunch of lads I'm sure but unfortunately my appreciation ends there.

Girly milestones are part of growing up. They can be big or little things that start you on a path to becoming who you are. As a kid, I was a bit of a tomboy and when it came to those awkward early teenage years, I looked to my big sister, TV and magazines for guidance. 

One thing I learned early in my fashion education was the importance of high heels.

via pinterest

Junior disco's back in the day never really required towering heels so it wasn't until I was 17 that I felt the requirement to wear them on a night out. Not because I really wanted to, but because that's what I thought was expected of me and like any teenager; I duly followed. 

Slipping on a pair of black heels stolen from my sister's wardrobe was the ultimate feeling of being grown up and it felt amazing. 

Approximately 5 seconds after that, reality set in: I couldn't walk 10 steps in the bloody things.

At that very moment, my legendary stubbornness kicked in. I would not be defeated by a pair of shoes! Surely it'd only take practice?! Everybody is crap at things when they first start out but eventually they master it and goddammit I was going to be no exception!!

But no matter how stubborn and determined I was, I just couldn't get the hang of heels. My balance is pretty shite as it is (little fact: wonky ears can often mean wonky legs!), 3 years passed in a haze of stumbling like a little drunk Bambi on nights out with friends before my high heel destiny was changed forever. I broke my foot on an unfortunate (but sadly normal) Friday 13th.

Anybody who breaks a bone knows that once it has been broken - it rarely ever feels the same again, even with the proper rehabilitation. I had never broken a bone before so when I was told I wouldn't need any physio afterwards I was delighted! Turns out, physio would have probably helped get me back on track in my high heels mission. To this day, my left foot is less flexible than my right on and I pretty much can't wiggle the toes on that foot. 

Add bogus balance to a wonky foot and the dream of heels evaporated pretty quickly!

I felt fairly frustrated for a long time after that because as a gal who likes fashion and clothes, heels are perceived as the finishing touch of glamour to most outfits. But then something kinda miraculous happened:

I simply stopped giving a shit about it.

What happened that caused this epiphany? It was watching my friends. Turns out that even if you have the natural balance and ability to walk in heels, it's still really frickin' painful to most ladies. I would see my friends all totter out on a Saturday night only to search for a seat in the pub and switch to flats once the nightclub was reached. While I sympathised with them, this ritual completely confused me. Surely it would just be easier to wear pretty flats out from the beginning of the night to save all the hassle (including lugging around your heels in your massive handbag)? 

Maybe it's lifelong jealousy or maybe it's the realisation that, at 29, I've gotten old enough and wise enough to focus on more important stuff.

And even though me & heels just aren't meant to be, thanks to fashion trends and designer gods above:

via Tradesy.com

I can still dream! *sigh*

Forever in the Sky (and in flats!),

Lucy x