Raise your hand if you’re struggling this lockdown

I defo am and I don’t know why but this second time round has been hard. I don’t know if it’s the weather or because it gets dark early so it feels like it’s time to hop into bed at 5pm and call it a day but sometimes I just feel like bleeehhhh. And yes bleeehhhh is a feeling, anyone know what I’m talking about? I just feel like i’m going crazy this lockdown and some days I just have zero motivation to do anything. Usually I’m up and go and don’t get me wrong I do love a chill day but too many cabbage days are not ok for me lol. I want to keep this short and sweet because I don’t want to be all doom and gloom on a Monday morning but I feel it’s important to share the struggle as we are all going through the same thing. Also I know there are a lot of people in worse positions than I am in and it’s always important to count your blessings and be grateful, however that doesn't mean that you can’t feel down or “over it.” Your feelings are always valid no matter how big or small they may seem.

I’ve come to the conclusion to just accept how I’m feeling and if some days it takes me a while to move my butt and do something then so be it. Why put so much pressure on ourselves? Also I feel like I had these high expectations of me being super productive and working out loads like I was during the first lockdown but that didn’t really go to plan. Don’t get me wrong I haven’t been laaazzzzy all the time, I have been doing bits and bobs like working on DANmade and I have been working out but not as much as I planned to… in my head lol. But I mean the first lockdown was easier because we had lovely weather so I would literally be outside all day, whereas now all I want to do is stay in pj’s and eat all the food I shouldn’t be eating. I think what I’m trying to say is let’s not be harsh on ourselves and to just do the best we can in the situations we are given and that it is ok if you want to be a sloth for a few days. Also it can be so easy to get caught up and compare yourself to others, like why am I not working loads or doing as much but like everyone’s situation is different and we are our own person. Focus on yourself even if that means taking the time to do nothing and chill, if that’s what will make you happy and feel good then go with it and vice versa, if you’re super active and motivated then go you!

Anywhoo we don’t have long left which my family will definitely be happy about that as I’ve been driving everyone mad. Safe to say i’m the one who has ants in her pants and doesn’t like to sit still. Also I’d just like to give a shout out to my Dad for always taking one for the team and being a good sport for always getting involved in my crazy antics (I mean he doesn't really have a choice tbh.)

I hope you all have a fab week! Wake up with gratitude, blast your fave music (this always helps me get moving lol) eat your fave meal and go do whatever makes you happy :) xox

Heading into Monday like…

Just one of the things I made my dad do haha

Who’s been to central London since the lockdown ended?

I took my first proper trip on the weekend with my brother’s girlfriend (Rachael) and it was so nice to be back in the buzz. I wasn’t sure what to expect because the last time I went down there it was a ghost town but it was good to see some life back into London. Also it was my first time getting on the train since foreveeerrrr and to be honest it was absolutely fine, everyone that I saw was wearing a mask and it wasn’t packed so that was all good.

One thing I’ve always loved about going to central London is just walking endlessly and discovering streets and places I’ve never been before. I mean my feet were screaming by the end of the day and I was wearing my Zara boots which if you didn’t see in one of my previous posts, I have a love hate relationship with them. I’m sure we were walking for a good 5 or 6 hours, we started from Covent Garden (one of my fave places) then all the way to Selfridges and then back to Covent Garden, so yeah you can imagine the pain I was in! We walked through Neal’s Yard which I’ve actually never been to before, it was so cute and colourful and obvs had to take a cheeky pic lol.

Do you like to try new places to eat or do you stick to what you know?

Food is priority when I’m going out for the day and I’m always on the hunt for new places to try out. I follow Londonfoodbabes on Instagram which is great for finding places to eat, I literally have a list on my notes of restaurants I want to go to from this page. For lunch we went to eatbyChloe, I’ve wanted to go here for a while and seen a lot of people post about it so thought why not try it out seen as I was near. The whole menu is vegan which was perfect for Rachael as she doesn’t eat meat (I’m not vegan btw.) I ordered the guac burger which if I’m completely honest I didn’t rate. The taste wasn’t terrible it was just a bit dry, it could have done with more sauce and also the patty was so thin compared to the buns which were really big. But then Rachael really liked her salad so maybe I just ordered the wrong thing from the menu.

I got a couple cheeky snacks from Wholefoods just because and I never know when I might feel a bit peckish. I wish they had a wholefoods near where I live because the food is just so good and I always find fancy snacks that I’ve never seen before, it is a bit pricey but the quality and taste is good sooo that’s me sold. I got chocolate plantain bites which were yummm, I love plantain and chocolate so together was a party! Theennn I got shiitake mushroom crisps which were delicioussss let me tell you. I know sounds a bit random and maybe not everyones cup of tea but they were soo good, I wasn’t sure what they were going to be like but definitely exceeded my expectations. Has any of you tried them before? If you haven’t and like mushrooms please try them I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Pizza please!

We went to Homeslice for a well deserved pizza after walking for 100 years! This was another place on my list that I’ve wanted to try out for a while and it was a thumbs up from me. So how it works is you either get a slice or a 20” pizza and choose half & half or whole. We did half & half, Rachael got mushroom and I just got a basic but trustee Margherita. I would give it a good 8/10, the dough was thin but not too crispy and the overall taste was goooood. Only thing I would say is because it comes on a board and is quite big I found it got a bit cold but I mean that’s no biggie it tasted good so that’s all that really matters.

Finally to top everything off we ended with a sweet treat of course. Just a touch of ice cream from Amorino. I always get the nocciola (hazelnut) and normally I get the stracciatella (chocolate chip) but I recently tried the dulce de leche which my friend Maria got me on (she’s the dessert queen) and is now up there with my favourite ice cream flavours. What’s your favourite ice cream flavour?

So yeah that completes my day out of eating, I love how this whole post turned out to be all about food but I mean that’s standard for me lol.

Why is it that naturally we find it easier to point out the things we don’t like about ourselves but find it harder to point out the things that we like. Self confidence is something that I’m sure a lot of us struggle with especially nowadays there's so much pressure to have certain things and look a certain way. But what is wrong with how we are?

Do you find yourself comparing yourself to others?

I know I’m definitely guilty of this, whether it be on Instagram or people I know. Like I should be doing that or have a house, be settled down or have X amount of money, but who made up those rules? There is no right or wrong way of doing things, we are all on our own individual journey and this is something I have to keep on reminding myself. Also the more we focus on the things we don’t have we are just wasting time and are forgetting about what we DO have. We are all blessed in different ways and just because you may not have something that someone else has doesn’t mean that you can’t achieve certain goals. You are exactly where you need to be and if you focus on your own personal growth then you are moving forward.

I’ve had periods where I really live inside my head and you know what, it’s just not fun for my mind and myself in general to be honest. I noticed I wasn’t moving forward, like I have goals I want to achieve and things I want to do and a certain way I want to feel but wasn’t getting there. Why? Because I was too busy focusing on what I didn’t have and looking at the life of someone on Instagram. I had to really make a conscious effort to turn those thoughts around. It’s a process but it’s worth it if it means I’m going to feel better in myself. Now I tell myself that if I work hard enough and put in the effort I will get to where I want to be but it all starts with ME! Nothing is going to magically come to me and all the people I look at and compared myself to I’m sure worked soo hard to get to where they wanted to be so why can’t I do the same. I definitely need a rocket up my bum sometimes and that’s ok, these are all life’s lessons. We just need to be kinder to ourselves and embrace our individuality.

“I JUST WANT STRAIGHT HAIR!”

I feel like we all want what we can’t have too, so when I was in school I would straighten my hair nearly every week because I didn’t like my curly hair but now I like it and wish I never killed my curls. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with making changes if it will truly make you happy but as long as you are doing it for YOURSELF only. Also “trends” are constantly changing, one minute thin brows are in and the next it’s all about bushy brows (and yes I went through the thin brow trend and no it was not a good look on me!) I’m a big believer that if you like something and feel confident whether it be an outfit or a hair colour you rock it and don’t care what anyone else says because Tom might not like it but Sarah will love it so you can’t please everyone (I don’t know who Tom and Sarah are, they were the first names that popped in my head lol.)

So this is a reminder that accept you for you and know that you are amazeballs just the way you are. Take what you see on social media with a pinch of salt, that’s just a small portion of our lives it’s not what defines us. Also there is room for everyone in this world including YOU, so if there’s something you want that seems out of reach just go for it if it’s what you really want. If you give your all then you are on your way and yes we may fail but failure is all part of the process. You are enough!

Lots of love,

Daniella x

Do you ever just feel like your mind is full? I know I do and recently I’ve been trying to be really conscious about the thoughts that enter my mind. After all we are in control of what we think. Sometimes life just gets a bit too much, we all have our struggles and problemoooss but it’s really how we handle them and our approach that will determine how we move forward. I think a lot of us think that we have to make drastic changes in order to feel good or be happy but I’ve noticed that it’s really the small changes that will be make a big difference. Being consistent I find is one of my challenges because it’s easy to do something new for a day or two but to keep at it for a long period of time is the real test. I wanted to share some of the things I do that have helped me change my mindset and to be the best version on myself and I know this is a bit deeper than my usual posts, however this is real life and not everything is always sprinkles and roses. We all have bad days and that’s ok!

Setting my intention for the day and writing down or saying to myself 5 things I am grateful for is such a small but powerful tool I use. By doing this it makes me appreciate what I HAVE rather than dwell on what I don’t have. I feel like it’s so easy to worry and stress about things we don’t have or haven’t achieved yet that we forget about the now and what we have in this very moment. Don’t get me wrong, some days I struggle to do this and I might only come up with 1 thing I’m grateful for but that’s ok we all get those bad days where we don’t feel our best and don’t have the motivation to do anything. They say it takes 21 days to form a habit so why not give it a go? I’m not a big reader but a good book that helped me is “The Power of Now.” It taught me that the past is gone and we can’t change that, and the future is unknown so all we have is NOW. A quote that really stood out for me in the book was…

“So do not be concerned with the fruit of your action - just give attention to the action itself. The fruit will come of it’s own accord.”

The reason this stood out for me was because sometimes I’m so focused on the end result that I forget the process and journey of getting there is the most important.

Another thing I’ve started doing recently is walking to work and listening to Jay Shetty’s podcasts. It starts my day off great! (If I tell you the amount of times I’ve tripped up on my walk is a joke lol I try to style it out but some can’t be saved haha.) Anywhooo as I was saying, Jay Shetty’s podcasts have been a good listen for me recently and sometimes I find it hard to listen to podcasts because I get distracted and start thinking about other things. But I really like his ones because they are relatable and he puts things and situations in a different perspective. A couple that I’ve really enjoyed listening to are his interview with Khloe Kardashian where they talk about kindness and 50 Cent’s interview about mindset and success. One thing that stood out for me in the podcast with 50 Cent was when he said “hard work beats talent when talents not work” and it’s so true! No matter how talented you are at something, if you don’t put in the work then nothing is going to come to you. I have to put in ALL the work in order for me to achieve my goals.

Mindset is a journey for me and as long as I try and make a conscious effort to change the way I think and have a more positive and grateful outlook on life then I am hopefully on the right track. I know I’ve waffled on but I wanted to share some realness with you all as I know we all go through challenges. A reminder for you is to keep going even when you feel like giving up! Surround yourself by people who uplift you and make you feel your best. That’s definitely one thing I’ve learnt as I’ve got older, sometimes we have to loose people for our growth. I’ve learnt from experience that when I surround myself with people who are constantly negative or on a different path than me, it would bring my mood down. And that’s not to say that there’s anything wrong with them because we are all on our own individual journey it’s just that in order to grow you have to step away. I’ve learnt that some people we meet are not meant stay for a long time and are just there for a chapter. Choose the energy you want to be around but most importantly BE the energy you want to attract. YOU GOT THIS!!

With love, Daniella XXX