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5 Tips for Slow Living in London | Wellbeing

Tips for Slow Living5 Tips for Slow Living in London

Last year I wrote an article discussing the art of slow living and whether it was possible to do whilst living in a busy city such as London. I talked about the difficulties involved, but also the importance of wellbeing. I simultaneously ran a poll on my Instagram, asking my followers whether they thought it was possible. Most people believed it wasn’t, and as optimistic as I am, I can understand why. So I decided to update my slow living series, and bring you all some tips for slow living in London, because I do honestly believe there is the possibility for us all to bring a little bit of calm and wellbeing to our everyday lives.

5 Tips for Slow Living in London

  • Make time for your mental wellbeing
    • Living in London, a city full of opportunities, it can be easy to just say yes to everything. And before you know it your calendar is heaving with social activities. But it’s important to realise when you can, and should, say no.
  • Turn your phone off/say goodbye to social
    • Social media and messaging apps can cause a lot of stress, whether it’s intentional or not. Try putting aside a few hours everyday, where you switch your phone off, and put your laptop down.
  • Less is more
    • Visiting new restaurant openings, or buying the latest on-trend items can be tempting in a city like London. But it’s not always rewarding. Try doing/buying less, and focusing more on the quality of the experience or item. It will help you appreciate it more, and it will save you some money along the way too.
  • Make more of your evenings 
    • Working 9-5 can be draining, and a lot of people cherish their free time in the evening, so why not make more of it? Light some candles, put your favourite music on, have a bath, make a meal from scratch. All little things that when put together can be incredibly satisfying and relaxing.
  • Don’t compare yourself to others
    • One big underlying problem in most people’s lives is the fear of missing out, or the idea that someone else has a better life than you do. It’s important not to compare yourself to others. After all, the grass isn’t always greener, and the world isn’t going to end if you don’t attend a social event.

If you have any tips of your own, feel free to leave them in the comments.
If you enjoyed my tips for slow living in London, check out more of my wellbeing articles here.

 

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The Christmas Hygge Gift Guide

Hygge Gift GuideI’m all about that hygge lifestyle. Whereas the trend may have died down in the UK, I’ve continued to adopt the concept. I believe in the art of slow living, and I’m always trying to bring a little bit of it into my home and life. I also know that a lot of my readers have a similar outlook. So for my second instalment in my Christmas gift guide series I decided to go with something a little different. Here is ‘The Hygge Gift Guide’, and it’s jam packed full of awesome products to bring some warmth, cosiness and comfort into your Christmas.

The Hygge Gift Guide

It wasn’t easy breaking such an intricate concept into three categories, but I don’t think I did too bad a job, right? A cosy home is the perfect place to start, shortly followed by plenty of comforting food & drink. And last but certainly not least, some lifestyle items to keep you going in and outside of the house. As always, I have placed an emphasis on quality items from a selection of independent stores and makers, as well as some well-known brand names. With this gift guide, you’re bound to impress any hygge fan.

If you enjoyed The Hygge Gift Guide, check out the rest of my Christmas Gift Guide series.

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The Beauty Lover’s Christmas Gift Guide

Beauty Lover's Christmas Gift GuideIt’s that time of the year again, when every other sentence is either “Urgh it’s too soon for Christmas stuff” or “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it’s Christmas already”. Whichever kind of person you are (I’m the latter), you are almost certainly beginning to think about gifts for Christmas. Right? I thought so. And in true Bloomzy tradition, I have decided to write a series of gift guides again this year. First up is ‘The Beauty Lover’s Christmas Gift Guide’, and it’s jam packed full of awesome products that will leave you looking like a pro gift giver.

The Beauty Lover’s Christmas Gift Guide

With several big launches this year, beauty products – in particular gift sets – are great standalone gifts or stocking fillers to put under the tree. I’ve included some of my favourite products from 2017, alongside some of the items I currently have on my own wish list. It’s safe to say you’ll find a variety of high quality brands and price points, from well known-names such as Givenchy and The Ordinary, to independent must-haves such as Etta French and Maya Nije. With this gift guide, you’re bound to impress any beauty lover.

If you enjoyed The Beauty Lover’s Christmas Gift Guide, check out the rest of my Christmas Gift Guide series.

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Christmas Wrapping Guide with Marks and Spencer

Christmas Wrapping GuideChristmas Wrapping Guide with Marks and Spencer

Wrapping has always been an issue for me. I actually dread it every birthday, Christmas etc. Mainly because my best friend makes so much fun of my wrapping skills. I’m not that terrible, but I’m not great either. So I guess over the last few years I’d just given up trying.

So when Marks and Spencer invited me to a Christmas Wrapping event I automatically to yes. Whereas inside I was screaming “please help save my friends and family from poorly wrapped gifts this year”. And save them they did, because I picked up more than a tip or two, and I’ve decided to share them (ain’t I nice) with you below.

Christmas Wrapping Guide Tip 1

Create a gift bag out of wrapping paper, for hard to wrap gifts.

You know the kind of gift. The one with bits sticking out of it, rounded corners, it may even be fragile. Yes they’re also the bane of my Christmas too. Well they were, until Geraldine and Marks & Spencer teamed up to teach me how to make a gift bag out of wrapping paper. This works for literally any kind of gift. And it also means you don’t have to pay extra. Because let’s be honest, we all have a ton of spare wrapping paper lying around at this time of year.  Check out my attempt at a wrapping paper gift bag below, with an awkward soap and lotion set. No bad, ey?

Find out how to create your own with the Marks and Spencer wrapping guide.

Christmas Wrapping Guide Tip 2

Buy gift wrapping sets, to make it look completely effortless.

Following on from my previous comments; don’t you just hate it when you have a load of spare wrapping paper, but you don’t have any matching ribbon, bows etc. Well yes, I do actually have that issue sometimes. But not anymore! Because I have discovered wrapping paper sets. Sets of complimentary paper, ribbons, tags etc. Yes these are actually a thing, and they’re available at M&S. It’s definitely the easiest way to give your friends and family stylishly wrapped presents.

Christmas Wrapping Guide Tip 3

Make it personal.

We all know that a well wrapped gift will get anyones attention, and rightly so. But why not make it personal. After all, we do the same with people’s gifts. Why not go the extra mile and match the wrapping to the person too? My personal style is uber minimalist, and I know that works with some friends. However some of my family/friends like cute packaging, others super seasonal. So this year I’ve decided to match my gifts with their wrapping. Making sure I go the extra mile. You know, for those bonus points from Santa.

Check out more photos from the event, and my attempts at gift wrapping at home below.

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This post is in collaboration with Marks & Spencer however all views, photos and words are my own.
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Flower Arranging with Marks & Spencer

Flower ArrangingFlower Arranging with Marks and Spencer

Flower arranging has always been an enchanting mystery to me. When I was younger my grandmother would always have beautiful bouquets of flowers scattered throughout her house. All of which she had arranged herself. It looked so simple, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t recreate it myself. In more recent years – after moving into my own apartment – the allure of fresh flowers has grown. However without any knowledge of how to arrange flowers, I was at a loss. Enter Marks and Spencer, their flower expert Simon Richards, and a special flower arranging class they set up for an intimate group of bloggers.

Flower Arranging Tip 1: Carnival of Colour

For their stand at Chelsea Flower Show this year, Marks and Spencer created their own carnival of colour. Reflecting on this, Simon’s first tip was all about adding colour to your patio, garden party, bbq, dining table etc. We were shown how to add colourful arrangements to our tables, with flowers such as peonies, sunflowers and more. The great thing about this style of arrangement is that there are no real rules. Pop them into bowls, glasses, onto plates. Scatter them across the table. Basically have your way with them.

Simon Says- have fun with colour, and be spontaneous!

Flower Arranging Tip 2: Roses/Bouquets

Next, Simon gave us tips on how to arrange the perfect hand-tied bouquet, and he did so with everyone’s favourite – the rose. Roses are a classic. No one can turn their noses up at a well groomed bouquet of roses, right? I’d had my eye on the cream and dusky pink roses all evening, so I was very excited for this tutorial. We were shown how to create an even bouquet. Starting with one flower in the middle, hold the stems around 1/3 of the way down with one hand, and gradually add flower-by-flower in a “fanning” technique; slowly rotating them as you go. Afterwards, simply wrap your ribbon/twine around the bouquet – whilst still holding it in the same place – and secure.

You can find some of the roses we used for our arranging here.

Simon Says – fan out/rotate your flowers as your add them to the bunch!

Flower Arranging Tip 3: At Home

Of course what we all want to know is how do we integrate this into our homes. They key thing here is to find a fitting vase. This could be any shape or size, as long as it fits into your interior. That said, different flowers will often look better in different types of vase. Tall, thin vases work better with a minimal amount of flowers. Whereas wider lipped vases look much nicer with large bouquets, and big blooms. I myself prefer a shorter, wider vase, which works with a variety of flowers.

Simon Says – for a contemporary look, choose a short, round vase!

Check out more photos from the event, and my attempts at flower arranging at home below.

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This post is in collaboration with Marks & Spencer however all views, photos and words are my own.

 

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