Happiest Place on Earth | Travel

“Reach out and find your happily ever after” 

In November I went on a magical holiday with my aunties that we had been waiting for, for about two years. I was debating whether to go into depth about what we did each day but it tends to blend into one so I decided to do it per park.

For those who do not know Disney itself has four separate parks: Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot. We also spent a couple of days over in Universal which has two parks: Universal and Islands of Adventure.

Magic Kingdom 

Magic Kingdom is truly the most magical place on earth, walking down main street smelling all the smells, the food oh my god the food and of course the rides. Since we went in November there was christmas decorations everywhere! I have so many happy memories in Magic Kingdom it truly is the happiest place on earth.  
Nothing feels more Disney than Magic Kingdom, walking in and seeing the castle for the first time almost reduced me to tears. Due to it being the Christmas season Elsa and the cast of Frozen performed a castle light up show where else "snowafies" the castle and just makes it extra beautiful!
I have so many memories in this park, from being soaked on Aladdin's magic carpets to being in the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki room. This is a staple park to attend and it truly is incredible.

Animal Kingdom

I've never been a big zoo fan so I didn't know what to expect with Animal Kingdom but wow just wow. As you walk in the park there is little coves is the only way I could describe it with all types of birds and animals in there just living their lives, we got to experience the safari twice once in the morning and once in the early afternoon. I have no words to explain how incredible this was, to be in the middle of a theme park one minute then to be in a car next to some beautiful animals it was just mental.
I can't talk about Animal Kingdom without mentioning Pandora. I remember going to the IMAX cinema to see Avatar and loving it cause it was so colourful well I tell you nighttime in Pandora is another level of insane. Everything lights up, I mean everything from the plants to the floor. Lins managed to get us two fastpasses for Flight of Passage so we didn't have to wait 3 hours but after being on it I might of waited 3 hours its easily the best ride Disney has ever done.

Hollywood studios

My all time favourite park, whether its Florida or Paris wherever Tower of Terror is I shall be attending. I love Hollywood Studios in my opinion it has the best rides, the best themeing and just is the best. Overall the park has a very 1920's vibe to me I could be completely wrong could be the 50's or something but to me it feels very retro when you first enter the park and as you slowly make your way through the park you are transported at lightspeed to a Galaxy Far Far away.
I truly have no words to describe my love for Batu Galaxy's Edge, holy fresh hell I was blown away. We just missed the opening of the new ride but I got to ride Smugglers Run twice and wow I flew the Falcon!!!!! The themeing in this part of the park is out of this world you truly feel like you've landed in another planet from the Blackspire Trading Post section to seeing the Falcon I was lost for words. When Galaxy's Edge was first announced I dreamed of attending so to be walking around chatting to cast members about which planets they've moved from and did I mention I flew the Falcon!
I can't wait to go back to Florida but specifically to go back to Galaxy's edge. Toy Story land is amazing too but I feel its just too small they need to expand it beyond three rides and and a quick service.

Epcot

Going into this trip I knew Epcot wasn't going to be my favourite park, I wasn't that bothered about world showcase and there is only a couple of rides but I came away from this trip happy I got to be there. I am truly obsessed with the smells in Soarin' I wish I could bottle them up and keep them forever. I did get to try some delicious food in Epcot as the food and wine festival was ongoing whilst we were there. My favourite part about Epcot was I got to meet some really cool characters, I have never been super excited about meeting characters apart from when I met Darth Vader in Paris but when I found out that Wreck it Ralph and Vanelope were doing meets in Epcot I was hyped! When I first went Ralph wasnt there and I was so sad but I went a second time and the man himself was there, he loved my ears thanks to Lauren at TangledLaurenEars for sending me those.

I had such a good time in Florida, it was a dream trip for me. My family took me in 2005 but I was just a wee 8 year old so don't have much memory of that trip apart from being in SeaWorld (I know sorry Blackfish hadn't came out then we didn't know) and it was Halloween season so there was cast members running up and down the stairs singing who wants candy. However, I have made so many memories on this trip I can't wait to go back a thousand times.

I also visited Universal for two days and will be uploading that post very soon!

Sooo... who's coming to Florida with me ASAP?!

2019 Round-Up | 2020 Goals

I am truly shocked that another year has passed feels like yesterday I was leaving Leeds. I wanted to do a little look back upon what I have done and achieved since leaving Uni. Graduating with a 2:1 was amazing but I was left with the overall dread of what do I do now? what was it all for? was it worth it?

The thought of moving back home was daunting, I didn't know what to expect losing that freedom and going back to living under my parents roof but it's been totally fine, enjoyable actually. Since I work full time and basically spend the majority of my time out of the house it doesn't really feel like I've lost my "freedom". Now just under 2 years on and it's still so nice to be living back at the coast.

I felt a little lost when I first came back, I knew I wanted to be a photographer but I just didn't quite know how to get there. Although I did a Film and TV Studies degree I knew that wasn't my path anymore so I was driving away from my friends I have lived with for 2 years and the house that I loved, Chapel Lane baby we all miss you, it was just a lot.

However, a year on and it's totally Gucci. I wanted to give you a little update about what I've been doing with my life since I haven't really been blogging or posting on my personal instagram apart from stories of Amy's dog.

I have no idea where to start so let's just begin.


Job

So when I first moved home my relationship with work-life was rough, I was working two jobs one in retail and one in health care. Life without student finance is just hard but it was a great way to fill my days. I am a person who needs to be doing something, I can't imagine anything worse than sitting in bed all day on my own.

In October I finally secured a full time job, 35 hours a week earning enough to pay board, buy what I want and to be able to fund my photography business I have met so many amazing, funny people and it was just a laugh. Of course it's not my dream job but it doesn't make me miserable and that's all I care about.

Fast forward to October and I landed an image retouching job for a high-end fashion brand. It's not my perfect dream job but it's a start. I am really enjoying it I work more hours for more money but overall I have more work satisfaction. I'm praying I get to stay at this job for a good few years.

Friends & Family

I have to say I am truly blessed with the most amazing friends and family in the world. 2018 was so hard for all of us we lost some really important and incredible people last year but we all got through it together. I spend the majority of my time when not at work with my friends. I have gone down to Leeds a couple of times to see my uni pals and last winter I went down to Norwich to spend some time with Maddy, this year she came up to Newcastle and I think we've accidently created a tradition. I don't see my uni friends or my Vamps friends i.e Molly. As much as I would like but it's so much harder when you don't like 10 minutes away.

Lets all go on one big holiday? Cottage anyone?

Photography

I have been working really hard at my photography, when I first moved back up north I spent every waking moment I possibly could focusing on my photography work to a point where I was exhausting myself so I took a step back. Photography isn't as black and white as taking some pictures behind the scenes, I am messaging models, planning shoots, blogging, researching, learning new editing and shooting techniques, practising my editing, researching marketing techniques and building a website. Put that all on top of trying to be a functioning member of society it was just a lot for my brain to take in.
In 2019 I feel like my skill level has jumped mountains every new shoot I do I surprise myself  and as more and more people reach out to shoot I just feel this dream job might actually become a reality. Let's hope it doesn't crash and burn in 2020.

Mental Health

Okay its been rough but overall I have came a thousand miles even since leaving uni, yes I still have anxiety issues and I have the odd panic attack here and there but in all honestly I am a different person.
Since leaving uni I have done things I never imagined I'd be able to do i.e going to the cinema on my own, learning to drive, meeting models and so much more.
My mental health has came so far that sometimes even I forget I have anxiety issues, yes certain places or situations freak me out but it's hard to believe at one point I struggled to even leave the house.
Don't know about you but I am super proud of myself!

Life
This year in my life I have done a lot of things, 365 days is a long time lots can happen. I did some really fun things this year, from visiting Rome with my Dad, Florida with my aunties, London with Molly and Maddy visiting from Norwich. That being said I have loved all the little things, cinema dates, meals out, walks along the beach just hanging out watching horror films they are some of my favourite memories of 2019.

2020 Goals

I don't let myself make resolutions because I never ever stick to them, the classic "eat less chocolate" well I don't think i'm capable of doing that. However, every year I try and set myself little achievable goals that I hope to achieve by the end of the year.
- Pass my driving test
- Write more blog posts
-  See friends who live far away more
- Read more
& finally I want to continue to improve my mental health.


Here is a collection of photos from my 2018

Photography | 2019

Another year is coming to an end, I feel like I have blinked and Christmas is here. 2018 was a rough year for a lot of people, myself included but we have all made it to the end of 2019 and I sincerely hope it was better for everyone.
This year was a big one for me so let me "brag" for a sec. I landed a job in my dream industry, I finally went on a trip to Florida spending 2 weeks exploring Walt Disney World and Universal (very magical), I learnt to drive this year I may not have passed yet but I know how to drive just not legally yet, I also made some amazing new friends this year and rekindled old friendships. As you have guessed I have also been doing some photography work this year. I purchased a 50mm lens and have been slowly getting used to using it.
I am so proud of all my friends this year they have done some amazing things from landing great jobs, moving into their own homes, becoming a fully qualified teacher, working on TV sets to completing their masters, it's been magical for us all with lots of up and downs along the way.

I wanted to do something I try and do every year which is break down and show the photography I have done this year. I usually breakdown the months but I wanted to just do a showcase post displaying my favourite images from this year. I hope you enjoy!

Here's to 2020 as Taylor Swift once said "it's the end of a decade but the start of an age"

 As always I would like to thank all the wonderful beautiful models that I have worked with this year, I hope to photograph your beautiful faces again next year!


Photography | 2018
Photography | 2017
Photography | 2016
Photography | 2015