Person of interest : Megan Ellaby

I found Megan Ellaby like most people through Instagram she reminds me of a modern Carly Simon with a flair for flares (get it), bold colors and cherry print.

I was lucky enough to attend the British Style Collective back in May at the Liverpool one arena I was sat in the second row right next to the stage and she was sat in front of me Megan was gracious, thought-provoking ,polite and stopped for photos,(not with me I'm too socially awkward and painstakingly shy) it was refreshing to see someone with a big following be so genuine
I enjoyed reading her blog post some things Ill never understand as it made me think of things that didn't make sense or add up that id had never really questioned before for example words that are sound the same but have different meanings such as,

Peace/piece

Peace – this is the absence of war, The word also refers more generally to a feeling of contentment, for example, “The woods were very peaceful.”
Piece – spelt this way, the word means a unit or portion of something, such as “a piece of cake”. To “say your piece” means to state your opinion about something, while “giving someone a piece of your mind” means to tell them – usually in anger – exactly what you think of a certain situation.

Stare/stair

These stairs are beautiful; feel free to stare.

These two identical-sounding words both derive from Old English words with Germanic origins.
Stare – the verb “to stare” refers to the act of gazing intently at something. As a noun, it refers to the look itself – for example “a long, cold stare”.
Stair – this refers to a single step, or one of a number of steps, used to connect two different levels, with variants including “staircase” (the complete set of steps), “stairway” (the steps and their surrounding walls), “stairwell” (the shaft occupied by the staircase), “downstairs” (the bottom level) and “upstairs” (the upper level).

Photo Credit: Megan Ellaby

My Anxiety Disorder and How I choose to deal with it

 "If it doesn't challenge you it won't change you"

 When I feel anxious or scared sometimes I'm my own worst enemy and I'M the ONE holding myself back from doing things just because it might seem impossible in that moment, whether it's going on a bus somewhere I've never been before and panicking about the person sitting next to me or talking to people thinking that they're judging me based on my appearance, opinions or intellect,
I used to have anxiety attacks where I would replay certain scenarios over and over again working myself into a panic-induced state and it becomes physically and emotionally exhausting even when I would try to act confident my anxiety was slowly decaying my seemingly calm exterior and all I wanted to do was scream.

 Techniques that work for me  

Talking a bath - The world can wait until I've tried to wash away some of the anxiety/stress 
Making a playlist or writing on my blog - It helps to shift my focus into something positive whether I'm writing about a new concealer or listening to Clannad.
Try my best -not great not perfect but my best, I used to think you needed perfection to succeed (It's not possible)
Good nights sleep - I used to walk around my bedroom until 3am with the constant looming fear of what tomorrow would bring which made my brain go into anxiety overload turning off my devices and getting the right amount of rest significantly reduce the amount of anxiety I felt as I would look in the mirror and see that I looked healthier and gave me a big confidence boost 
Social media - there are now millions of platforms where I can talk to people, hear their stories, know what the symptoms are, and how to get help
Laughing - sometimes you have to stare fear in the face and laugh have the faith in yourself to know that you're going to be okay even if you don't feel it


Beth x

Fortune Cookie Wisdom

We Cannot change the direction of the wind 

but we can adjust our sales