Things I Love Doing To Clear My Head

When your body and mind are constantly on the go, it can be important to stop and take a breather once in a while. There are a number of things that help lift my mood, relax my mind and make me reflect on the little things that are often the most important after all. I hope you all enjoy this post and hopefully it will give you a little lift if you're feeling under the weather :)

1. Woodland Walks
I love going for random picnics to the woods! We usually bring a flask of tea and a packet of biscuits and the access to wifi gets left at home so I have no choice but to look around at how amazing everything is! It's really nice to just take time out with the most important people in life and go somewhere out of the way to breathe. Here are a few pictures of me at the duck pond in Goatenbridge recently with my mum. However, I also love going to Killballyboy woods! These type of trips always remind me of primary school tours and nature walks.

2. Let's Go To The Beach
The beach is another place I love, but I actually prefer the beach at night compared to during the day. There is something really calming about the vastness of the ocean and how the waves are still crashing when everyone else goes home to sleep. As cheesy as it sounds, I always feel like staring at the horizon makes you realise how small your worries are in the grand scheme of things.The beach is one of the few places where you can sit in admiration for hours and just say nothing. Did anyone have that book when they were little called The Big Big Sea? I always think of it whenever I'm there. The beach I usually go to is Clonea, but since I can't drive yet I always need a lift to get there so I don't go as often as I would like. When I can drive, I feel the beach at night will become a very healthy habit!

3. Always Time For Tea
Whether it's staying at home, going to a busy, buzzing cafe, or down the road to a friend's house, sitting down with someone I care about and a cup of tea always makes me feel better. Does anyone else feel like they have certain cafes they go to with certain people? It constantly varies, but no matter where the location is, I know a good laugh will always follow!

4. Escaping To Music
I'm rarely walking around the house in silence because I always need music to give me an energy boost. I absolutely love listening to music, I even put earphones in when I'm making food, emptying the dishwasher, putting make-up on, or writing because I feel like it's time out for myself to think about things. I love listening to music while exercising too and used to listen to my iPod on the trampoline until I sprained my ankle and traumatised myself for life! My (apparently not-so) trusty, old iPod also hasn't been working recently, so I think after years of constantly being on the go it has decided it can't go on any longer :( While I'm on the topic can I also just say, I really can't relate to those people who go on car journeys in silence... like, what you at?

5. Dress Up, Show Up
I know this one may sound strange, but there is nothing worse than moping around in your pyjamas! Yes, of course I do have pyjama days, but I always feel crap and would much rather mope around in a nice skirt with my hair perfect (although I must admit, sometimes a bra can be pushing it a bit...) If somethings getting you down and you feel you have no control over your situation, you do because you have control over your appearance and things won't seem so bad when you decide to slay everyday! It's always worth the effort.

Rant Of The Week: It's Nice To Be Nice

In a world where so many things are possible and man has supposedly been to the moon, why do so many people still struggle to use basic manners? Why is a smile perfected in a social media selfie but not in person? When did saying 'please,' 'thank you' and smiling become such a huge effort? It's no surprise that one simple smile, even from a stranger, can lift your whole day and a frown can drag down your mood, they have huge effects on people around you, and those frowns aren't fun.

On a recent trip to a shop I noticed this definitely was the case, but I had noticed it in other places before too. A friendly man served me and when he needed help from someone else she seemed less than impressed. Even though I was delayed at the till as the man waited for assistance, I was a lot happier there chatting to him than I was leaving after staring at a miserable face that didn't even try to smile, say hello and made it completely obvious that she didn't want to be there. The help he got sure made the queue move quicker but it also brought down the moods of everyone waiting because one persons negative energy hit us all. All of a sudden, I wasn't looking forward to eating my purchases anymore and the hunger was taken over by annoyance. Why can't people just be nice?

Weeks before this I had witnessed a woman rudely raising her voice to a sales assistant because she couldn't help her. This wasn't the sales assistants fault, if she isn't allowed to do something without the mangers help because it's a shop rule, she shouldn't have to be humiliated in front of a line of people and reduced to the point of tears. She's there to pay her bills, not to purposely be out to get you.

I know people can be having a bad day, but isn't there a point where being in a bad mood around others just turns into pure ignorance? Yes, I believe so. You may be annoyed about a situation or just in a bad mood but try not to let it have a knock on effect on people who may be having a bad enough day already. I get really annoyed when I meet people who seem to lack basic manners. Did you not learn those before anything else? Do you not realise you could be hurting someone who is fighting a battle you know nothing about? I once smiled at an older lady I had never met and she stopped me to tell me how it made her day because nobody had taken the time to smile at her yet on that particular day. I think that just proves the power behind a single smile.

Bad moods don't make bad people, but a bad attitude can often mask the good in you. I'm not saying you need to buy flowers for every person you meet, but it wouldn't hurt you to stop and smell the roses once in a while! Always remember, it's nice to be nice :)

Where Have I Been?!

Heyyyyyy everybody!

You may or may not have noticed (but I hope you did) that I have been a little bit quieter on social media lately and not annoying you every two minutes. When I say quieter I really mean I didn't get around to making a YouTube video or doing my Rant Of The Week! Sincere apologies, plz don't hate me xo Anyway, I've decided to fill you all in on where I've been and what I've been up to!

Firstly, I didn't get around to doing my Rant Of The Week simply because I had nothing to rant about, no news is good news! It was my nan's birthday on Sunday so for any of you who know my nan or have seen my Snapchats and pictures of her you will understand that the day was spent in fits of giggles, drinking too much tea, and eating too much cake! It's what the two of us do best! She came around for a delicious lamb roast dinner and we opened a bottle of West Coast Cooler Rose (I asked her if she was langers but she had no idea what I was on about, probs because she actually was langers lol #madscone) I had to give my best friend my full attention on her birthday and there was no time to start writing a blog post incase anyone tried to eat my roast potatoes when I wasn't looking... priorities....

Happy Birthday again Nan! Look how cute she is...

I have also been spending time on adventures with my mum, she showed me a local duckpond which I never knew existed and it was super cute to walk around! We had cappucinos there and slushies on a walk we went on yesterday! Our diets are going great, if you were wondering...

My sister was also home from Dublin and I help my dad out in his new furniture upcycling shop The Crafty Fox during the week! I can now use chalk paint and know how to put on wax, and I spend a lot of time painting sayings on signs etc! Yes, I guess you could say I'm an expert now :P Check out my Dad's shop if you love that cute and quirky shabby chic look :) I personally love it! Myself and my brother headed along to a little craft fair with him recently too, so that was great fun and something new :) 

So really if you're wondering where I've been, you can blame my family :P I really want to start getting into Snapchat more and will have a new YouTube video up soon, so keep an eye out, I'll be annoying you all again very soon :) In the meantime, be sure to follow me on all my social media accounts :)

• Facebook
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Youtube
• Snapchat - fenellafoxy

 Also, how exciting is it that I'm now thefoxfiles.ie... I'm so fancyyyy! How exciting :D

Hope you're all having a lovely week, talk soon! xx

The Mystery Of The Girls' Bathroom

Check out my latest video because I'm sure many of you can relate :) Don't forget to subscribe!:)

Review: I'm In W7 Heaven!

Hey gals!

W7 kindly sent me some products recently to review so I was delighted when they arrived and couldn't wait to try them and let you know how I got on :)

The first thing that struck me about the four products was the packaging. Straight away the products looked fun and inviting, which I loved. The Honolulu Bronzer was in a beautiful little pink box which I thought was a fun and quirky twist. The mascara was also very appealing in a bright yellow packaging. I loved the way the Night Glow Highlighter looked like nail varnish and the dropper on the foundation bottle was something I had never used before so I couldn't wait to try it out.

I have tested out all of these products so will run through them now...

Genius Feather Light Foundation
I love the foundation bottle and the foundation itself. It really is feather light like it says so I found it had a buildable coverage which is lovely for everyday, especially as I don't like a really thick layer of foundation during the day. The colour was a bit too dark for my natural skin tone but it's perfect for when I have tan on which is quite a lot and since I can build up the coverage I could also wear it on a night out. I am very pale but when I applied the Honolulu bronzer to my neck I realised I could get away with wearing it without tan too. As it is so light I would recommend carrying it in your handbag for touch ups throughout the day :)

Night Glow Highlight and Illuminate
This product is so fab, I fell in love with it! It is easy to apply and has just the perfect amount of highlight without going OTT. It has a beautiful creamy texture and blends in so evenly. To be honest, sometimes I fear putting on highlighter but this was so simple and will definitely gain a regular spot in my handbag!

Honolulu Bronzer
The only thing I can say about this bronzer is wow! Maybe it's just me but I find bronzers can be quite annoying because half the time they never really show up that much unless I keep applying it for ages so my face always looks ghostly white compared to my body. I need quite a strong bronzer to match my face to my body when I have tan on. However, the first thing I noticed about this bronzer was how pigmented it is so it will definitely be my go to bronzer in future which is also great because of the small, handy packaging. I only needed one layer and the job was done, quick and easy! It also came with a handy little brush in the box and the cute box was giving super fun Hawaiin vibes so I'm now dreaming of summer!

Lashtastic False Liquid Lashes Mascara
This mascara in 'blackest black' is meant to give the idea of 'false liquid lashes' and I have to say it did give my lashes a lot of length. I hate mascaras that clump together and go overboard so I loved this one because it doesn't do that. It is so nice and doesn't feel heavy or look spidery. I have been using it everyday since receiving it :)

Wearing all of the products above :)

I have been using these products a lot and so far I am loving them! I would definitely recommend them and we all know how affordable W7 are :) My make-up bag really relies on this brand :)

I was sent these products to review on my blog and did not purchase them myself so thanks to the lovely people at W7 for sending them to me and I hope you all enjoyed the review xx 

Rant Of The Week: Surviving The Leaving Cert Orals

I was just scrolling through social media earlier on as usual when I realised that people were stressing about the Leaving Cert Orals that start tomorrow. All I can say is rather you than me, but not because of the actual Orals, mainly because of the hype and build up to it. I did my Leaving Cert two years ago and I'm gonna be honest here and tell you that if I could sit through another forty minute Irish class or the Irish Oral again, I would choose the Oral. The same applies with French. I can promise you the Oral is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, the whole hype around the Leaving Cert is really exaggerated a lot.

Believe it or not, life does go on after exams. The sun keeps on shining (occasionally, hello, Ireland), that boy you're obsessing over still won't text you back, and your mum will still have you emptying the dishwasher when you get home. I used to dread French everyday because one person got chosen randomly each day to talk in French in front of the whole class while we all waited for the contents of the egg timer to come to an end. Yes future Loreto girls, the egg timer is not just a myth, it was a very real moment in your teenage years and one that still gives me nightmares years later. I hope that egg timer gets chucked out of a window to be honest, not that I hold grudges or anything :P I also had the same fear going into Irish class because I spent the whole forty minutes with my heart racing because I hadn't a single clue what my teacher was saying, I often wondered, how can we learn the language if you won't translate what you're saying? It got to the stage where the fear faded and pure frustration about being completely out of the language loop took over so I gave up completely and used to spend the class staring out of the window thinking about what I was going to wear out on Saturday night.

Despite this, the Orals still came as much as I did not want them to. The day arrived, and the hour, and the minute waiting outside the room scanning your notes one last time, and the second when you walk into the room and see your new friend staring at you. Alright mate, thanks for getting me out of double maths, I bloody hate algebra! What I'm saying is - If I got through them then so can you! I can't even emphasise how much I was winging the whole exam. In the moment some words will just flow, you will definitely know something, and the time goes quicker than our dreaded egg timer ever did. You don't have a whole room full of people staring at you or the teacher that is expecting you to know something after six years of teaching you how to speak a completely different language. It is literally you and some random person who doesn't know you and is probably thinking about their own kids Oral exams or what they're going to have for dinner later. And hey, if you're anything like me hopefully they will think you're completely thick and feel sorry for you!

Don't let the panic take over your life! Despite what so many people think, it really isn't the end of the world. I dreaded it just like you are now, I had the emotional breakdowns and the racing heart on the drive into school that morning. Have a good cry if necessary, a long hot bath, and a cup of tea. I believe in you, and just remember if worst comes to worst... Go tobann, thit Una ar an urlar, or something like that... Good old Una, saving the day as usual...

Best of luck everyone, you'll fly it! What's 'Yolo' in Irish?! xx

My First Q&A!