When I first started blogging, it was for a different reason as to why I blog now. Back then, it was about sharing my favourite nail varnishes and outfit photos just like my friends and other bloggers were. Now, it more of a form of expression for me.
I've always been a writer; for as long as I can remember, I've enjoyed creative writing and anything to do with words. Blogging, for me, was a great way to write in my own style, while still expressing myself.

When it came to 2015 (two years after my blog began), I decided that I, while I wanted to continue expressing myself, I wanted to step up a little bit with my blog and take it out of that ditch that it was stuck in where, the only people that read it were my friends and family and, deep down, they were the only people that I wanted to read it at that moment. The name of my blog was my childhood nickname and it definitely didn't completely settle with me from the start. It was too personal and too much of an 'inside joke' kind of thing. So I remember, one summer's day, sitting on the floor with a huge piece of paper, writing down possible names for my blog. My mum and dad sat beside me, thinking up different names and, eventually, I settled with The Rose Glow. While The Rose Glow remained neutral and not completely attached to me, it still had small personal touches in it - one is that, since a child, my favourite flowers have been roses.

My blog was put on standby for pretty much over a year as I took on things like mental health issues, a new relationship, and exams at college. When I came back to my blog, I was somewhat shocked that while I was gone, there seemed to be an influx of bloggers. And, one thing that did strike me was the way mental health was being openly talked about all over the place.

The blogging world has expanded big time! When I started in 2013, there were nowhere near as many people as there is now. Posts were often extremely original, photos were of you in your back garden with a new hat on, and there was no such thing as a multi-camera iPhone. Marble was off the block, copper still remained on pipes, and only a select amount of people had their own domain. Oh and, back then, in the sweet 'old' days, no one had really heard of algorithm, DA, SEO, or what-not. Everyone was sharing bits about themselves in their own little corners of the internet and it felt so much more mellow than now.



I hate to admit, but the blogging world is tough now. There's a lot of us and, tragically, not an infinite amount of creativity to go around; Blog names are clashing in similarity, individuality is weakening, and unfortunately, heaps of people are swallowed in the sea of tweets and pictures. To me, it's a game of survival of the fittest.

I'm sorry, I really am, but if I see one more post about the Glossier what-ever-it-is range, I might just down a bottle of Vodka. While these posts are brilliant, insightful, and beneficial for your audience and portfolio, they aren't the posts that make us stand out. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not shy of the whole '[Insert Month Name Here] Favourites' or the 'Current Wishlist', because, by gosh - we aren't all creative gods and goddesses with ideas pouring out of our ears and, as I said previously, my blog grew as a platform for expression, and will remain that way.


Here's the thing, when I found my own style and grew up a bit more, I started to feel as though bringing my blog into a balanced level of personal expression wouldn't be so bad after all. I feel it's the best way to separate myself from the repetitive posts and become more individual. I'm inspired by bloggers such as Lily Ashton, Natalie Leanne, Social Spying and more, a bunch of bloggers that seem to have a perfect balance between information/tips/expression and personal touches. Creativity is always in my heart with blogging. It was important for me to establish my own style of photography or 'theme' instead of just pretending to love flat lays (which, by the way, are so difficult to do). I'd rather write posts that are going to catch people's eyes, as opposed to posts that people have read many times before. Understandably, these posts are always different from each other, but they still seem to be less personal and expressive.

At the moment, I'm laying in bed at night and collecting my thoughts. I'm going to let myself sit down and spill my brains out onto the keyboard, I'm going to work at finding my balance between posts that people love to see and posts that I want to write. I will let you know my favourites of the month, and I'll let you know my goals, or my blog strategies, but I will also let you know how I'm feeling. I am going to express myself, like I wanted to from the start, in a way that's comfortable to me.

We're all unique humans for our own qualities and traits but, I do feel that, when it comes to blogging, there's a bit too much 'hopping on a bandwagon'. I'm going to showcase my own traits and qualities in the hopes that I can succeed as not just a unique human, but a unique blogger.

I have visited Edinburgh more times than I can remember - honestly, I probably couldn't count it on my fingers and toes. This past weekend, Jamie and I took the train up there for my birthday. Unfortunately, I was struck down with a pretty bad cold on the days leading up to our departure, so I didn't have much desire to go running around and drinking fancy alcoholic drinks this time around, meaning our trip wasn't quite as thrilling as usual. Nevertheless, we still ate some amazing food and drink and I decided that this time around, instead of doing ANOTHER blog post about an annual trip to Edinburgh, I'd mix it up and share my favourite places to eat and drink.

Obviously, despite visiting Edinburgh many times, I haven't tried every single food place so, if you have any bursting recommendations, do let me know!

Also, it's worth mentioning that I do have a preference for the New Town, so the large majority of these restaurants are situated very centrally in the New Town.

> BARS <

TIGERLILY - This super glamorous restaurant and hotel comes with a skilled team of cocktail makers. I've always meant to grab food in this place because, from what I've seen, it looks pretty good, but I've just never found the right situation. So, I've only ever tried the drinks but they have all been pretty awesome. On our trip last year, a mixologist quizzed me for a few minutes then made up my perfect cocktail - he listened to every detail and really seemed to thrive from the creativity of it; it was a fab experience.

BADGER & CO - Coming from someone who doesn't like the taste of Gin (yes, that's right, I'm not yet in the 21st century), popping this bar in the mix is pretty special giving the fact that, at the time of our visit in 2017, the drinks menu was mainly made up of gin-based drinks. Rather surprisingly, I enjoyed the drink and the atmosphere was so mellow. The tennis was playing, the sun was shining, and classic songs were playing.

THE DOME - C'mon, you must have heard of this place?! A pretty famous figure in the Edinburgh books, this STUNNING building sits loud and proud towards the East end of George Street. The majority of people that have visited Edinburgh have at least given this place a glance and I 100% recommend that you head in for a tipple, mainly just to have a look inside, especially if you're visiting at Christmas time.

LE MONDE - On the same kind of shelf as Tigerlily, this Restaurant and Hotel comes with just as much glitz and glamour but, this time, with a bit more of a night-life feel. Again, with wonderful cocktails and talented mixologists, there's always great music and, as far as I've heard, some very fun events.


> CAFES <

WELLINGTON COFFEE - Jamie and I popped in to this tiny little coffee house for a scone and a cup of tea in the middle of the day. The interior design was cute and inspiring - I loved the way people were coming in and out that were clearly regulars, it gave a great sense of community.

THE MILKMAN - The answer to your question of 'Where do you get that amazing looking cinnamon bun from in the image above?' lies right here. I grabbed that not-so-little sweetheart in the most adorable coffee house that I think Edinburgh has. My number one cafe position goes to The Milkman. A tiny little coffee house situated just over Waverly Bridge, on the border between Old and New Town (but formally classed as Old Town). The cute music, lovely staff and authentic interior: it's worth a breakfast visit.

WATERSTONE'S CAFE - Quite a random one but, the views from this calm cafe is brilliant! If you can bag a window seat, there are lovely views of The Castle. Also, the Waterstone's 'Cream Tea' offer is definitely worth it.

BURR + CO - Just across the road from The Dome, is this small coffee house has a bit more of a luxurious feel. From home cooked, wholesome food, indulgent cakes, healthy smoothies to seasonal drinks. We chose this place for breakfast; the bacon and cheese toasted bagel, and the sausage and cheese bagel. I'm actually a little surprised that I didn't know about this place, nor had seen it on Trip Advisor.

MARY'S MILK BAR - I've only actually been here once or twice, simply because it's often closed on a Monday, which is the day that I seem to always be in Edinburgh. Anyhow, if you want to tease yourself, get yourself following them on Instagram to see all of the amazing unusual ice cream concoctions. I can't even describe how many times I've scrolled past one of their images and daydreamed about eating 'Hot Cross Bun' or 'Tea and Jam' ice cream. I remember one time I visited for a hot chocolate - the flavour was orange and cinnamon which was so good that I bought a bag to take home.




> RESTAURANTS <

GUSTO - To be completely honest, on our visit to Gusto this time around, we got pretty bad service that really shocked us. Despite this, I couldn't leave it out of this list because the food really is wonderful. Delicious Italian food, definitely on the pricey side, with a great downtown-new-york vibe.

CAFE ANDALUZ  - If you know me, or follow me on Insta Stories, you'll know that I adore Tapas and Paella. This Spanish restaurant is basically an expensive but unique version of the ever-disappearing La Tasca. I mean, 3 words: Paella, with, cheese. WOW. Something I never thought I'd love so much in my life. Every time I think of this place, I have that sweet, sweet memory.

ANGELS WITH BAGPIPES - I think this is the only Old Town location on this list. I visited here a few years back for an al a carte meal. Pretty pricey, but pretty worth it.

JAMIE'S ITALIAN - I know, it's a chain, and you might have one in your town, but the Edinburgh restaurant is stunning. It's situated in the beautiful Assembly Rooms with big, tall ceilings. You may or may not already know that the food there is equally as delicious.

YO!SUSHI - Again, this is a chain restaurant all across the UK but, similar to the Waterstone's Cafe, this place is worth visiting even just for the views. The Princes Street branch was the location of the first Yo!Sushi I ever tried and, luckily for us, we have been placed in window seats every time. And, even luckier, on beautiful sunny days. The castle view is amazing and great for watching the people busy around Princes Street.

THE HUXLEY - I'm desperate to try the evening food at this grand Scottish restaurant because, upon our visit last year, we visited for Breakfast and thoroughly enjoyed it. You can see our Huxley breakfast in the image above; I chose pancakes with a super packed berry smoothie. It is a little on the expensive side, but definitely worth a treat.

I've been pretty good this year, I must say. I have managed to dip in and out of some habits but others just completely not stuck to. Let's be honest, in my ever desire for my own picture of a 'perfect life', I would really like to read this post back in a few months time and think 'pffttt, easy'. I don't doubt many people will read this post and think 'those habits are surreal - you'll never manage to achieve such vague things' because, partly, they're right, having no specific number goal does make things feel less easy but, in this case, these are habits that I want to introduce into my life - that means no pressure on the amount or frequency, just something where I can look back in a few weeks, months, or years, and think 'yeah, I do that every so often and that alone makes me happier'. Veering off topic slightly and into a completely different kettle of fish: you don't have to reach the goal to be happy.

Anyhow, on a much more positive note, there are some things that I have definitely put into my daily routine lately that have me feeling pretty chuffed. These are:

HABITS THAT I'M BOSSING

APPLYING BIO OIL - Hear me out; while you may think that something as idle as rubbing some oil on your hips after a shower is pretty high on the easy-spectrum, for me it has always been a ritual that has just never stuck. And, to be honest, the reason why I think it has stuck over the past few months is because I am at a very low level of body confidence, especially with a bikini beach holiday lined up, and I simply started applying Bio Oil in the hopes that my stretch marks would begin to fade and, as I'm only getting older, hopefully, prevent any more from appearing. But now, I've learnt to love the smell of it and, while I'm not completely positive that it does work so amazingly, it does give me that little sense of accomplishment.

USING FOOT CREAM - I promise this is the last moisturising related habit, but when you have had a cream ready and waiting to be used for months and months and finally, you stick it in your daily routine, there's a beautiful feeling of relief. This for me was The Body Shop Peppermint foot cream which I am going to talk about more in another blog post but, for now, I'm just here to say that I'm pretty darn delighted that I'm finally taking care of my feet.

USING MY PLANNER - I remember years and years ago getting a bit of an obsession with watching Filofax/Planner videos and desiring to have one of those gorgeous planners that everyone else had. I was on the edge of buying a Filofax (which, if you don't know, are pretty expensive) but I made the very wise decision to stay put and try out a bog-standard planner first. I picked up a fairy average on and it was only after about 3 weeks that, not only had I stopped using it after the novelty had worn off, but it had simply been lost. Understandably, I didn't buy a Filofax. A looong time later, now in the present, I am flourishing (finally) with my Dot Creates planner. I got this one for Christmas and decided to start it on the 1st of January and I can safely say that if I don't have time to use it every day (which I generally do) then I certainly dedicate the time to update it once a week. I don't know whether I've stuck with this planner because of the quality of it, but whatever it's doing, it's doing it right.


HABITS TO GET INTO

DRINK MORE - Are you sick of it yet? Reading my blog and seeing that I want to drink more liquids. Good - cus you should be. And frankly, I should be too. After an illness that kicked me up the backside at the start of January, I had about 2-3 weeks where I was in the perfect habit of drinking at least a litre of water a day which, for me, is fantastic. Now, in March, I seem to be heading right back to where I started. I definitely don't want to see the consequences of not drinking enough liquids again, so I am going to have to start being more motivated to get it done.

DON'T LET LONELINESS OWN ME - In terms of how habits go, this one is a bit of a strange one but, as someone who is currently going through a chapter of unemployment and spending a lot of the time of my days on my own, it can be quite enveloping and certainly has its effects on my mental health. I've always struggled to describe to my family and friends that 'get up and go out for a walk' or 'watch a film with a hot chocolate' isn't so easy-peasy when loneliness gets a hold of you. Being lonely might just sound like something pretty simple but it's actually a complex concoction of fatigue, lack of motivation, and anxiety. Over the next few months, however, I would like to start grabbing my loneliness by the horns and not let it stop me from filling my days doing the things that I love. This does include walking and watching films, etc. It's probably one of the most difficult habits to get into my routine, but I'd really like to introduce it.

DAILY REFLECTION - I would love to be the kind of person that sits down every evening and, after taking a lovely deep breath, writes down exactly what they've enjoyed that day, what they're grateful for, and what could be improved on. It's just such a desirable well-being activity but, the truth has it, when I get into bed at night, I'm asleep before you can even say 'reflection'.

DRAWING - A lot of you may know that I am a keen artist (my partner and I have our own Etsy Shop here) and, while recently I've been pinning quite a few art pieces on Pinterest and painting pieces to be sold on, I haven't really sat down and had a doodle, which is exactly where my artistic talents spawned from as a child. I've recently come to the realisation that art is a form of mindfulness and a fantastic way to release emotions so I really do plan on grabbing a pen and paper next time I'm full of thought and drawing whatever comes to mind.

HOW I PLAN TO GET INTO THESE HABITS

As I explained, there are many factors that stop me from taking on a habit into my daily routine and a lot of it is a lack of motivation either stemmed from mental health, lack of reasoning, or just simply no urgency to do so. This time around, with a bit more of a determination to put these things into action throughout my day-to-day life, I've come up with 3 ways to enforce these habits:

SCHEDULING TIME TO MYSELF - "Wait? Time to yourself? Didn't know just say that you experience feeling lonely?" I hear you say, and you're right, but this 'time to myself' is in the terms of taking pressures off myself. I may have to drop the apartment planning, the house cleaning, the blog post writing, and the Instagram posting every once in a while and grab that pen to draw, or put on some shoes and apologetically walk around the neighbourhood. I feel like there's often a pressure to be doing something useful and impactful, but I'm starting to realise that taking time out and having a few moments of indulgence isn't always going to make a bit life difference.

REWARDING MYSELF - If I look at my day from the start and think 'Wow I'd love to just stay in bed all day and watch endless YouTube videos about the crazy upcycling that people do with random things from IKEA' it might be an idea to look a little deeper. For instance, I know that if I do that, about an hour later I'll either be asleep and wasting the day away or just silently building up emotions in my mind of regret. So, I'd really like to start using luxuries incentives; e.g. If I go for a walk around the neighbourhood, not only do I get a breath of fresh air, some exercise, and perhaps get to listen to a new song or podcast, but I also get to reward myself with that YouTube video at the end.

ADDING A FUN ASPECT - I've just touched briefly on this in my last point, things like listening to podcasts while I walk will be a great way of making the walk a bit more enjoyable. Similarly, I've found that while I do exercising, at the moment with a hula hoop, it can get quite boring looking at a wall so I can use that time to watch a film, a YouTube video, or again, listen to a Podcast. There needs to be something fun in there if you really aren't motivated to do something - it really will make things a lot more bearable.

I think, when you have a lot of time to yourself with a lot of food for thought, there are so many questions that I've been asking myself. A few things lingering on my mind.

- Does Bio Oil really work? I've been using it once a day for over a 4 months and, while it makes my skin feel relatively soft a few hours after, there's still pretty visible stretch marks and uneven skin tone and texture. Hmmm...

- Is Pinterest good for me? Is it just making me feel less adequate? All of these stunning homes and interior designs realistically cost a lot of money. I've realised this when I'm renting my first home. Am I just growing up and realising what life is really like? Possibly. You can check out exactly what is inspiring me for my future home in THIS Pinterest board. I'm generally going for a minimalist, Scandi' but similarly cosy vibe.

- Does eating healthier get easier when you live alone? When I live in my own flat, do my own shopping, cook my own meals, surely it will be easier to eat more beneficial foods. Right now, I am forever tempted by the digestive biscuits that Dad brings home and limited to processed food that mum leaves behind. Is it true? Does it really get easier?

- Why are my eyedrops not making a difference? Since miraculously developing a pretty bad cat allergy, I suffer from very dry eyes. It's at the point where, if I touch my eyes (I know, something I shouldn't do) they're bone dry. Eeeek. I put eye drops in and they're either cried straight back out or just dissolved away into nowhere.

- How do students live like that? We've been viewing flats lately and, one thing that has shocked me a lot is how messy the places are. Forgive me and my snobbery, but having piles of clothes on the floor, half used plates balancing on your headboard, and kitchen tops covered in whatever you ate for the past 6 months is just gross. I've already got 5 bottles of multipurpose spray at home waiting for when I move into a new flat. I just couldn't in such a bad environment - how do not feel gross from that?

- Where do I buy beautiful crockery that doesn't break the bank? My dreams are now 90% filled with colourful hand-painted pottery and dinnerware but I just can't find any anywhere that doesn't cost a bomb. I mean, to be honest, I think I'm just a little bit shaken by the price of dinnerware in general. I've gone 18 years of my life, watching bowls come into the house, and never have I ever stopped to think, "FOUR POUND FIFTY FOR A PLAIN WHITE BOWL?!" So, yes, getting me to fulfil my dreams and purchase a full collection of hand-painted crockery may mean I have to grit my teeth and cut back on the Wagamamas.

- Should I really care about word counting? Lately, I think I've been worrying a little bit too much about counting words on my own blog posts. It all comes from a comment on a post months and months ago of someone describing my blog post as a 'nice little post' despite it being around 700 words. Since then, I've often checked up on the word out of my posts before publishing them so that no-one reads it and thinks there's been no thought or effort in it. I'm starting to realise that a short post DOES NOT indicate a lack of thought or meaning. Not all of the greatest novels are the longest novels.

I don't know if it's normal or crazy to have a 'favourite month' but, if any of you do, I'm placing high bets that it's your birthday month. I think it just happens. Whether you have big or small celebrations for your birthday each year, I think there's just something so endearing about the month that we were born in. However, for me, it's not just my birthday that gets me excited for March. Every year, it just seems to be the month that I wait for, and the month that brings me great things. Here's why I love March.

1. IT'S MY BIRTHDAY
Pretty much smack-bang in the middle of March, my Birthday creeps up and, while I don't get as many Barbie dolls and teddy bears as I used to, I still get pretty excited. Last year I was beyond lucky for my birthday; my parents treated Jamie and me to a trip to The Grand Hotel & Spa in York and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The whole weekend ran so smoothly and, even now just writing about it, I have so many lovely memories. As well as this, my friends surprised me to a meal at the Estate Hall - it was fab.

Oh and, might I add, the year before that, my early birthday present was a bloody trip to Iceland! How could I forget? In 2016, right at the start of March, my parents and I went to Iceland and there's absolutely no doubt that it was an experience of a lifetime. Since then, I've only ever wanted to go back over and over again.

This year, Jamie and I are heading back up to our favourite City, the city that holds a special place in my heart: Edinburgh. My last two trips to Edinburgh were in the summertime, and many times before that were generally in the winter, after Christmas. As I go to Edinburgh every year, I thought this year it would be nice to mix it up a little and go in March, for my birthday. Jamie and I are planning on doing some relaxing in Edinburgh, we've done the sightseeing and the novelty bits - now it's time for us to use Edinburgh as a place to indulge, and I definitely will do so. Leave your suggestions of things to do in Edinburgh.



2. SPRING IS COMING
As someone who loves winter, I can't believe that I'm actually getting a bit sick of it now. It's cold, it's dark, and it's all a bit dead. I want to be able to go on walks and not see through the trees. I want to be able to put a bunch of tulips in my house without feeling like they're shivering as I watch the TV. I am so delighted that, while it may feel like a long way off, March means that Spring will be emerging. Clocks will be coming forward, nights will get lighter and MAYBE (just maybe) we'll see the sunshine.

This year I seem to be pretty excited for daffodils. I'm not usually a daffodil kind of girl but, as the winter dinginess has well and truly overwhelmed me, I could do with some bright yellow in my life. What flowers do you want to see at Spring?

3. IT'S GENERALLY MORE CHEERFUL
January is beyond a painful month, February goes by in a flash of love hearts and pancakes so, by March, I think all of us are ready for a nice relaxing month that is pretty long without feeling as long and January. The holidays in March are cheerful; we have Mother's Day, St Patrick's Day, Easter (did someone say chocolate?), and for some people, a 2 week holiday.

Anyone that has holidays planned in the summer will most likely start looking at their countdown apps in March, buying bikinis, and getting their first boost of excitement. I know that I will be this month, despite already having my bikinis out of shear over-excitement a few months ago.

For me, this month should come with some very exciting improvements. Jamie and I started viewing flats in February so, hopefully, by the end of this month we will know exactly where we are set to be living, and potentially start some decor planning. Because that's something that we've been thinking about for a while, it's super thrilling to finally see some action.