Things to do this Summer

The lovely weather we have been having lately has got me thinking about plans for the summer. Since we don't seem to get that much sun in the UK I want to try and make sure I make the most of this summer, and make the most of my time off work. I have a week off in 5 weeks...not counting or anything. I've also got a week in July and a couple of weeks in August, wooo! Hoping for lush weather for those weeks but knowing my luck it will end up snowing or something. But I wont let that thought stop me making plans! Not all my plans involve sunshine anyway...some involve potentially being in pyjamas all day and lets be honest, they are the best plans.

SO here's what I want to do this summer...

Watch the new series of OITNB

Visit Thorpe Park again 

Do some baking

Shopping!

Go for walks in the evening 

Visit a new place

Start (and actually finish!) a few crafty projects

Visit London again 

Pass my driving test (Booked in June, EEEK!) 

Go and pick some strawberries

Eat the strawberries!

Spend more time with friends

Try and eat a (bit) healthier 

Get up early and go for a walk

Practice making bath bombs

Go to a BBQ 

Go swimming

Blog regularly!

Try and go out of my comfort zone (shouldn't be hard as literally everything is out of my comfort zone!)

Start and stick to a workout routine

It will be good to see how well I get on with this list, lets see how many things I can get ticked off! It will be good to come back and look at this list if I'm stuck for something to do one day. Hopefully it's given you a couple of ideas as well. Let me know your plans for this summer!

xxx 

My 5 Tips For Hay Fever Sufferers!

Summers lovely, unless of course you suffer from hay fever! I have for a few years now and let me tell you now it really puts a downer on the nice weather. For some reason mine came on a little later than usual this year and for a moment I thought maybe I had grown out of it and was cured! I was very, VERY wrong. I don't know if its the recent heatwave or what but the last coupe of weeks have been particularly bad! So here's some tips to help your hay-fever, if your eyes will stop watering long enough for you to read it that is!

• Close the windows! This may seem a bit crazy on boiling hot days but just do it. Buy a fan, turn the air con on, but keep the windows closed. I notice a huge difference when i close the windows near me in my office, luckily I work with pretty considerate people so they don't mind! They're probably happy to have a break from listening to me sneezing and sniffling all day.
• Take allergy relief tablets. I have found that the own brand ones work just as well if not better than more expensive ones. I actually started taking one in the morning and one at night, I have to say I'm not exactly sure how safe that is though... I haven't had any side effects or anything the only difference is I wake up feeling relatively ok. The keeping the window close rule is a no go at night for me, I can not sleep without my quilt and I literally would melt, but it doesn't do a lot of good for my allergies. 
• Don't itch it! Whatever it is that's itching DO NOT itch it. I am learning this the hard way at the moment...I had super itchy eyes for a few days and was constantly rubbing them, as a result I have super dry red skin around my eyes. Not the look I was going for this summer! to make matters worse, applying concealer/foundation to cover up the redness makes my skin look even more dry, there's no hiding this one. It has also made the skin under my eyes a bit droopy, making me look and feel even more gorgeous!
• Wash out your eyes. I started doing this following on from last weeks eye fiasco! Prevention is always the best way in my opinion. I used eye drops in the past but i just cant do them, my eyes will not stay open! So i bought some eye wash, You have to pour some of the liquid into a little eye bath, place on your eye and open it. Opening your eye in water seems SO unnatural and its a little bit painful (OK maybe more uncomfortable than painful) but its worth it!
• Green tea is good! First of all, if your eyes swell a bit due to pollen, excessive rubbing, sunburn or in my case all 3, put some green tea bags on your eyes for about 10 minutes. You will see results instantly! Another tip for puffy eyes, sit up a lot and sleep on your back, this will help fluid to drain away from your eyes. Green tea also seems to soothe my itchy throat and ears. I think its the warm water more than anything. I havent tried this but maybe honey would also help, I drink it when I have a sore throat so it makes sense that it would help and itchy one! Has anyone tried this?

There you go my five tips! Ive been doing this and so far I've had 2 blissful days without any symptoms, aside from the odd sneeze of course. I haven't even had to close the windows which is great, saying that I haven't been out that much the last couple of days either so it may just be that!

I hope all you sufferers out there can make the best of your summer!

xxx