My summer bucket list

On the 17th of June, I'll be free from exams and free for the summer! That's a whopping 89 days! Okay maybe minus the days I'll be working, but apart from that, I'll be freeeee! And there are a tonne of things that I want to do to fill up those days with fun activities!! Every year I make myself a summer bucket list of fun things that I want to get up to, and I would  write them in the notes section of my phone or at the back of my planner. But this year I'm going to share it all with you!! I love reading other people's bucket lists as I can get so many ideas, so if you're going to be on summer holiday soon I hope you can take something away from this!

I found a quote on Pinterest that really inspired me to write this post which I want you guys to see:

The yearly bucket list oath:
I solemnly swear to create memories that last a lifetime.
I vow to make an impression on the world, not the couch.
I promise to dream about unrealistic goals.
And make them my reality.

1. Have a bonfire and roast marshmallows on it
2. Have a water balloon fight
3. Have at least 3 picnics, one with friends, one with family, and one with my boyfriend.
4. Go on a dolphin spotting trip while in Spain
5. Swim in the sea
6. Try a new type of food
7. Make homemade lemonade
8. Go to a waterpark
9. Get up early to see the sunrise
10. Go camping
11. Go swimming at night
12. Go on the new ride at Alton Towers
13. Read 5 books (because I need to get back into reading again)
14. Go to more yoga lessons
15. Write in my travel journal
16. Write letters to all my #teenageteam girls
17. Practice latte art
18. Go on a huge bike ride
19. Binge watch a tv series
20. Go or a run once a week
21. Try my hand at gardening 
22. Visit a farm
23. Do some sort of water sport
24. Make elderflower ice lollies
25. Buy fruit from the farmers market and make super fresh smoothies
26. Build a blanket fort
27. Try cook a fancy meal for the family
28. Make DIY colour powder and have a colour fight
29. Host a pizza party
30. Do yoga on the beach
31. Burn all my revision notes and old school books
32. Finish my old wreck this journal
33. Get a train to somewhere I've never been before
34. Write a short story
35. Celebrate my blog birthday
36. Do something to raise money for charity
37. Step outside my comfort zone and go to parties
38. Meet a blogger friend
39. Make some non-alcoholic cocktails
40. Make more art and explore my creativity

I really want this summer to be great and something to remember. I've always regretted not going out and doing more during the summer, but this time, I want to do my best to change that. Will I complete everything on this list? Most likely not, but at least I have something to aim towards right?
What're you going to get up up this summer?
Lauren xx

My first ever job!

So I started my first ever job on Saturday! As in I get money paid into my bank account kind of job. As in I work for someone and therefore have to be responsible kind of job. As in I  have a boss and co-workers and customers kind of job. I was very nervous, to say the least. I shouldn't have been, though. I'm working at one of my favourite cafes, which is only a short walk away from my home and I've already done 5 days of work experience for my school. I found it really fun, and not to blow my own trumpet, but I think I did a rather splendid job. However, it's a bit different now, because unlike work experience I will now actually get paid. Like I'm actually working for someone because they see my work as useful to them. I'll also get taught how to use the cash register which seems easy enough (even though at work experience I wouldn't have dared touch it) and I'll also have to learn how to use the daunting, scary coffee machine.

I don't know why but there's something about it that's just so intimidating! I feel like I'll have to spend the next few days practicing latte art so I can try to impress everyone. Either that or I'll have to try and learn how to sprinkle chocolate in the most aesthetically pleasing way by the time I'm back this Saturday.

 I'm pretty sure everyone gets nervous for the first day of a new job, let alone the first day of their first job! Picturing myself in that cafe that morning gave me terrible butterflies! And although I knew everything was probably going to be fine and go swimmingly, my mind still buzzed with all the numerous ways I could embarrass myself! I haven't even told you about how during my work experience there, I tripped up the steps in front of the whole cafe! My recovery was smooth though; I flicked my hair dramatically as if I was fine, laughed and carried on as if nothing happened, but inside I felt myself wanting to cry in a puddle of embarrassment. But now I know to watch the steps right? Right. Learning from my mistakes, one trip at a time.

 Although I'm not too excited about finding myself in that steamy and sweaty washroom again, I'm very much excited for my next shift this Saturday. It's such a beautiful cafe with great drinks, food, and such a lovely atmosphere. All the people I meet are so friendly especially my coworkers! I feel so lucky to find myself in such a great place for my first ever job. I really would love to know what your first job was, so tell me about it in the comments! However if you haven't had a job yet, what're you most excited and nervous about when it comes to working?

 Also, I hope you've liked my little illustrations! I wanted to have a go at something different that I haven't really seen any other bloggers do! And I know they're not masterpieces, but I kinda like the quirkiness of them and how they're not perfect at all, but quite cute and childish. I might do them again in some future posts, who knows! Anyways, have a beautiful week!
Lots of love,
Lauren x

The troubles of being a teenage blogger

I was recently discussing with a fellow blogger named Jade Millard (you can find her blog here and her twitter here) about what it was like to be a teenage blogger. All the good points, all the bad points, and the other things that fit in between. We had a lot to touch on and we both had many stories to share with each other. Since we both had so much to say, we decided to work together on a collaboration post, sharing all our thoughts and feelings with you! So make sure you go on over to Jade's blog to see her post too!

Now before I start, there's something we want to share with you guys! After talks about our first collaboration, we started coming up with even more ideas of posts we could do that would benefit the teenage blogging community. We had ideas bouncing off each other left right and centre! We are both so passionate about making a difference for us teenage bloggers and helping others out, that we felt like it was our calling to do something bigger and better to help those like us. To build a community for people like us!
We're thinking of doing a series of blog posts monthly, directed at teenage bloggers! Now, we hope that the more posts we make the further we go with this series, and we've already made some plans for the future if people are willing to join us! So stay tuned because we've got some great things coming!

Anyways, here's to the main point of the blog. I'm going to share with you 3 things that I struggle with as a teenage blogger.

Being 16, I don't think that people take me that seriously. The majority of bloggers I follow are quite older than me, and I also feel intimidated by that. I'm quite scared to voice my opinion because to a lot of people I'm still seen as only a kid and feel like I might be deemed to be uneducated about certain topics.

Furthermore, I feel like people may not want to read my blog purely due to my age. That may be completely false but I just cannot budge that feeling. People like readigng things that they can relate to but can someone over 5 years older than me do that? I feel that a lot of teenagers could enjoy my blog and benefit from some of my posts, but the thing is, not many teenagers actually even read blogs. None of my friends do, that's for sure. I'm even scared of making blogger friends because a twenty-something-year-old probably doesn't want to talk to a 16-year-old and there aren't many teenage bloggers out there.

One thing that I really dislike is all the opportunities that I miss. I've been invited to a couple of meetups before, but because I don't really shout my age from the top of the rooftops, people forget I'm sixteen; I would be totally out of place and mostly, totally unwanted. I mean I wish I could go but I'd look like an absolute plonker. Being younger does limit the things I can do,  can't just go on a train by myself for few hours to go to an event.  I don't think I've ever seen a blogging event or meet up directed towards teen bloggers, which I wish was something I could change. Like us teen bloggers do exist, and although we may be young, I know that we'd still like to meet likeminded people just like any aged blogger would!

Lastly with my age comes a fear. A fear of being ridiculed, of being told I'm "too young". I'm scared of people on twitter and twitter chats finding out my age because I can't nudge the fear of people not wanting to talk to me. The weirdest thing is that I'm self-conscious about my age when blogging. I mean it's just an age, just an amount of years I've been alive! But because so many older bloggers follow me there's always the voice in my head thinking "do they know?" or "what if they find out". It may sound stupid but that's just the way I feel. But I believe that us teen bloggers are great and fabulous and all derserve to shine!

Thank you so much for reading this post! If you're a teenager blogger yourself, can you relate to this post? On the other hand, if you're not what're your opinions on this post? Make sure to leave all your thoughts and social media below so Jade and I can find you, and also be sure to use the hashtag #TeenageTeam if you want to get involved!

If you want to talk to any of us you can find us here:
Our email: ttab@gmail.com

My contact details:
Twitter: @tstainedlauren
Instagram: tea.stained
Bloglovin': https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/tea-stained-lauren-14400811
Email: laurenjadeostler@gmail.com

Jade's contact details:
Twitter: @jademillardx
Instagram: jademillard_
Bloglovin': https://www.bloglovin.com/blogs/jade-millard-13929405?referrer_context=blog_search_autocomplete
Email: beautyobsessedgirl@gmail.com

Have a great day!
Lauren xx

4 ways to stay motivated to revise

I'm on exam leave right now which is very exciting but very weird. It's odd to think that I don't have to go Sixth Form until September, and that feels ages away! But for the next month, I will have to dedicate my time to revision before I can spend the rest of that time carefree. Sometimes the motivation to revise is so difficult to find, we've all been there, and you may be experiencing  that lack of motivation at this very moment! But with exams coming up it's so important for us to revise and get ourselves in gear because we do not want to look back months from now wanting to hit ourselves for not working hard enough. That's my biggest fear. But I have found many ways to keep myself motivated to revise that I would love to share with the lovely lot of you who are either taking or are about to take your exams.

1. Follow "Studyblr" accounts on Instagram and Tumblr. A "studyblr" account is someone on social media who shares pictures of their pretty study notes, their revision hacks, share pictures of their daily progress through "100 days of productivity" and so much more. My favourite Studyblr account is called "Elkstudies" by an 18-year-old girl named Ella from Ireland. I really suggest that if you have Tumblr you follow her account, or at least stalk her feed when you need the motivation to revise. I find studyblr's so helpful because not only do they give you some great advice, but all the pretty notes and stationary really make you want to make revision a habit that you're proud of. Take a look for yourself, as I've included some pictures as an example of what you can find on a studyblr and I've included all their accounts too so you can go over and give them a follow!

Photo by: http://fuckstudy.tumblr.com/

Photo by: http://arcane-sonder.tumblr.com/

Photo by: http://studyparadise.tumblr.com/

Those are only a few of many amazing photos that can be found for inspiration, just search the #studyblr hashtag and you'll be greeted by greatness! But as a starting point, here are some other people to follow on Instagram:

@lycheestudy

@peachystudy

@studeying

@tbhstudying

@studybreakdwn

@elkstudies

2. Write a revision plan before you go to bed and tell people about it. For example, say I wanted to do 5 hours of revision tomorrow. I'd write down a plan like this:

• Complete a past business paper
• Revise urban and coats case studies
• Do half of a maths paper
• Do a character analysis on Candy & Curley's wife
• Write up notes on the poem "The Manhunt"

Having a plan gives you something to work towards, and if you share it with someone you'll feel even more motivated as you've set yourself the expectation to finish it all! Furthermore, if they asked you "how did your revision go today?" and you didn't do it all, knowing well that you told them you were going to do however much revision, you may feel kind of embarrassed. I know I would anyway, so for me this trick really works wonders. Also ticking each thing off is super satisfying, trust me.

3. Set yourself something to look forward to! That could be a shopping trip at the weekend, a meal out at that restaurant you've been wanting to go to, or even just a night in with your friends! Rewarding yourself for all that hard work is super important because we all know how stressful revising can be sometimes. We need that bit of stress relief to keep us sane, so the idea of having something to do later can be very motivational. I especially recommend setting something to do straight after you've finished revising, so you can think to yourself "only two more hours" until you do that exciting thing!  

4. Remember why you started, and why you're doing this. Whenever you feel a lack of motivation to do some revision, just take a moment to picture the day you get your results back. You want to be happy and proud of yourself right? You don't want to turn up to results day knowing deep down that could have, and should have, done a lot more revision to prepare yourself. At the end of the day, it's your future lying in your hands, but it's not the be all end all.

I really hope that if you're in exam season that you're not too stressed! I wish you all the best of luck and believe in you all! I know everyone says it, but all you can do is try your best! Remember to have regular breaks, to drink loads of water, and find time to relaaaaxxx. You'll be great.

Lauren xx

A letter to my younger self

Dear Lauren,

I'm finishing high school next week! That might be crazy for you to hear, as I know we always felt like school seems to have no end. But on Friday the 13th of May, it will be over. It's scary you know, but you'll be fine. You may feel as if that day is ages away, but trust me it will come so quick, that by the time you're my age you'll wonder how everything managed to go by so quickly. You have a boyfriend too you know, and you have for a while. Make sure you look after him and treat him right. Make sure also that you thank your parents daily as well, that skiing trip to Bulgaria was expensive, but they'll always make sure that you're happy.

I know how much you love Nan. She spoils you rotten and treats you like a little princess. Cherish those nights at her house, those chippies on a Saturday night, the trips to the garden centre, days at the nail salon and everything that she does for you. Tell her you love her every time you see her. One day you'll be too big to sit on her lap, so sit on her lap while you can and hug her oh so tight. When's she's in the hospital, please be brave. I know how scary it will be for you, but she will need you because she hates it there. Talk to her, hold her hand, tell her about your day, and never ever complain about having to go to the hospital. Spend as much time with her as you can, because when she's gone, you're going to miss her so incredibly much.

As I told you earlier, I'm finishing school next week. That means my GCSEs are coming up. Don't panic! As long as you stick to revising then everything will be fine! However, you'll probably want to start revising a bit earlier than I did, and avoid just revising science because there are other subjects too. Just keep that in mind. Your coursework will go without a hitch so don't stress about it too much. I wish you the best of luck and please try your hardest.

Look, you're going to go through some crap and that's going to be expected. It's just the cold hard truth. You're going to get through a lot of tears but that's okay! Please don't hold back! Middle school is absolute garbage, the majority of people there won't matter in high school so don't even give them your time! Don't trust anyone in middle school. Anyone. BUT. Do enjoy being young and playing with dolls and playing pretend and all those sorts of things. Don't rush yourself to grow up, go outside more, play out with your friends, care less about what people think of you! Your hopes and dreams for the future will always be changing, don't let that confuse you, and don't let anyone hold you back.

When I'm writing this, on Sunday the 8th of May 2016, I'd say you're a pretty cool gal. Okay maybe not the coolest, but you've done some great things and have even greater things to come. We've both got things to look forward to; prom (you're on prom committee by the way), Centre Parcs, Canada, blogging projects and many more exciting things! Who knows what the future has in store for us? I'm willing to put the hard work in if you will! Of course you will.

All my love,
Lauren

Feeling all the feels

Deary me. How do I feel in this moment in time? To be honest, today I don't feel too bad. I've given myself this day to rest. But I can tell you I haven't been able to say that for the past few weeks and I won't be saying that the following weeks to come. GCSE's my friend. But the thing is, I know I shouldn't feel as stressed as I do. I mean heck, I ain't doing no A Levels or dissertations in University. However, I still feel the immense pressure that is put upon me by my teachers, my peers, and most of all, myself. Of course, these exams are important, but so is my mental health.

Just thinking about the next few weeks has started giving me a headache.

I'm stuck between collapsing under the workload and trying to be as positive as I can. Being positive is something I'm known for within my friendship group; I try to find the bright side of things and be everyone's cheerleader. But even though I still manage it, oh it is so difficult. Sometimes I feel like snapping and ripping people's head off with my teeth (pleasant), but I still put a smile on my face (or at least settle with my resting bitch face).

Every second of revision I hate, but every second I don't revise is even worse. It's like voices are floating inside my head, eerily whispering "hey Lauren, why aren't you revising? You're going to fail your exams! You don't want that do you?". I want to just grab that voice and dispose of it so I can actually relax, but it doesn't go away. Even now I feel guilty for putting revision to the side. I'm stressed about revising as much as I'm stressed about not revising. *Internal screaming*

But do you know what's funny? I'm pretty sure I'm going to do well. I'm projecting my target grade in every subject, and all of my mock exams are piling up in grade A results. So even though I shouldn't have much too fear, I panic none the less. (a lot more than I should!) It's weird how the brain works.

I feel such a deep guilt inside of me for complaining, because at least I have an education, at least I have a chance for a bright future. There are much worse things going on in this world right and I feel so selfish that I'm constantly thinking about me me me. I should be grateful. I just can't believe it's going to get worse in the years to come.

Let us on a positive note; next week I will have finished high school, knowing that I value my right to an education. I value the fact that females in this country are allowed to learn. Even though I've not exactly enjoyed school, I have made a lot of memories, and have learnt a lot of lessons (pun not intended) and in fact, I am grateful. On May 13th ,I will be free from high school and on June 17th, I will be free from GCSEs.

Now I'm getting emotional.

I've never felt so ready.

How are you feeling recently? I'd love to know!
Lauren xx

My Birthday Wishlist!

It's my birthday this month and I'm so excited! Not because I'm turning a year older, and not because of presents, but because I'm hosting a big party! Okay well not that big, but as someone who is working towards becoming an events manager, I absolutely love the whole aspect of planning a party and making it epic! The theme is going to be "Coachella" and you can imagine how wild I can go with the decorations, food, music and clothes! But I'll save that for a completely different blog post.

Even though I'm not exactly fussed about getting any presents, it is my birthday and I can't help but secretly wish for a few things can I?  I mean I might as well share them with you.

1. The first thing on my list is the tartelette in bloom clay palette! I'm not going to lie, the first thing that caught my eye was the packaging, I mean just look how beautiful it is! I'm also in love with all of the shades as they're all colours I would actually use whereas in most palettes there are always one or two colours I would just never touch. All of Tarte's makeup is cruelty-free too, and that straight away is something I look for in a makeup product. 

2. Everyone is in love with the Kylie Jenner lip kits at the moment, and even though I think that's great, I personally don't want to go through the stress of actually trying to get my hands on one. However, Too Faced have recently brought out their own range of liquid lipsticks called the Melted Matte Liquified Matte Lipstick, which look just as great. The shade I'm lusting over is "Cool Girl" shown above. Who needs a Kylie Jenner lip kit aye?

3. Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 Camera! I have been asking for a bloody polaroid camera for the longest time! I remember asking for one when they first started becoming cool again, but I was told there was no point. But I did not care and still do not care to this date! Yes, I know that now you can get your photos printed in a polaroid style but that's not the same! I need one in my life, okay?

4. Aren't these Zara Martin Rose Gold Kitty Headphones dreamy? I can just imagine myself pulling them out my bag, putting them on, and everyone thinking I'm the coolest person around because my headphones have cat ears. If I saw them on someone else I'd think that at least. I actually don't even own headphones, only a crappy pair of Apple earphones that only play out of one speaker. Therefore, these headphones are a necessity rather than a want. I'm totally joking I just really want them. Pretty please.

5. I left the most expensive till last. Look me in the eye and tell me that these Zoeva brushes are ugly. Well, 1. You can't because you're reading this through a screen and 2. You'd be lying to yourself and we both know it. I'd also like to point out that all the cool beauty bloggers have a set, and beauty bloggers know what they're on about. I do actually need some makeup brushes through and I'd be more than happy to receive them as a birthday gift! 

So that's my top 5 on my birthday wish list! Some of you may be thinking "But Lauren, a lot of these things aren't that expensive and you can buy them yourself!". Well although that is true, I really struggle to spend money on things I don't need, and treating myself is something I have real trouble with doing. However, I am saving up so I'll work on it!

Have a great week lovelies, and tell me which one on the list is your favourite!

Lauren xx