No Filter Winter

Today morning was so beautiful, that no words are needed. Neither are filters.

New Year Resolutions

It really baffles me how the further into life I go, the more of my most gorgeous and most admired girlfriends come out with low self-esteem issues.

It scares me as I am someone who is often regarded as really happy, really lucky and I think I am, as much as I can be. I try to squeeze everything I can out of life, I try to make it more exciting when things are getting grim. But I could never say that my life is super-happy, it is so far away from those happy girls on instagram who #lovelife.

I must mention, I’m not stupid – I know a lot of it is fake and hyped-up. But those words don’t really make me feel better. When it used to be just celebrities in magazines and on TV it was fine. But now it’s ‘real’ people. People like you and me, but the difference is they’re uber happy.

And I feel awful, because I come across as if I’m complaining. All I want to say is that firstly, I want to be honest about how I feel. Secondly, I believe this topic is still not discussed loud enough. And lastly, it helps to feel like I’m not alone, when I read other bloggers’ posts, so hopefully I can help someone feel better too.

I struggle with self-love quite a bit. It's so difficult sometimes, that I don't even admit to myself that I need to love myself more, because I don't deserve even my own love. Ouch!

But the truth is, who will ever be able to love us if we don't love ourselves? If you love yourself, you'll have rays of confidence streaming out of you and you will attract love from other people. And I understand that, which is why my main goal for 2015 is to love myself. I know that there are a lot of people who struggle with it, so I wanted to share the main things that I will be focusing on. 

Some of these I already do and they help me feel better about myself - good old sense of achievement. And the other I really struggle with and I battle through my days trying to get better at it.

Autumn in Notting Hill

A couple of weekends ago my friend and I went to Notting Hill to enjoy the autumn. I love areas of London like that, I have always had a dream of living in a tiny little London flat in a terraced house. I always imagined it to be super cosy with low lighting, cups of fragrant tea, knitted jumpers and reading with the sound of rain outside the window. Notting Hill reminds me of that area I saw in my dreams.

Accidental Trip to Belgium. Oops!

So a few weekends ago I accidentally ended up in Belgium.

My lovely Hugo, being the spontaneous type he is, called me up as soon as I finished work on Friday and started selling the idea of coming to Belgium with him. I was sceptical, as I didn’t feel like sitting on the shore for 2 days and waiting for him to finish sailing. But during the 30 minutes on my way back I thought – London, the food markets and clothes shops are going to be here every weekend. Belgium on the other hand, is a nice adventure. It was a yes!

Snacks. Healthy Beetroot Crisps

I am quite the snacker. I sometimes just have a whole load of snacks for dinner. I know – it’s not great, but I just love picking at things! 

I attempt making good snacking choices, like nuts and seeds, veggies or fruit. Recently I got into bread with virgin olive oil, which is not great. What I’m also not too proud of is my never-ending love of peanut butter… Sometimes I watch TV with a new jar of peanut butter and suddenly I realise that it’s already only half-full... Oops! I do only buy 100% peanut butter to avoid the additives and naughty oils. The brands I like in the UK are NutShot (my absolute favourite), Biona and Peanut Butter and Co. 

However, my main snacking problem is that when I’m in the mood for a snack, there are usually not many options around! And I usually need it ‘n o w’. Which leaves me with shop-bought treats, which are not always the best – I like to know what exactly goes into my food and how is it cooked. 

But recently I discovered a snack that is easy to make and I actually really enjoy making it. Beetroot crisps! 

Salty water and cheese in Whitstable

Last weekend Hugo and I went to Whitstable to participate in a sailing race. It was so beautiful - I was willing to keep my heavily-salt-treated eyes open as much as I could.

Home is Where The Heart is

I went home a week and a bit ago.  For those who don’t know, my home is Lithuania. And it is definitely where my heart is.