This scarf is purple in person and blue on camera

Recently I invested in some new scarves - hijabs. Let me begin with a confession, I have way too many and still, on some days, I can't find the colour I need!! I had a whole draw devoted to scarves but they no longer fit in this draw - it's a BIG drawer. But my collection is small in comparison to others I've seen. In my defence I do wear them...everyday!

Normally I just buy one when I see or need one but I never spend much on them. It's really odd because considering I wear them every day you'd think I would spend a little more right? Wrong! I normally wait till they go on sale - but that's because I'm 'careful' with my money...or that's what I tell myself anyway.

Anyway, I got a bit fed up when my favourite scarf became bobbly and especially hate pin marks left in them. That's life, these things happen! *sadface* So I decided to buy some hijabs from Inayah Collection. I've seen them on Instagram and their photos always look awesome - also when I've watched hijab tutorials a lot of bloggers have mentioned them, so I thought alright, I'll give them a go.

And I did! So like I said I did buy ones that were in my price range and so the quality of each one is different. I bought four - three different hijab types: one georgette essentials hijab, one patterned rayon material hijab and two more essentials ones which are modal material.

Thoughts: the georgette and rayon hijabs are lovely! The material is durable and that's a key factor for me. The aren't flimsy and they are so many ways to style too - very easy to wear! The two modal hijabs are also lovely but not as nice as the other two. See, this material is different and I found that pin marks show more - although these were much cheaper in comparison to the other two!

This one is my favourite :)

Also, the washing instructions are very specific for these two hijabs because they are hand dyed - which makes them special. Just means that they will be in the laundry basket for much longer than usual!

One final note - Colours: One reason I'm quite reluctant to order hijabs online is because of the colours. And here I had the same issue. Each scarf was a slightly different shade than that shown online but luckily I didn't need them to match specific items of clothing. If I did, I would have been really disappointed! But in Inayah Collections defence, their colours were much closer to their advertisements than I have had in the past. And lighting alters hijab colours drastically sometimes!

Have you ordered from Inayah collection recently? They have such pretty clothes too! What are your thoughts on this?

p.s they do have a sale on!

Last week a girl was telling me how she liked something when she was younger and then, for a while she stopped liking it. Then later on people in her school started liking it and so she did too. And I was standing there thinking 'Noooooo, don't follow the crowd, don't be a sheep! Be a GOAT!!'  But obviously I didn't say that out load because I don't actually know this girl very well and I didn't want her to think I spend my time comparing people to goats and sheep. Even if that was true at that point in time. Oh dear.

In my defence, I did, in my own w
ay, tell her later to do things because she enjoys them and not because others do them too. And she took it pretty well.

Check this out!

Anyway, I really do think  we should be more goat - because goats are badass. They eat whatever they want and climb where ever they want. They are nosily curious characters and wander at their own will. They don't follow the crowd. So be more goat.

Did you know that goats are social animals - so you'd often find goats together/near by but they are different in that you can't herd goats, they either confront you or decide to go away. You go goat.

Goats are social animals that don't follow the crowd.

Apparently, according to Google, goats have really good night vision! Who'd have thought? Also, they can be almost any colour - black, white, brown, red, two colours, more than two colours!

Did you know that goats are really adaptable to their surroundings - they can easily go back to their wild ways! Take that job applications!

So I watched this video on Facebook and thought - how cool is that, I agree with everything they have said in it. I'm going to share it. Then, later on in the same day I heard this:

"I don't like school. I have to get a boyfriend by the time I'm twenty so he can look after me."

At this point I piped up and said "don't you want to be able to look after yourself by the time you are twenty?"

She shook her head and said "No. I want to have a boyfriend that will look after me by the time I'm twenty. That's what everyone in school wants too."

The reply she got from her guardian was this: "No. You have to go to school, study and work hard, and then look after me." In his defence (he was her grandfather or some relation) he was kidding about the 'look after me' part of the reply.

But after that, all I wanted to do was ask why he didn't tell her to want to be able to support herself. That independence and stability is actually a really good thing to have in life. That this doesn't mean she couldn't have a boyfriend, but does mean that she shouldn't want to rely on her boyfriend. Why did you not tell her that independence is not loneliness. Why not?

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Why did you not tell her to work hard and achieve her dreams. That at the age of twenty she could be inventing things, at university, or doing an apprenticeship, starting and running her own business, working, doing something she really really loved, - basically she could do ANYTHING. That she is capable of amazing things! Why did you not tell her that independence is not loneliness. Why did you not say this? It made me want to cry.

But here's the thing. I am certain, in fact I know, that the first thing that goes through some of my family members heads when they see me is that I'm "not married...still".

I've been told that I have studied too much, that I often work too much. I've even been told I don't work enough. I've been told that I'm wasting my skills by not getting a job related to my undergrad studies. I've been told to do what I want now because after marriage I may not get the same chances - what with responsibilities and all....but then I've been told I can do whatever I want after I get married.

Let me tell you something, none of the above paragraph makes sense. It's all an oxymoron. Each piece of advice contradicts the other. I wish someone had told me at such a young age that independence is not loneliness. That individuality is great.

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Ok, so I am in no way against marriage and relationships. I'm actually the opposite. I want to get married. I want to share my life with someone, share my happiness, make memories, travel, buy a house together, have kids. But in the beginning, middle and end, it will be 'ours'. It will be 'our' marriage, 'our' memories, 'our' children, 'our' house. Not I, 'us'. I want to be able to offer independence and stability and and add to the marriage. I want to help be supportive of my partner and I want the other person to help and be supportive to me too. Even if this means not working for a while, or working more than I normally would. Marriage, being in a relationship, is a partnership. There are two people, not one.

And I'm fully aware that sometimes circumstances make it that we may need to rely on others. What I don't believe is that we should encourage our youth to want to rely on someone else. Independence is not loneliness.

I mean come on, you wouldn't want to have to be dependent on someone, so why don't we teach others this?

Oh, and this goes out to everyone. We should encourage everyone.

Morning all!

My stomach keeps rumbling. It rumbles like clockwork at exactly the same times everyday - I'm going to eat more and see if it makes a difference. Plus, I do like to eat! Good food and a good book are two of my favourite things! What are yours?

Anyway, back to the actual reason for this post :)

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So I just finished watching The Originals on Netflix and for a minute after it finished, I felt lost! I sat there thinking 'oh dear, what shall I watch now that it's finished?!' I often get this feeling after I've watched - more often when I read - something I'm drawn into/quite enjoyed. Even though I'm not sure how much I enjoyed watching The Originals. I definitely got this feeling after watching The Office (US) and Community - check them out people, I laughed so much whilst watching these series!! Oh, and also Once Upon a Time - eeeeeeeeeee I loved the retelling of the fairytales!!!

I have to say, I did prefer the second series of The Originals in comparison to the first but that may be because I watched the second one more recently and therefore my memory of the story line is much clearer.

What I liked:

• Ok, so I don't really watch scary films and because I jump quite easily but I do like gore - and this had a little - not loads because I've seen more - bit of gore. I especially enjoyed the parts with popping out veins - there were quite a few of these as this happed when vampires were staked. And they were always trying to stake someone or another.
• The lack of intimate scenes - hooray! There are times in series where I've sat there thinking 'again with the kissing and stuff?!' but I never felt this way in The Originals - this series wasn't a typical 'sex and vampires' one...well if it was I must have missed it!  
• The story line was interesting as it was based around family and blood ties. It all linked back to the Originals - well obviously it would because then what would be the point right? But I especially enjoyed when the older sister came into the equation (I won't give too much away!)
• The cast - need I say more?
• The love triangles - I'm not normally one for love triangles but it was interesting to see how they played out in The Originals. The lesson this taught me was that for The Originals, it's family first. 
• Witches, werewolves and vampires: I quite like supernatural stuff, as you can probably tell from this post! 

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• Backstories: I liked how they are included in the episodes and how everything linked together. 

This series is available on Netflix!

Have you watched The Originals? Apparently it's a spin off series from the Vampire Diaries but I've not watched this series! What are your thoughts? What have you been watching?

Thank you Dot. Thank you for sharing this with me and proving that distance is just a number. We - I think anyway-  have already gone through the distance test. We were apart for university and still good friends. We've grown as people and life has taught us many different lessons, both good and bad and through it all, we are still friends. So yes, the fact that you are in Australia, although it's upsetting because it's so darn far away, doesn't worry me much.



So this is a little weird but yes... Good luck Dot :) Love you lots! xxx

Also, one last thing before I finally sign off, keep an eye out for Dot because it may be that she decides to start a travel blog! How awesome would that be!?! If she does I will definitely share the link with you all. :)