Instagram Diary #3 & A Catch-Up

A messy bun kind of day  ♥  All of my nail polishes ♥ My pretty bedroom  ♥ I was proud of this lunch I made - Jacket potato with sweet chilli hummus and salad ♥ Dominos with the boyf  ♥ Matt on his first day working as a Lawyer (proud girlfriend moment haha!)  ♥ My ridiculously large lip products collection ♥ Organising my wardrobe  ♥ Playing around with the new picfx effects  ♥ I caved and bought Bioderma  ♥ I hit 1800 followers (YAY!) ♥  Reading Sophie Kinsella in bed  ♥ Kids doing the Great North Run in Newcastle  ♥ Cocktails with friends on the Quayside  ♥  Me checking out everyone's blog links after #bbloggers chat  ♥ Watching 'Insidious' with friends.

Hey Ladies! I hope you are all fine and dandy. I thought I would share a few of my Instagram snaps with you today and write a bit of a lifestyle catch-up post. After #bbloggers chat last night which was all about our favorite posts to read and write, a lot of people said they liked these type of Instagram posts as they are a little more personal and relaxed than a standard product review and what not. I have to admit, I do love writing these posts myself as it gives me the chance to have a little ramble and fill you in on what I've been up to. (Your probably not even interested). Also, if you don't know what the #bbloggers chat is, it's a chat on Twitter between 8-9pm every Sunday night where all us bloggers can share our thoughts on a certain topic. The topic is voted for by a poll on the #bbloggers official blog so if you want to vote for next weeks topic, pop over to their blog here and have a look. If you haven't joined in before I highly recommend it as it's a great way of interacting with new bloggers or your regular readers. 

Anyway, after that big babble I thought I'd tell you what I've been up to lately. As you can see from the above pictures, the past couple of weeks since my return from Australia has consisted of seeing friend, eating lots of food and generally just chilling out. Obviously now I'm back in the UK I'm unemployed so I've been searching high and low for jobs most days. I've never been out of work since the age of 14 so this sitting around doing nothing all day malarkey is getting right on my nerves. It's also been really disheartening when companies have sent me 'sorry you were unsuccessful this time' emails and it makes me feel like I'm never going to find a job, boo. On the bright side, my lovely boyfriend Matt started his job as a trainee solicitor a couple of weeks ago and I am super proud of him. He's always been my rock and has been so supportive these past few weeks when I've been getting down in the dumps. So if your reading this Matt, thanks a million - your a total gem!

The only good thing that has come from being unemployed is the fact I have had lots of opportunities to catch up with my friends and family. My friends came to visit me and Matt in Newcastle last weekend and we had such a laugh drinking cocktails and watching 'Insidious'. We popped it on presuming it would be really scary but in all honesty it was the most unrealistic and amusing horror film I have ever seen. If you have watched this movie, I'm sure you know what I mean.

I also got to come back to my hometown in the Lake District this weekend and it was lovely to catch up with family and friends. On Saturday night me and my three best friends went out for a Mexican and drinks which was lovely although I was a tad annoyed that my Fajitas didn't come with guacamole and I had to pay £2.50 for a side order? TWO POUNDS FIFTY? Obscene I tell you, isn't guacamole just a standard part of fajitas? Or is it just me that can't eat them without it? Anyhow, gauc gate aside, we had a lovely night catching up and my friend Debra and I ended up going out in town which resulted in lots of Jagerbombs and various other concoctions. It's safe to say I wasn't feeling too perky yesterday so my mum, sister and I spent the day lounging in bed and the evening eating Chinese and watching The X Factor. I'm not too keen on it this year though, the contestants just haven't been floating my boat.

So, that's all I've been up to really. Other than stuffing my face with Dominos and various other yummy foods, I've had a pretty quiet couple of weeks. I've been so bored some days that I've even taken it upon myself to clean my makeup and organise my wardrobe. Is that said? Whilst cleaning my lip products I realised I have far too many and just had to Instagram the evidence. Oh well, I am a makeup loving beauty blogger so I guess that makes it okay right? I also managed to read a whole book in two days which is quite the record for me but it was so addictive. I read 'The Undomestic Goddess' by Sophie Kinsella and it was a fab read with lots of surprising twists and turns. If you haven't read it already, I highly recommend it. 
Oh and I'd also like to quickly add that I recently reached 1800 GFC followers. Wow, wow and wow is all I can say. I am utterly amazed I have this many people who are actually interested in reading my little blog. I am very excited as this means I am fast approaching the massive 2000 followers milestone and I can't wait to celebrate it with a giveaway of my favourite things. Fingers crossed I have a job by then as I feel it could get quite expensive haha! Thanks again and I love you all.

Anyway, that's definitely enough of me blabbering on, this post has become longer than I first intended and I don't want to bore you. I will be back tomorrow with an outfit post as I haven't done one in a while so check back for that. I hope you all had a fab weekend and don't forget to follow me on Instagram if you have it. My username is @kayleighjcouture.

Lots of Love,

Goodbye Australia & A New Outlook on Life

Me & My Gorgeous Aussie Family | Beautiful Beach at Hervey Bay

Hey Ladies. This post is a bit of a sad one as today is my last day in Australia before I jet back to dreary old England. I thought I would write a quick post to update you all as this will be my last post until I get back to the UK and back to normality. If you don't read my blog regularly then you will probably be a bit confused as to why I'm feeling so sad about leaving a holiday. Yes, I understand that everyone feels rubbish when they have to return home from their jolly bobs but for me, this has been a much more personal get away.

Basically, I came to Australia back in April after going through a bit of a rough patch with my job and various people who were filling my life with negativity. I got really down in the dumps trapped in a job I hated and surrounded by backstabbers. I'm sure a lot of people have been in similar situations but I got to a point in life where every day was a stressful, upsetting and a down right struggle. My family got worried about me and I felt terrible for not only feeling upset myself but for upsetting my family too. My dad, step mum and two brothers live out here in Oz so when I got a phone call from my dad asking if I'd like to come to work and live in Australia for five months, I jumped at the chance. I wrote more about it in my 'Relocating to Australia' post here if you fancy a read. I still can't believe five months have past by since then, where does time go?

Leaving home was a huge decision to make as I came here alone for three months before my boyfriend joined me in July. Leaving him was a hard decision and I missed him like crazy but ultimately, it has made us stronger as a couple. I still can't believe I managed to fly here by myself too. That alone is a HUGE accomplishment as I am so petrified of flying. If you have followed me on Twitter for a while you will know that I was panicking so much about the flight before I left that I was almost convinced I wouldn't be able to do it. However, it was way easier than I expected it to be and as soon as I touched down in Brisbane I was overcome with a sense of achievement. 

Since being on the other side of the world for a while, I feel like I have learnt so much about myself and have had a lot of time to sit back and think about life and what I want from it. If you read my post about dealing with OCD you may know that I am an insecure and sensitive person but this trip has really helped me with not only my confidence but my independence. Taking the leap to come here alone has taught me that no matter what my fears might be, I can tackle them if I put my mind to it. It has also taught me some valuable life lessons that include learning not to care what anyone other than my loved ones think about me. I was spending far too much of my time worrying about what people might think about me that it was consuming my mind and getting me down. At the end of the day, why should I care? Everyone is going to have their opinions and unless they mean something to me, I really shouldn't be fazed by people who have nothing better to do than spread their negativity.

It has also been amazing to spend some quality time with my family as living on opposite sides of the world, it doesn't happen very often. I have developed such a strong bond with my little brothers and the thought of leaving them really breaks my heart. If any of you live away from family I'm sure you will understand how hard it is and how torn it can sometimes leave you feeling. In an ideal world I would love to spend six months of the year here and six months in England but sadly life isn't that easy. As I write this post now, I dread tomorrow morning when I have to say the word 'goodbye' but I also appreciate how much I have got to know them and how much stronger our relationships have become. Nobody likes goodbyes but I have to remember that goodbye doesn't have to be forever, just for now.

As well as learning things about myself, I have also got to experience visiting some of the most beautiful places in the world. If you follow me on Twitter or Instagram I'm sure you will know what I am talking about as over the past few months I have had some of the best experiences of my life. Whether it be whale watching in the middle of the ocean, strolling along south bank in Brisbane or watching the world go by on the beach at Fraser Island, it has all been amazing and eye-opening. Its amazing to know that there are these beautiful places in the world and it gives me even more motivation to succeed in my career and life so I can experience them again in the near future. 

I have also seen my blog go from strength to strength these past five months. I began writing this blog as a little hobby but it has since developed into something I can't imagine being without. I have celebrated a huge milestone of 1000 followers and have even been invited to a beauty event later this year. I never thought anyone would actually read my little space on the web, let alone follow and support me. It has been truly lovely to get to know some of you over twitter and when I return to the UK I would love the opportunity to meet some of you. I promise I will do a HUGE giveaway when I finally get myself a job too. 

So with all this being said, you may understand why today is a tough one for me. However, although I am leaving my family here, I am going home to my other amazing family who I have greatly missed. If I have learnt one thing whilst being in Australia it is to try and be positive in every situation, even if I am feeling like rubbish inside. I know my family will always be here, even if they are on the other side of the world. After all, it's only a few plane rides away. Roll on Australia 2013 8).

I hope this post didn't depress any of you too much, I just wanted to write a bit of a life post so you all know why I won't be posting until I'm settled in back at home.

Until then, thanks for reading my blog, leaving comments, tweeting, emailing and making me a very happy girly! Here's to life and living it to the full.

Lots of Love,