The Tough Gets Going

This is 100% not a plea for sympathy or a post about 'poor us'... we both know how lucky we are and only need to switch on the news to remind ourselves that we are healthy, live in a safe and stable home environment and have families and boyfriends who support us no end.

That said, its been a tricky year... 2015 has brought blog and job woes, health and home issues and, at times, its been a real struggle. For us, the blogging world is changing (and we've read enough posts from fellow bloggers to know we're not the only ones feeling like that). At one end of the scale we were winning the UK Blog Award for best independent Fashion & Retail blog and working with brands that we are HUGE fans of, yet work was falling through, and the friends we had made through blogging were becoming distant and shady. Blogging as a duo really helps; it is less lonely and the workload is often halved, and it helps us to have direction and support (even if there is the odd disagreement about schedules or angles)! 2016 will likely see some changes (more on that to come) but thank you to everyone who has read, voted and supported in 2015!

Lauren on...

Work

I had a huge shake up in my career move this year. I loved my old agency, and learned an awful lot there, but an opportunity to progress at an amazing agency cropped up and I had a huge internal debate about whether to progress with it. I was scared to be bold (3 years is a long time in one PR agency...) as I was sitting pretty in my previous agency, however I was able to see a really good future for myself in this new role. I felt like I had reached my potential, and that I would only be hindering my own development if I didn't go for it.


Good friends and former colleagues were instrumental in helping me to see that change could be good, and that I would be able to develop into a manager in the new agency. Whilst I was petrified of moving away from a role I was really comfortable in, where I knew my brands inside out and my colleagues really trusted me, the challenge and a bit of the unknown was just what I needed...

It's safe to say I adore my new job, and my new colleagues. The job is the perfect pace, I'm working with like-minded creatives, and doing what I do best on a daily basis (talking to media!). I'm really proud of myself for taking the jump and a chance, which is really out of character if you know me! I'm a PR manager now (weird), happy with my salary and really believe in the work I do. Now I call that a win!

Loss

I can honestly say that the worst thing which happened to me this year was losing my beloved family dog, Tilly. At nearly 12, she was the dog who broke my fear of dogs, and was a wonderful companion. Even though it happened back in May, I still well up thinking about it. My other dog has suffered hugely and is much more sensitive than before, and we all found it really tricky to adjust. We are moving on, but its really made me think about potential pets in the future. I will definitely have a dog, as Tilly gave us so many amazing and funny times, she was old and had such an amazing doggy life!

Health

When in love, you get comfy, and after 7 years with my boyfriend, I was getting a little too comfy. I'd piled on 2 and a half stone since we had met (I know we were 18, but still...), and most importantly, I was really unhappy with the way I looked and the way it made me feel.

After a few faux kicks throughout the year-- an unfortunate juice diet (NEVER full on juice) and a charity 10k, I'm finally on a plan which works for me (and allows for treats too)! I'm loving the gym and trying all sorts of new exercises from Aerial Pilates to Kickboxing and have shifted half a stone in just 3 weeks. I'm not going to restrict myself over Christmas, but I am going to not OVER indulge. I'll keep you all posted!

Being Happy

I've always been a little on the stressy and anxious side, finding it hard to let things go, and really hating it when I knew people were upset with me!

This year, I've been concentrating on letting the little things go. I've been learning to appreciate what I have, and make a point of reminding myself about how lucky I am.

In reality, I'm a 25 year old girl, who is really healthy. I've got an incredibly supportive family network, parents who are super proud (and remind me of it all of the time), lovely siblings (unless you are one of four, its hard to explain the dynamic, but I love being a big sister!), a boyfriend who has been nothing but supportive through all of my job change, the busy nature of the blog and has been there for me when things have been tough through all of the last seven years. I've been spoiled rotten by my boyfriend's family this year, and have some amazing friends who helped with my career change, and have been nothing but supportive. What isn't to be happy about? I find that if you are down, listing out all of the reasons to be thankful can really change your thought process!

Felicity on...

Work

You may remember this post, which took a huge amount of courage to actually publish. In 2014 we lost my boyfriend's dad and my relationship almost crumbled too - and yet I got my dream job as Content Editor at Joules. It definitely felt like life had thrown me a rope, and so I moved home to recover.

Three months in, I lost my job. I was in shock - I'd had great feedback, made friends - I lived, loved and breathed it. I'd learned so much. How on earth could I have lost it? I still don't know the exact reasons why - cuts at the end of the financial year, perhaps, or maybe I wasn't exactly what they were looking for within the team. It's always dangerous talking about work via social media or blogs, and I want to be professional... but it was not handled delicately or professionally. Moving on!

I started temping locally and in June blogged full time.This is the tough bit. I hated it at first. I felt useless. I'd started working before graduating, what the hell was I meant to do with all this time? I was keeping up the blog and applying to retail specific jobs but I wasn't getting anywhere. After a while, I had to just calm down on it and make a rule - only apply to jobs that genuinely make you excited just reading the description. They are the jobs to go for, right there.

It took me a really long time to readjust, and so I took time. Real time. Time for myself. I breathed in, breathed out and somehow I looked around me and realised I hadn't died. I was still standing and I had to learn from this. I went back to the drawing board and really thought about what I could take from it, how I could grow from it and what I wanted for the future. That time was precisely what I needed, and really, I can only see that now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I am now thrilled to say I have a fantastic role at a brand new company, and I'm moving again but I am so excited to be starting 2016 with something good in the pipeline. Long may it continue.

Love

Neither of our boyfriends tend to visit the ol' blog - I think after four years of it, they hear enough about it at home without going on it. Regardless, I wanted to dedicate a section to my boyfriend, because my relationship has healed and come to be the best and most wonderful thing... I could never imagine loving anyone as much as I love him. I feel like all the wobbles, the troubles, ups and downs led us to this. After almost 6 years together, I can honestly say I am truly, deeply, sickeningly in love. Sorry... not sorry at all.

Blogging 

So I was up and down the M1 like a yo-yo, living at home or my boyfriend's depending on what the schedule for the blog was looking like (or if I had interviews). I've pretty much been in London almost every week since March, which hasn't really felt like 'not working' at all. As Lauren highlighted earlier, the blog world is changing. We recently went to the boohoo 'we are family' xmas party and met some lovely bloggers, and sadly that's rare. I've been the one to go to events since Lauren moved job, and I've felt borderline drained when I leave. I find it so competitive now - there's hardly any support between bloggers, because the market is so saturated and people seem desperate for brand collaborations. It's not what it used to be, and whilst we're still having a lot of fun, I have to admit that if it was just me blogging alone I would've stopped already. Content has to change, and I think it'll change soon - too many people are doing the same thing. I think a blog has to grow with you - otherwise it's not a true reflection of you, where you're at and what you can do. We're looking to do something different next year, still within fashion-beauty-lifestyle, but it'll definitely be different. Watch this space!

More loss

I also lost a dog! We haven't been lucky this year, Lauren and I! We're big big dog lovers, and it was a real shock to lose my younger doggy as he was only 7. I won't go on too much - no one ever loves your pets as much as you do - and while we miss him terribly, I'm glad he didn't suffer. 

Becoming whole

I remember stumbling across Rupi Kaur around a week after I lost my job, and this really stuck with me:

"It was when I stopped searching for home within others 

and lifted the foundations of home within myself 

I found there were no roots more intimate

than those between a mind and body

that have decided to become whole"

It resonated with me instantly, because it was what I was trying to do. I was trying to find happiness within myself - not in my job, not even in my relationship. Not with who I was to the world - daughter, sister, girlfriend, friend, blogger, content creator, writer, twenty something, girl, woman. Who I was to myself, and finding peace within that. Building a strong foundation on my own, within my very bones. I was forced to take time, and venturing across the world to find myself wasn't an option. I had to learn to sit with myself comfortably and calmly and find the inner reaches of strength and acceptance of self I needed to carry on. I know this is getting very deep, but I felt I'd had 12 months of being tested and I was tired. I was low. Aside from the 3 months at my job, I'd had a year of not wanting to wake up in the morning when I fell asleep. Maybe that's a step too far to disclose, but I think it's important to maturely accept that we all have bad times. I chose walking over sleeping and writing over antidepressants. I am happy being a work in progress, and I've found true joy in being. My only goal now? To be present, and grasp everything good with both hands and treasure it.

So, we would like to thank each and every one of you for your undying support and lovely comments when we have mentioned tough times, or changes on our channels. We love feedback, so if you have anything you'd like to see more (or less!) of on the blog, then do drop us a comment below or tweet us @PrettyPoshOMG

Felicity and Lauren 
x-o-x

Felicity:  Jeans | Jumper | Slippers

Lauren: Jeans | Jumper | Slippers

all c/o Boden