Faded Spring

    Getting My Life Back With Style Sportif

    There was a time when I was considered ‘sporty’ but years of bad eating habits, illness and exercise related laziness left me out of the ‘sporting loop’ for good, or at least so I thought. I had got into a pattern of excuses, believing that I was too ‘busy’ to exercise and blamed my hectic work schedule for not being able to take time out to exercise. Except of course that was a load of crap and as the years drifted by my refusal to be ‘healthy’ became more and more apparent. There is this misconception that just because someone is ‘slim’ they are healthy when the reality is far darker. I ate sporadically and my diet was terrible, failing to keep to a steady eating routine. Junk food was the ... read more

    House Festival With Samsung & Three

    In a rare sunny spell, Marble Hill was bathed in a soft golden glow, where the gentle rays of forgotten sunshine was beginning to pull through. Festival goers clambered into open fields, eager to enter the excitement that would engulf them beyond the tents, while the sun deepened into hazy euphoria. As a guest of Samsung and Three, I was escorted straight to the tents before being ushered into the growing crowds that awaited House Festival. It was magical; like a scene set in a Midsummer's Night Dream rainbow streamers swung merrily overhead, the gentle caress of the wind like a balm to the sunshine's warmth. The zest of the festival goers was infectious, the laughter and cheers ringing in ... read more

    Faded Spring’s Guide To Purley & Co.

    In my heart lies the free-spirit of a traveler, who over the past four years has uprooted from my village to pursue my dream of a prestigious English Literature, English Language and Education and Social Sciences degree and make everyone proud. During those four years I moved a whopping eight times, graduated with a first and followed my dreams of becoming a real-life blogger and now that journey is about to get more exciting. I am finally moving to London at the end of this month and whilst my dream has already been delayed two months, being one step closer to my dream makes my heart a-flutter. But that is not to say that I will leave behind the memory of my home of nine months so easily; ... read more

    Planete Chocolat Luxury Truffles

    'Dripping its weight in gold, the cookie crumbles, Succulent chocolates tower over mankind,Caramelized strands of rope entwine in harmony,Songbirds tweet a sweet chocolate rhyme, o' sweet one hand me your time, Candy castle stuffed with sweet delights,No more sweet than the secret hidden treasure, A chocolate room laden with the good brown, Belgian, Swiss, the French are good too, The king sits at the centre, his chocolate crown melts, Pooling at his royal feet he takes a lick, sweet god he cries,What is this sorcery, the finest chocolate in the land no less?Truffles sire, made from Belgian cocoa, rest assured its handmade,The revelers rejoiced and the trumpeters played,The court ate till ... read more

    How Unbound Taught Me To Be Body Positive

    When it comes to self-perception of body image I suck, I am constantly berating myself for not having that enviable hourglass figure that society seems to covet and often look at my body as comparable to an eight year old boy's. I am flat chested, slim and nothing like the image of a busty, curvaceous woman that is upheld as the feminine ideal, projected by media, institutions and even through peer pressure. In short I have no curves to speak of and looking at myself naked in the mirror often leaves me in floods of tears because I am afraid of being different. But one day everything changed and I realized something truly beautiful. There is no ideal body shape; short, tall, thin, curvy or ... read more

    It’s Ok To Talk About Sex

    Throughout the ages us Britons have had a love/hate relationship with the word sex; from the rowdy Romans who sought to bring pleasure and fine entertainment to our intimate rooms to the overt gentility and regressive Victorian attitudes towards sex in the 19th century, its clear that sex is a cultural taboo. In many cultures, including those stemmed in religious belief sex outside of marriage is frowned upon while the sexual revolution of the 1960's saw Modern Britain develop more lax attitudes towards sex. Sex was often seen as a deed designed to 'church' a family instead of an act of pleasure or intimacy and the liberalism shown towards sex in the 1960's helped eradicate age old archaic ... read more

    Capture My Heart With Chavin

    No other symbol but a heart could be more synonymous with who I am as a person right now; touched by loss my heartstrings have been tugged and pulled more times than I can imagine. But then my heart has overflowed with love for all the support my fellow bloggers and friends have given out to me, offering me countless salves to soothe my wounded heart. They say loss changes you and they are right but not in the way you think, I always kept my emotions in check because I didn't want people to know that I had worn my heart on my sleeve, that at heart I was secretly a softie. I wanted people to know me as the one who had her friends back and could withstand any storm that life threw at me but I ... read more

    The Benefits Of A Digital Detox

    Rewind to the 14th June and the news I had been dreading most had hit the airwaves; two deaths that I was left to mourn in the space of a few hours. I crumbled and fell but held my head high, riding above the waves of despair as the tributes came pouring in. I saw the last memories of my friend and grandma replay in my mind, social media plastered with statuses and photos to commemorate their lives. But I found it too hard to cope and went offline, hoping that not being confronted with their deaths 24/7 would help me move on and accept their loss. Since I began blogging last August I have only had one other digital detox- two months ago- and although I felt refreshed it made getting into ... read more

    My Floral Fantasy With ILWF

    Where would my floral fantasy take place? On a desert island surrounded by intricate floral wreaths woven with seashells, watching the waves lap the shore or in an urban city, watching the world go past as I strut in my towering platforms, bringing colour and joy into peoples ordanairy mundane lives; wherever my fantasy takes place, there is no denying that florals are the ultimate symbol of vitality. They bring us hope when we are low and bring us joy in our happiest moments, flowers commemorate special moments in our lives and can signal the loss of loved ones. Whatever the occasion flowers or floral prints will be there to signify the start of something new. For as long as I can remember ... read more

    A Letter To My Angels

    The 15th of June will be a date that I will never forget, the moment that I was left gasping for air as the news of your death reached me. I crumbled and fell, one young the other old, both deaths out of the blue and left me feeling broken. There is an emptiness inside me and I feel broken beyond repair, I wonder through life sleepless and afraid of what life will bring me next. I will never forget you, Grandma and friend for bringing colour and joy into my life. Shante, you were full of colour and life, never afraid to challenge social convention and be the life and soul of the party; Grandma you were quiet and serene, always watchful, forever present in my heart. You both died fighting for ... read more