Big bullet journal catch up: themed months and seasonal spreads

I had this grand plan for the second half of 2018 to create intricate themed spreads for every week of every month, with a whole host of progress pages (habit trackers, stats trackers etc) included. I'd even do a monthly blog post on how things went with a look into all of the spreads and what they meant. I didn't even get one month properly completed the way I wanted to. 

Winnie the Pooh bullet journal monthly spread

I'm absolutely LOVING my themed bullet journal spreads for each month, and whilst they're super time-consuming, they make me feel calm and happy, so are totally worth it. I'm now on my fourth themed month(!), and this is the second one I'm sharing with you. 

The Tale of Bella and Lord Geastly part four

Here's the final part of the tale of Bella and Lord Geastly! Read part one here, part two here and part three here.

The Tale of Bella and Lord Geastly part three

Here's part three, a little later than expected! Read part one here and part two here

The Tale of Bella and Lord Geastly Part Two

The second part of my first short story on the blog is about to kick off, so buckle up and get ready!
Read part one here!

The Tale of Bella and Lord Geastly (part one)

I've wanted to write a short story to publish in parts on here for the longest time now, and after finally finding something I truly wanted to write, here's the first instalment of The Tale of Bella and Lord Geastly:

Lilo & Stitch bullet journal monthly spread

It's NO secret at all that I'm a massive Disney fan. It brings me joy and entertainment and nostalgia and there's nothing else that really does exactly that for me. My bujo is pretty much my prized possession (in a 'it's coming with me out of a burning building' kinda way). Filling it in is soothing and helpful and makes my day feel complete, so it seemed natural to combine these two loves.

Top 5 attractions in each Walt Disney World park (Orlando)

Walt Disney World is a truly magical place, and I feel so lucky to have has the opportunity to visit it last month. Each park (Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and Epcot) has a massive number of attractions, and it's near impossible to get them all crammed into one day. So, here's my little summary of the top five must-see/do attractions at each park.

10 Reasons Why the Beauty and the Beast Remake is Perfect

I went to see the new live action Beauty and the Beast remake with my mum for Mother's Day last night and holy moly was it incredible. BATB is one of my favourite Disney films, and I was so worried about getting my hopes up in case the producers ruined my impression of the original film, or it totally fell flat. But it shone. I was overwhelmed by how much I loved it, and ten minutes into this film I was pretty darn certain I'd be writing this post. So, here are my top ten reasons for falling head over heels for it, and obviously I'm putting out a massive spoiler alert, because duh.
1.) All of the original songs were kept in. I was half expecting just to see 'Tale as Old as Time' and 'Belle' (aka Little Town) but they were ALL THERE *weeps*. They didn't try to jazz them up too much, and the remake of Gaston's song was just incredible IMO.
2.) Iconic outfits were kept in. We've all seen the hype over Emma Watson's yellow Belle dress, because that's just a part of the film that had to stay, right?! That dress is #goals. But, they also kept her plain blue and white frock (I love this one SO much), the red hooded coat she wears in the snow, and the Beast's white transformation tee and iconic navy blue suit.
3.) Chip and Mrs Potts had cockney accents. I don't know why I loved this so much, but it just added that extra bit of charm. I guess tea = British and London = the capital of England so it makes sense? I think it made Chip that extra lil bit adorable. On a side note, they kept the Chip's bubbles scene and his 'what's there mamma?' line. Major love for that.
4.) There was a reason for Beast being nasty. Let's face it, in the first film he's just a straight up bellend. He's a rich Prince who turns away a woman because she's ugly and only realises his mistake once she's pretty *sigh*. In the remake we get a back story: the Beast lost his mother at a young age, and his cruel father turned the sweet young boy into the Beast he is inside. And yeah, he still rejects the old enchantress, but it's because of his pride rather than misogyny. Not much better, but a little different none the less.
5.) Le Fou was attracted to Gaston. There were so many homoerotic undertones in the film in their relationship and I LOVED IT. And the best thing? It wasn't made a big fuss of. Le Fou was in love with Gaston, or at least attracted to him, and that was that. He wasn't mocked by any character, or cast off by Gaston because he loved him. Equally, the producers weren't making him stand there shouting 'LOOK AT ME, A GAY CHARACTER IN A DISNEY FILM, GO US'. In fact, the only other character to comment on the attraction was Mrs Potts, saying that Gaston didn't deserve Le Fou anyway. 
6.) The cast wasn't completely whitewashed. I don't remember the last time (maybe there hasn't been one?) in which there were so many POCs in a cast without the film being about racial issues. For real. Although the majority of the main characters were white, the producers hadn't used any of the age old excuses of 'sticking to the original film' or 'sticking true to the history as we see it' to make the entire cast white. Madame de Garderobe (the wardrobe, and originally part of the Prince's court; she sings the opening song of the film), Plumette (the castle's maid and Lumiere's love) and Pere Robert (the librarian) were all played by POCs, as well as a large proportion of the extras. It was so fab to finally see this in a mainstream film.
7.) The trippy colourful 'Be Our Guest' scene from the original was incredible in 3D. You know the scene with all the plates and cutlery flying around, in which the household is treating Belle to her first (secret) dinner in the castle? I always wondered how they'd do it in the live action remake; would it just be left out? Nope. It was just as fun-filled, colourful and hypnotic as it was the first time around.
8.) The new songs were incredible. I didn't realise before we went that the LA remake was more of a musical than the original. I love musicals so we were all fab on that front. There were a few new songs to mix in with the old and they slotted in so naturally, it was amazing. My personal favourite was 'Evermore', which the Beast sings after Belle leaves the castle. It tugged on pretty much every single one of my heartstrings.
9.) It made me cry. Fun fact: the original Beauty and the Beast was the first film that ever made me cry. Watching this for the first time made me shed a few tears too. I'm a sucker for a back story, and seeing both Belle's and the Beast's opened up new aspects of their characters to me. 
10.) Belle was no damsel in distress. Belle of the original is iffy ground for me: she doesn't want to marry Gaston because she's not physically attracted to him, that's pretty much it. Her father doesn't notice the rapacious advances of Gaston, and Belle just kind of settles for it. Plus, when she reaches the castle, she offers herself up as a sacrifice - the Beast and her father don't really care. She needs rescuing from the wolves. She remains subdued and quiet and all in all I find her a bit problematic. The new Belle totally turned this around. She tells Gaston in no uncertain terms that she will never be his wife: she doesn't like him and she's too young to marry. Her father actively goes against Gaston and him and Belle team up against the man. She holds her own ground in the face of the Beast, makes several attempts at escape, and it's only her belief in the inherent goodness of people that makes her help the Beast. 
I was really prepared to come out of the cinema underwhelmed and disappointed that one of my favourite movies had been wrecked but oh my word I was amazed. All I wanted to do was march back into the cinema and rewatch it straightaway. Safe to say that I NEED the soundtrack now, and I'll be buying the film as soon as it comes out. Love, love LOVE.
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My Top 10 Disney Films

I've been filming a really serious Youtube video for you all today, so this post has come just in time to make me feel all light hearted again. Disney is my favourite comfort food of the cinematic world. On a bad day, some cheesy nachos, a blanket and a Disney film (or three) are definitely the way forward. So, I've rounded up my top ten Disney films to inspire you all this Saturday. Some are classics, some are more recent, but all are animated. Because animated Disney films are always going to be the best, dur. I had a shortlist of about 25 initially, so consider these the creme de la creme of my Disney obsession.
1.) The Nightmare Before Christmas. Is it a Halloween film? It is a Christmas film? Who knows. I've already watched this one this year, and totally used the excuse of it being a Halloween film. This is a Tim Burton masterpiece, and if you've never bobbed up and down around the house singing 'THIS IS HALLOWEEN, THIS IS HALLOWEEN', then you're doing it all wrong.
2.) Up. Have you ever had your heart broken? If not then prepare yourself because this attacks you right in the core of your feels. A cute, grumpy old man named Carl won't let developers knock down the house he lived in with his wife until she died, and his attempts to deal with everything just make my heart bleed.
3.) The Princess and the Frog. I'm not usually a big fan of the traditional Princess movies (although I have to say that this is not the only one on the list), but I absolutely adore this one. The humour in it is perfect, and I don't think I've ever been so upset by the death of a character. I'm not going to spoiler it, but if you've watched it then you'll totally know who I mean.
4.) Tangled. I did warn you there would be more Princess-y ones on the list. Tangled is effectively the story of Rapunzel, but Disney-fied. Rapunzel has her very own chameleon sidekick called Pascal, who is the cutest little guy imaginable. Some of the songs from this one are astounding, and the scene with the lanterns is all pretty unforgettable. I only wish I had gotten to see this on the big screen in the cinema. 
5.) Big Hero 6. In my opinion, this is the most unjustly underrated Disney film out there. Seriously, how have more people not seen it and fallen in love? Big Hero 6 follows the tragic story of the death of an older brother, who has engineered Baymax, a personal healthcare advisor. After his death, Baymax still exists on standby, waiting to detect someone in pain. All I want is my own personal Baymax to introduce himself and give me a hug when I feel poorly. Someone needs to get on that asap.
6.) Alice in Wonderland. I'm talking the traditional one rather than the Johnny Depp version. I used to watch this as a child all the time. This is one that the creators really ran wild with, and I loved all of the swirling colours, rapid scene changes, and the fantastical storyline.
7.) Lilo and Stitch.  I know a lot of people that really hate this one, and I have to ask: what are you doing?! Stitch is the cutest little alien I've ever seen. Also, if the 'ohana means family and family means no one gets left behind' quote doesn't tug on your heart strings, then you may need to get them checked out. The montages of naughty Stitch in this are hilarious, and something I could watch time and time again. 
8.) Beauty and the Beast. What a classic. I'm actually SO excited to see Emma Watson in the live action version oft his, but the animation will always take a place in my heart. The songs are addictive, and I wish Belle's simple dresses were the 'in' thing right now. They are just too good. 
9.) A Muppet Christmas Carol. Okay, okay I know two Christmas movies made it onto the list, but it's November so this is totally okay. I've never actually watched a 'normal' version of A Christmas Carol because who needs one when you have this? Tiny Tim is the most adorable little creature, and I love the narration they have throughout it.
10.) Hercules. This is mostly here because of the songs, I'm not going to lie. And then partly because of Pain & Panic and Meg's sassy nature. The muses' songs are quite simply addictive, and this is one film that I've watched so many times that I can now quote the entire thing almost word for word. 
What would you have put in this list?
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July Favourites, A Life Update + Video

Where did July go?! I sat down, all ready to start filming my video for this month's favourites and was convinced I was about to be summing June up! I'm still not over the fact that we're in August already, even though we're on day 6 now. The one good thing about time moving this fast? It'll soon be Autumn, and I'll have an excuse to have all the baths, snuggle in my dressing gown and be permanently glued to my tea mug. 
So, what did July hold for me and Nourish ME? Well, I had a few sponsored posts this month - in fact the most I've ever had in a month, and I even had to turn down a few opportunities because I didn't want to get oversaturated over here. This seems totally mad, and I'm really hoping that it's a sign of bigger and better things to come in the rest of 2016. 
I finally got a part time job here in Cheltenham, and it's one that (so far at least) is not damaging my mental health progress, and is helping me to get a little more exercise in. It's also been more than a little useful because, you know, getting a secure income is fab when you haven't had one for six months! I'm also finally getting used to living in the countryside, even if we did wake up one morning to an escaped herd of cows just chilling outside our front door.
Now let's get down to my favourites for the month. I'm going to kick start this by talking about my ultimate favourite for July: Vatika's Henna shampoo. This was something that I picked up at Bloggers Ball back in June and had fairly low expectations of. I'm really fussy with shampoos, especially with their scents, and I was a little sceptical about the use of henna in it. BUT, it turned out to be the best shampoo I've used in a long time - my hair has been far less greasy and totally manageable. Plus it smells like apples, which is the most important thing. Obvs. 
My showers have been totally dreamy at the moment because of this and The Body Shop's mango shower gel. Mangoes are a perfect fruit for summer, coming in (in my rankings) at a close third behind strawberries and peaches. Vital info here I know guys. But, it means that when the skies have been grey here in the UK this July I've been able to keep myself smelling like summer. The Body Shop have also done a cheeky simple redesign of their shower gel bottles recently, giving them bold black lids, which I totally love. 
If you've read my summer daily skincare essentials post, then you'll know that I've been upping and altering all aspects of my skincare in the past month or two. The most important addition is possibly my Eau Roma Water from LUSH. This has wormed its way into my favourites after making a comeback in my life for summer. I used to use it about two years ago, and it was one of those things that I just really forgot I liked (does anyone else do this when they finish/lose a product?!), but it's come back with a vengeance.
I've rambled on enough about my newfound love for NYX recently, so I'm not going to bore you with going over that all over again. Just one tip though: go try the soft matte lip cream in Morocco. It is the most divine coral-y red I've ever tried!
And finally we come to a little fun favourite - my tsum tsums! Baymax and Roo are some of my (many) favourite Disney characters, and I was lucky enough that my boyfriend was kind enough to trawl the internet to find them for my birthday. They look so pretty on my shelves, make the perfect blog prop, and the cat absolutely loves to chase/play with them!
Here is my July favourites video, please give it a watch and subscribe!

What were your favourites this month?
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Disney Store Wishlist

It's no secret that Disney is my jam really. Curling up in soft blankets with snacks to watch a Disney film is possibly one of my favourite self-care rituals, and one that I love to rely on when my sister is visiting and we're at a bit of a loose end. Having said that, I haven't really spoken about my love for this franchise on my blog at all yet, but having found out that I'm going to be heading to Disneyworld (Florida) next year (EEEEEK!), there's going to be a few more Disney-related posts cropping up on Nourish ME. So watch this space!
If you've been keeping up with my Instagram lately, you'll know that, despite being fairly late to the Tsum Tsum game, I've been making up for lost time. I've fallen head over heels for these tiny little stackable toys, and can't wait to get a whole shelf of them. The next additions I really want to add are Marie and Thumper. The little pink bow in Marie's fur and the yellow detailing on Thumper's ears are JUST TOO CUTE. Seriously, how could I not love these little guys, especially as I own my very own little 'Thumper' aka Ted. 
There's only one thing that trumps cute little tsum tsums: a tsum tsum hooded onesie. I don't think I've wanted anything more in my life. As soon as Autumn rolls in and I start wanting to cosy up in a snuggly onesie in the evenings, this is going to be sitting right at the top of my life wishlist.
In case you haven't already guessed, cuddly toys are kind of my thang. Has anyone else seen the trailer for Finding Dory? Because oh my word baby Dory is the cutest little thing, which basically means I need this baby Dory plushie, right?! I'm a sucker for anything with big pretty eyes, and this ticks all of my boxes. Plus, y'know, buying it would totally be an excuse to get an 'under the sea' themed duvet cover and pillows. Obviously. 
You know all those blogger photos with mounds of pretty white/gold/marble cushions on? Well the Stitch face cushion is something I would need to add to balance blogger goals with my own personality. Lilo and Stitch is one of my all-time favourites from Disney, and this loveable little alien deserves a place in my home
Now, let's move on to the 'adult' things. I'm a massive green tea drinker, and have my own little favourite mugs that I like to drink out of. As I work from home, there's usually a mug of (most likely cold and forgotten) herbal tea on my desk, and I would love to add this nemo mug and the minnie mouse bow cup and saucer to my collection. Nemo is utterly adorable, and his little (not so) squishy face is basically needed to perk me up when work is slow or non-existent. And the minnie mouse one is just so elegant, I couldn't resist adding it to this wishlist.
Finally, we have a little collection of Alice Through the Looking Glass. Alice in Wonderland was a big favourite for me as a child - I once watched it three times straight when I was off sick - and I'm SO EXCITED for the new release in the franchise this year. 
The Alice compact mirror is something I want to pop in my handbag and keep with me everywhere I go. I can also imagine it being a pretty awesome blog prop for any makeup posts, so keep your eyes peeled if I do pick it up!
The Alice alarm clock is basically something I 100% need in my life right now. I'm terrible at keeping my phone topped up on charge, so it's fairly likely that it'll die overnight and the alarm I had ready won't go off (this has happened too many times). I also love the idea of having an old fashioned alarm clock on my bedside table because, y'know, aesthetic and all. 
 Last up is this cute and slyly detailed Alice tank top. I love the combination of royal blue and gold on this one, and I could see myself pairing it with some shorts or my black skinny jeans all summer to add a pop of colour to my life.
What would you add to this Disney wishlist?
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Review of Caseapp iPhone cases + GIVEAWAY*

I'm pretty new to the iPhone game. For years I've been lusting over everyone else's whilst I sat with my (rather) cracked Samsung, emoji-keyboard-less. So, when my dad got my phone upgraded at Christmas I was ECSTATIC. I could actually take pictures with it, finally use emojis and - the most important part - actually buy pretty phone cases. 
Thus, when Caseapp contacted me offering to send me a couple of custom iPhone cases* to show you guys, I practically bit their hand off. I went for some typical blogger favourites - I didn't own anything marble-y before this so that had to be rectified with the marble case*. And I needed the Hakuna Matata case* because The Lion King is simply amazing and I wanted a reminder to myself to keep your chin up. Plus, since getting it I've discovered the phrase 'hakuna your tatas' and so this phone case makes me giggle every time I pick it up. 
As a little gift to you guys from Caseap, they've given me the code 'STEPH20CA' to share with you all so that you can get 20% off any orders, plus the chance to enter a giveaway to win a phone case for yourself!   Giveaway rules: - UK entrants only - Entrants must be over the age of 18 or have express permission from a parent or guardian - I am not responsible for any damage to the item during transit or if you are unhappy with the product you receive. 

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10 things we can all learn from Disney's Zootropolis

Going to the cinema nowadays is really bloody expensive, so I have to be uber excited about a film release to actually even consider going. As a Disney fan (who isn't?!) however, I couldn't resist heading out to see Zootropolis! 
I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed. It's the first Disney film I've ever seen that I was a bit meh about, and I didn't think they had packed as much detail into it as they usually do. YET, they did pack it with an important political punch, which (sort of) made up for it. So, here are the ten things I think we all could learn from Zootropolis:

1.) Respect yourself. Even if you're the little guy, you're important and you have tonnes of self worth.
2.) Everyone can be a friend. So you might be a different race or religion, so what? Friends are friends and you shouldn't take them at face value.
3.) Everyone needs a friend. Someone may seem like an evil predator on the outside, but in the end there are no truly bad people. Some just might need a little extra love.
4.) Don't stereotype anyone. Taught to us through the 'all bunnies are cute' and 'all foxes are sly' analogy: just because someone belongs to a certain group does not mean you have the right to label them as something.
5.) Take care of the little guy. Everyone is important, and never neglect somebody because they aren't 'useful' to you.
6.) Share your talents. No one is good at everything, so by working together you can make a truly effective team.
7.) Be kind. Kindness goes a long way, and you never know how much of an impact being rude/kind to someone can have on them!
8.) Anything is possible if you set your mind to it. Sargent Hopps is laughed at mercilessly for wanting to be a police officer, but her belief in herself made her a great one.
9.) Let your child follow their dreams. Both Wilde and Hopps succeed in changing the status quo because their parents believed in them, and had their back in helping them do whatever they wanted.
10.) Shakira makes one bad-ass gazelle. This one's fairly self-expanatory.
What did you think of the film?