I didn't write any New Year's resolutions this year - at least, not here - because the ones from 2011 pretty much still stand and were well worth keeping up. But, 2012 has been hectic so far and it doesn't look like it will slow down anytime soon, so I thought I'd share what I've been up to...

Ticking the 'Over 25' box

In January I turned 26, which is terrifying for obvious reasons. I'm closer to 30 than 20. I should probably start using eye cream. I still haven't accomplished any of what in my mind I would by the time I reached this age, and still feel 21 at heart. So naturally, I was dreading this birthday a little - but funnily enough, it was quite possibly my best ever. OK, so in all the Christmas rush I forgot to take the day off work for it (muppet), but I planned a night out at LVPO and invited pretty much everyone I know in the hope that maybe a handful would show up, and was overwhelmed by how many friends came along. I danced like a moron (see previous 21-at-heart comment), saw people I hadn't seen in 6 months or more and generally had a brilliant night. Yay!

Learning some moves

I've been moaning about getting fit for a while now, and while I wait for WaterCrew classes to return to London (or until someone buys me a WaterRower - those things are SO expensive!), I've been getting fit the fun way with Zumba. Now, I know that this word is everywhere, together with quite irritating pictures of people looking like they're laughing AND exercising (freaks) but it actually is brilliant. And you will laugh. As a lover of all things Shakira, the music is right up my street and even if I am wearing a sports bra and lame trainers, I love the moves and little shimmies that are involved. It's fun, energetic and not too expensive - fitness win. (Plus, Wahanda have offers on Zumba pretty often. And you can use JJ21 for 10% off anything. You're welcome.)

Blogging, blogging, blogging

I know I'm not the most dedicated of bloggers when it comes to this site - but the thing is, I'm writing for lots of other sites too! In February I was very happy to start writing for the brilliant folks at Aigua Media - they have such a great range of sites and I'm proud to be part of it. So, tune in to sites like Dollymix and Kiss and Makeup to see me writing about television, break-up songs and much much more. And of course check out their other sites such as Catwalk Queen, Shoewawa and The Bag Lady. You won't be disappointed!

Continuing to not understand men

Yep, I still don't get them. After countless chats with my ever-patient girlfriends about one guy who, despite me liking him (and him displaying signs of liking me but then disappearing again), I have had to put in the Never Going To Happen file, and very little else going on, I am still very single and a bit bored of it - last year I enjoyed it, but now it just seems so 2011. Add to that a very, very random bunch of flowers landing on my desk on Valentine's Day, with nothing but a weird quote from Keates (thanks Twitter for telling me), and I'm as baffled as ever. (Please, can someone own up? Thanks!)

Plotting and planning

This year, I promised myself I would see more and do more (yeah, maybe I did make a little resolution after all) - so I've been planning my getaways. Fingers crossed they happen; I've got my ticket secured for Hideout Festival in Croatia (aka the new Ibiza, although frankly, who needs a new Ibiza when you already have awesome original Ibiza?), plans to visit my friend in Dubai, tickets for Blood Brothers, and the lineup for Lovebox is looking pretty good too. This year is going to fly by, isn't it?

Did you start any New Year's resolutions this year? How are they going?

It's not like I needed a new social network to take up more of my time. Twitter is already a way of life for me now - I probably tweet even more than I text - and Facebook, despite my general dislike for it, is something I visit daily even if it is just to spy. So when my boss told me about Pinterest I wasn't in a rush to get involved - but then I pinned my first thing and it got a little out of control...

Pinterest is essentially an online scrapbook, or mood board, of the pictures, photos, illustrations, whatever, that you love. Whoever came up with it is an utter genius. It is so simple; all you need do is drag the 'Pin it' button into your browser and you can pin anything, wherever you are on the web. A little like Tumblr, I guess, but faster, simpler, easier.

What I can't get over (and the reason I was on it until 1am midweek) is that there is just no reason to stop. I can pin for hours. Unlike Twitter or Facebook where once everyone's in bed or starting to talk utter rubbish it's time to close the laptop and stop, Pinterest doesn't require other people. They just make it better. So there I was last week, Googling my favourite David Downton illustrations so I could have them in one place; finding screenshots of Friends scenes that make me cry with laughter; looking up inspirational quotes and my favourite artists. I could have kept going, but the impending shrill of my alarm clock made me stop.

Of course, it is about being social, and other people's pins just make it even more addictive. Your homepage will be filled with the images that your fellow pinners have been discovering, liking and commenting on - a wealth of inspiration all in one place, all on different subjects which you can search within if you're looking for more of a certain topic. Follow people, follow specific boards - use it however you want to.

As much as I love writing, and I love tweeting, the problem with having a Tumblr or a Twitter account is that so many of the great things you link to get lost, as newer posts knock them back down the timeline. With Pinterest, it's all images - brilliant for those photos that speak for themselves, and more effective, with more immediate an impact, than reading something; and you can keep going back to it, admiring all those dreamy pictures you've found with ease. Like I said, genius.

Spoken like a true addict, eh? See my pins over at http://pinterest.com/judy_jay/ - and feel free to leave your username in the comments so I can follow yours.

I have to say, I did not see this one coming. I admit, I obsess over things quite easily, whether it's a place (Ibiza), a person (Ryan Gosling, obvs) or a mascara (currently Max Factor's Masterpiece Max). But after the crackle nail craze, which I eventually grew bored of, I really wasn't sure the next gimmick would live up to the hype - magnetic nails.

I'm sure everyone who paints their nails has heard of this by now but in case you haven't, it was 2011's way of jazzing up nails at home. Gone are the days of French manicures and single colours - it's all about nail art made easy these days. The polishes have fine metal particles which, when you hover a magnet over the top of them (when still wet), create a shape or design.

One of my lovely besties bought me my first magnetic polish for part of my birthday gift earlier this month, and it wasn't one of the brands I've seen on any of the beauty blogs I follow. The polish is by FashionistA in collaboration with girl group The Saturdays, a range called Magnetism. The shade is perfect; I have the 'Ego Green' which in the bottle looks like a gorgeous dark jewel-like colour and I couldn't wait to give it a go. The magnet that you need is sold separately (which thankfully the bestie thought to buy, as I am told a regular fridge magnet doesn't work. Baffling.) but fits nicely on top of the lid of the varnish bottle so that you don't lose it. 

I painted my nails with one coat, and adored the colour - I'd happily wear it even without the magnetic pattern. Then, after applying a second coat, while it was still wet I hovered the magnet over the top. It has a useful ridge which you can use to keep it steady and close without touching the polish. After just 10 seconds, I took it away and hey presto - I had a really pretty 'wave' design on the nail. With no extra work!

Because of the way the polish moves with the magnet, it pushes that top coat into a shape, so the waves are a darker green than the first layer. I added a clear top coat to make it extra shiny and chip-proof and loved its almost tortoiseshell look - so much smoother and glossier than the shatter polishes, which despite looking cool always looked a little messy. Even better, it lasted a good four days which for me and my nails is not bad at all. Will definitely be buying some more colours and exhausting this trend... 

Have you tried magnetic polish? Any brands you'd recommend I try to satisfy my new-found obsession?

 

My mouth has got me into trouble quite a few times. From telling my sister when I was 8 that I saw a ghost in our room (sorry, not true) to saying a bit too much on what would otherwise have been the best date ever (still gutted, and pretty sure that’s the reason it ended there!), I tend to be a bit too honest for my own good. 

When I was little, I generally agreed with anything my sister said, even if it meant lying; but then I got older, realised I had an opinion and kind of lost sight of what was helpful and honest and what was just better left unsaid. I'm not talking just the little things, like whether or not you like the wooly jumper your nan got you for Christmas (a white lie never hurt anyone, as they say), but also the bigger things. Do you stand up for yourself if you think someone's done you wrong? Do you tell someone if you think they're wasting their time on someone or something? I seem to lack that filter of when to keep it buttoned and while I LOVE honesty in other people and see it as part of having a backbone, I'm not sure I should always spill the beans.

Recently I’ve either said too much to someone and regretted it (like round the dinner table this Christmas, telling my sister she’s blatantly the tougher, meaner one in her relationship – oops) or heard people moaning about in-laws or friends who just need to keep their thoughts to themselves, even if they do mean well. I’m glad it’s not just me that has honestitis, but at what point do you hold back? I seem to be surrounded by people with strong opinions, which I think is great (far better than an ignorant drip round the dinner table) but sometimes it seems no one wants to hear mine…

Whether it’s about babies (don’t do it like that), men (he’s clearly a prick), family (you’ve made the wrong decision), or work (that’s not how I’d do it), it’s really hard to get the balance right between getting your voice heard and giving good advice, and hurting someone’s feelings – or just making them plain angry.

When do you keep your lips sealed and when do you speak up?

Yes, it’s the obligatory look-back-at-the-year post that everyone does but it’s been quite a year so it deserves it, don't you think? There haven’t been as many changes as I’d hoped for but I’ve ticked off a few things from the to-do list, more so than I have in any other year. There have been a decent number of ups, a few too many downs but it was a huge improvement on 2010… so, 2012, can you do better than this? 

In 2011, I:

Learned Spanish

Ok, so I haven’t learned ALL the Spanish there is to learn, but I made a start, which is fairly impressive for me – I’m generally all talk when it comes to aspirations. I did level one and two with Cactus language and am hoping I can stretch some pennies to cover level three in the new year so I can get further than just ‘I’m from England’ and ‘walk straight on’. Seriously.

Revisited Ibiza

...and had the best holiday of my life. I may say this every time I go to another country (I love to travel, in case you’d missed that) but seriously, this really was the best.  I discovered Flower Power at Pacha, I partied every single night, I forgot all about home troubles and really, well and truly had fun. I also met some great people and one who I still think about a little too often, but that's another story...

Got my second nephew! 

Brandon is quite possibly the cutest baby ever (don’t tell the other nephew) and is also the easiest to look after – having spent the last week with him I have been dubbed by my family as ‘good with kids’ a ‘natural mum’ and if Brandon could speak I am sure he would say I am pretty goddamn funny, because he smiles a LOT.

Had my first ever feature published in print 

I freelance whenever I can and this year I was lucky enough to write for Expert Beauty, for their special issue during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Writing all about boobs and what the risks are when it comes to this horrid disease, not only did I learn a lot, but I learned more about the ways of freelancing and felt more like a journalist than ever. More to come next year!

Went to my first UK festival

Yes, I donned my boots (I never have owned wellies) and went down to Brighton for the Shakedown festival and partied in the rain like a true music-loving Brit. Ed Sheeran and Example were brilliant, the toilet queues were not so brilliant, but all in all I loved it and can't wait to do some more festivals next year, funding-dependent.

Sadly, it wasn't all good in 2011 - there was plenty of bad stuff going on too. From supporting my parents as they put their all into setting up a business, having it pretty much sabotaged by an evil woman who shall have to remain nameless and then comforting them when it went horribly wrong and left them both ill, to then saying goodbye to my hometown, officially, after they had to move due to business/job changes/landlord changes, I stressed myself out way too much with their problems as well as mine. Plus I discovered that being single is often tough; being single when none of your friends are is tougher. Booo. 

But, all is not lost - 2011 was better than 2010 by miles, and though I am about to turn 26 (holy crapola) I am planning a pretty fantastic and travel-tastic 2012 already. Wish me luck!

Everyone always asks what you got for Christmas, but we don’t really do presents for myself and my sisters now, and rightfully so (though I did get a perfume, thanks mum and dad, you rock). We treat my over-excited nephews instead, and as I am the single one with no mouths to feed other than my own Malteser-loving one I tend to buy for parents too, with something small for the sisters. So instead of telling you what I got for Christmas, which to be honest I hate hearing from people (er, boasting much?!), I thought I’d share what I gave - you never know, it might help you when shopping next year...

For mum: 

My mum is beauty-obsessed, and clearly where I got my passion for makeup from. I always treat her to something beauty related as well as giving her freebies throughout the year (very lucky I can do that thanks to my job, occasionally) so this year I gave a mixture. First up was Divaderme brush-on lashes (on a Wahanda deal, of course), and she absolutely loves them. I have to say I am impressed she puts them on so well, as I had Twitter feedback that it was fiddly, but she seems to have got the hang of it very quickly and won't stop talking about them. Tick! 

Next up was Benefit’s Foam Cleanser, which she loves after trying out their new range when I got her a sample set in the summer. For a woman who won’t step away from her Clinique, Estee Lauder and Clarins creams, this is an achievement for  me – I've got her hooked on affordable yet lovely skincare! I also got her the latest Nicholas Sparks book, a makeup bag for all those cosmetics and a perfume called Tous that came from a beauty journalist friend and that smelt fresh and dewy. Double tick!

For dad: 

My dad hates sport, doesn’t do much gardening and rejects most new helpful gadgets so can be tricky to buy for, so this year I went for tried and trusted presents. A cord shirt from Marks and Sparks’ Blue Harbour range, a book on motorbikes, and an Amazon voucher all went down very well to start with, and then I gave a meditation CD from Meditainment (thanks Twitter for the recommendation) because I want him and my mum to learn how to relax in 2012... it's about time they put their feet up and stopped worrying so I'm showing them how it's done!

For the 2 year old nephew:

A jacket with detachable sleeves from Matalan, aka the queen of affordable baby clothes - I love that place and always find something good for the kids in there. I also found bathtub crayons on the almighty Amazon so he can draw in the bath ( I want some too!) and a Fireman Sam backpack. Smiles all round.

For the 3 month old nephew: 

A very very very cute outfit, also from Matalan, and some nursery cube thingies that were Winnie the Pooh branded from M&S – overpriced but supersoft and will look lovely in his new nursery, even if he has no idea what to do with them...

For the grandparents:

My dear grandparents needed cheering up so I used Interflora to send them a hamper this year - I'd never done it before as I worried they were too fussy to like much in any of them but they were so happy with it (I heard how amazing the basket was about ten times, anyway) that I think I'll be doing that every year from now on. Easy!

I couldn't leave out my two older sisters and their partners, so they got an Amazon voucher (seriously, isn’t Amazon just amazing?) and chocolate coins. Can’t go wrong!

The best bit about this Christmas was having all the family around - cheesy, but true - but I do love knowing that I've got someone a gift that they really love. What did you give this year that you’re a bit proud of? Go on, give me ideas for next year…

Don't worry, I haven't gone absolutely loopy at last - I still don't believe in fairytales (though The Notebook most definitely could happen, right?) but believe it or not, there are people out there who know what they're doing when it comes to blogger outreach. 

Appliances Online have come up with a pretty smart way of both rewarding bloggers and of course getting a little SEO-friendly link back too - and given my job and my wishes for this blog to grow, I can hardly complain about that. After being contacted herself, a friend forwarded on the info from the Fairy Hobmother who is waving her magic wand over blogs all over the interwebs and granting wishes so I was more than happy to get involved.

Personally, I think this is a great idea that so many companies are trying to do, yet perfectly executed in a cute and rewarding style. In exchange for a link I was given some Amazon vouchers which are going straight into my dwindling budget for Christmas presents - not bad eh?

To spread the festive cheer a little further, any commenters on this post could get a visit from the Fairy Hobmother - so tell me, what do you want this Christmas?

I just had to post this today, as a long-awaited email from Amazon popped into my inbox this morning. Sophie Kinsella, writer of the Shopaholic series as well as the brilliant Undomestic Goddess, Twenties Girl, Remember Me? and others, is back. FINALLY.

It feels like an age since I read Mini Shopaholic and even longer since Twenties Girl - which was pretty different given the ghostly essence of the story but fantastic and laugh-out-loud funny nonetheless. Now Kinsella is back with a new novel which is available to pre-order - it's called I've Got Your Number and sounds hilarious as always.

Chick-lit gets pretty slated at times but as a writer who wants to write that stuff (I want to make people laugh and swoon simultaneously, in life and in writing. What's wrong with that?!) I absolutely love it. There aren't many who do it well (no pressure then, future me) but when I find a decent author who knows their giggles such as Freya North or Anna Maxted, I stick to them and wait eagerly for their next release. I'm always looking for new ones too, so do let me know in the comments if there are any you swear by.

So without further ado, here's the blurb stolen from Amazon and the link for pre-ordering it. Enjoy!

I've lost it. The only thing in the world I wasn't supposed to lose. My engagement ring. It's been in Magnus's family for three generations. And now, the very same day his parents are coming, I've lost it. The very same day. Do not hyperventilate Poppy. Stay positive!!

Poppy Wyatt has never felt luckier. She is about to marry the ideal man, Magnus Tavish, but in one afternoon her 'happy ever after' begins to fall apart. Not only has she lost her engagement ring but in the panic that followed, she has now lost her phone. As she paces shakily round the hotel foyer she spots an abandoned phone in a bin. Finders keepers! Now she can leave a number for the hotel to contact her when they find her ring. Perfect!

Well, perfect except the phone's owner, businessman Sam Roxton doesn't agree. He wants his phone back and doesn't appreciate Poppy reading all his messages and wading into his personal life. 

What ensues is a hilarious and unpredictable turn of events as Poppy and Sam increasingly upend each other's lives through emails and text messages. As Poppy juggles wedding preparations, mysterious phone calls and hiding her left hand from Magnus and his parents... she soon realises that she is in for the biggest surprise of her life.

Buy it on Amazon here. Happy reading...

Back in the early days of my blogging life, I posted about Burts Bees lipgloss which I loved despite hating lipgloss; well, next on my Hate List is foundation. I can't stand the stuff. I think natural skin looks prettier than thick and cloggy makeup - and I'd rather use concealer all over than smear on foundation. Until now.

Bourjois is one of my favourite brands - I already swear by their eyeliners, Healthy Mix concealer and chocolate-like bronzer. And now they've done what no other brand has managed to do in all my years of playing with makeup; they've convinced me to wear foundation.

The Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation, apart from being a bit of a mouthful, is quite simply brilliant. While I'm not sure about its claim to last 16 hours (so far I've only been wearing it on nights out), it is right when it claims to be radiance-boosting with an instant anti-fatigue effect - my skin looked fresh and even-toned, with a slight glow too. Containing goji berries, pomegranate and lychee, it also smells delicious (but not overpowering, as no one wants a fruity face).

Because it is gel-based, it glides on and blends better than any tinted moisturiser, concealer or foundation I have ever tried. It's so soft on the skin that you'll find it hard not to keep sweeping your fingers across your pretty much flawless face - and best of all, it doesn't feel like makeup to the touch. Personally, I found it gave really good coverage but the packaging states it is only a 1 on a scale of 1 to 3.

My pet peeve with all foundations I've tried previously, powder included, has been that you could tell I was wearing it - there was no way the texture could ever be passed as my own skin. Bourjois have changed all that - it feels like my bare skin, looks like my skin (but better, obviously) and doesn't make me look like one of those beauty counter girls who layer up every product they sell on their face. I'm a convert. 

Disclosure: I received this foundation free of charge, though it wasn't from a PR - I'm not certain but I think I won it in a Latest in Beauty giveaway!