New Year – 2018 Round Up & 2019 Goals

Happy New Year! I hope everyone brought in the bells with their loved ones and you weren’t feeling too rough the next day!

I spent January 1st mainly sleeping – not quite sure why I felt so tired but I slept the entire day away! Tried to make up for it on the 2nd as I tried to cram as much as I could so I could say I didn’t waste my time off!

***Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links so I may receive a small commission at no cost to you if you choose to purchase a product through these links***

I thought it would be useful to reflect on what 2018 brought to my blog and what I hope 2019 brings.

These are my stats since I started blogging consistently in April – not the biggest numbers ever but I’m still proud of each and every view!

I had quite a few opportunities this year which I’m quite proud of as I didn’t imagine I would have had quite as much interest as I did especially with my teeny tiny following.

I worked with some fantastic brands and bought a tremendous amount of new products to satisfy my beauty cravings!

I got to go to Deep Sea World and spend time with other bloggers which took me way out of my comfort zone!

I was invited to a Lush event but I had to turn that down due to my real life job which was majorly disappointing!

I was even nominated for a Mystery Blogger Award and I hosted my first giveaway!

A lot of the brands I worked with were through Instagram so I didn’t always post on my blog but I thought it would be nice to roundup who I have worked with for the year.

***Please note: Products featured in this post have been sent to me for free to test and review but as always, opinions remain my own!***

The first brand I want to mention is Kalon Kosmetics. From winning their giveaway and then a few months later getting a PR package was an amazing experience. JaLeeda is one of the most amazing ladies and the company have great values that I can really relate to. I can’t wait to see what they do in 2019 as they just seem to be going from strength to strength! I’m really thankful to be involved with then for their Achelois Goddess campaign.

I was sent some XLS Nutrition which was the basis for a “weight loss post”. I think if there was any doubt about my honesty in posts, this proves I don’t hold back.

I got to use a really fancy foot file by Dynesse. I’ll be honest, it’s not something I would normally buy but being sent it was great as my feet have felt nice and soft ever since!

I was sent not one, but two sleep masks from Bedtime Bliss which, although I wouldn’t use them for every day, they are perfect for travelling and I even gifted one to my friend so she could use it on her flight to Canada this Christmas.

Eyewake kindly sent me some collagen gel which helps me wake up in the morning and reduces the bags under my eyes. I am doing another campaign for them this year too which I am really looking forward to.

Lastly, I was sent a Vitamin C serum by Skinkissed and I have just finished the whole bottle which says a lot as I never tend to keep up with my skincare but I found this to be so nice for my skin!

Murphy wasn’t kept out of the action this year either. After the launch of his Instagram, he was sent a fab little bandana from D and C Pet Couture. I don’t do football so unfortunately he only wore it for the photo, but it was a really good product!

I was also sent some Olay Daily Facials from the Savvy Circle, Colgate Toothpaste from Home Tester Club, primer, mascara and face masks from Alba Science. These aren’t directly related to my blog itself but I’d definitely recommend signing up to these places so you can try out some new stuff in exchange for a short review.

This is by no means a bragging post – I know this is not impressive compared to a lot of bloggers but I am proud of my blogging achievements this year and I’ve discovered some new brands and products that I love.

I’m not really one for resolutions but I would like to get my organisational skills back to help me feel less overwhelmed with social media and trying to get my posts out – I feel like I’m constantly playing catch up at the moment!

I know I said it before, but I would like to get my own domain but taking the leap is so scary. I’m worried I will lose my posts I’ve already created but my biggest fear is spending money on something that I can’t keep up with!

What did you achieve in 2018? What are your goals for 2019? Let me know in the comments below!

I’ve said it before, and I have to say it again – I’m so grateful to you all for the support I’ve received since I started this endeavour. Thank you! 💜

Claudia xxx

Related Posts:

Kalon Kosmetics Achelois X Goddess Collection

Deep Sea World – Influencer Evening

XLS Nutrition – A “Healthy” Way to Lose Weight?

Make Money, Get Free Stuff💰

Deep Sea World – Influencer Evening

A few weeks ago I received confirmation that I had been successful with an opportunity I had applied for.

The event was being hosted by Deep Sea World, a place I remember fondly visiting years ago!

This was their very first influencer evening and I was able to be a part of it!

***Disclaimer*** although I was invited to this event, all the views in this post are my own.

On the run up to the event, I did think either they were going to revoke my invitation for not being a “real” blogger or the event was going to be cancelled.

Luckily it didn’t! I would love to say I rocked up all calm and introduced myself to everyone but I can’t.

I had been held up in a tailback and already phoned to say I was going to be late. It was hot in the car, it was hot outside. I was a sweaty mess!

Couple that with my social anxiety and I’m not sure I made a great first impression! Oh well, live and learn, eh? 🤣

Deep Sea World is set in a gorgeous location, underneath the Forth Rail Bridge, perfect for photos…

…except I forgot to charge up my phone so my battery died on me half way round the event!

On arrival we were given the Deep Sea World brochure and a lanyard with a 6 month membership.

We waited for any more stragglers and then we started the tour!

First up we got to see the Big-Bellied seahorses being fed.

I really like seahorses, they are so cute! And amazingly graceful, their movements are effortless!

I believe they are ambush predators so they lie in wait for food to get close enough then BAM! They snatch it up!

One of the tour guides, Kirsty, was telling us how they tell the males and females of this species apart.

So I think this one is a male!

The males have rounder bellies then the females who have more of a point. I’m sure I got that the right way round!

We then got to wander round the other tanks for a little bit. In this entrance area there is the open-topped rock pool with numerous different species in it, a tank with an octopus and some other fishtanks.

I’m not going to lie, I genuinely couldn’t see the octopus but I was assured it was there!

There was also a little exhibit on what plastic is doing to our oceans which was quite educational.

Unfortunately some of the exhibits didn’t photograph well, the lighting was too low and I was on battery saver mode to try to get through has much as I could with my phone on 20%!

We then moved into The Swamp. In here we met Godzilla, the snapping turtle. I wasn’t able to get a good picture of him but he literally looked like he was made out of stone and he didn’t move for us.

They are making Godzilla a much bigger enclosure just now but due to the amount of testing they will have to do to ensure its watertight, this might not be ready until after Christmas.

There is also some massive fish in here, I forgot to take a note of the species but they were huge! They didn’t photograph well but trust me, I couldn’t pick one up!

Most of these fish were people’s pets who then asked Deep Sea World for help when they got too big for their tanks!

It’s a common myth that a fish will only grow as big as the tank it’s in! It will continue to grow but if it doesn’t have the space it will be stunted and likely to die prematurely!

This dude was also chillin’ out in The Swamp. I think he is a python, he’s definitely very beautiful!

Next we went through the shark tunnel! I think this is the bit everyone remembers from their visit to Deep Sea World!

It was bliss being able to go through it without screaming children or it being overcrowded and you can’t enjoy it!

We got to see lots of fish, rays and of course the sharks themselves! All 4 made an appearance! The only thing we didn’t get to see is the lobsters but we were told they are very shy!

Tinkerbell is the largest of the four sharks and Aaron is the smallest. There is a way to tell the difference between the males and the females. Looking under their belly, in line with their fins, you can see two protrusions on the male but the female doesn’t have these.

We had a trip to the amphibian room where I spent way too long looking for frogs and gazing at the mysterious axolotls!

I love these guys, they have such cute faces. Because they are able to regenerate tissue they are being studied closely to find out if we can use them in science (that’s something I don’t agree with but not for this post!).

We had a nosy in the classroom where there was a little display and some creatures in suspension. This sort of thing takes me back to my uni days but there was a few who gasped a little bit at these!

We then got to see Kate and her amazing Seals! The grey one is the female who is 27 (I’m sure she said 27!) And the other two are boys and they are much younger!

The female does what she wants most of the time and isn’t asked to do quite as much to get her reward.

The boys are asked to do a bit more but they genuinely seem to enjoy it and the bond they have with Kate is clear!

All the “tricks” they are asked to do are there to help them use the muscles they would use if they were hunting in the wild! So it’s not just designed to be entertaining to us!

I also noticed that they are essentially clicker trained, like you would a dog. Every time they do something, Kate would whistle like using a clicker. I’m struggling with this with my own pup and the moment so amazed it can be done with these guys!

The seals are never witheld food for not doing a trick. But they don’t know that so they gladly do what is asked of them!

We then stopped for a bit of food in the café! There was also some prosecco on offer but I was driving so I had to decline!

The view from the café!

The food was really good! My highlight definitely had to be the fish and chip cone wrapped in newsprint and the caramel shortcake was to die for! But there was pizza, burgers and donuts as well!

We were then split into two smaller groups. My group got to go to the Bare Bones exhibit first of all. This is a temporary exhibit for the summer and is in the carpark itself.

This is a really interesting exhibit with skeletona from different species. Most of them you’re not able to touch but there are some tactile things to keep the kids occupied.

My favourite was the crow, only because I think it’s quite interesting how the beak is still black even in death. This could be because it has spent so long in the sun but Kirsty was unsure.

They had dynamic displays as well, like the frogs leaping.

And the cat, dog and mouse.

There was also some pretty cool artwork on display too!

Lastly, we got to go on a behind the scenes tour. This part of the tour, we weren’t allowed to take any photos, a good thing too, as my battery was dead by this time!

The lighting in this area is lower as it’s an environment for animals to young to be in the main tanks or for those recuperating from illness or as quarantine for any new species being added to the tanks.

We got to see some baby rays that had just hatched the day before and had been bottle fed! We also got to feel an ray egg casing or Mermaid purse. Which was pretty odd to touch!

There was also the opportunity to find out about shark dives which I think I would love to do!

The highlight here was watching the shark tunnel from above. As Kate explains, when you are in the shark tunnel, the creatures look about 30% smaller. When you are above them you can see their full size and the sharks look so impressive!

I will definitely be using my membership over the next few months as I really enjoyed my time here. As the exhibits are constantly evolving you might never see the same thing twice.

The Bare Bones exhibit is included in your ticket price as well just now so I would definitely suggest going while that is still on!

There are also numerous talks and feedings throughout the day and a gift shop so there really is something for everyone!

You can book your tickets and find out more on the Deep Sea World website.

All-in-all, I really enjoyed my first blogger event. I’m so glad I was invited along to this!

I would definitely do things a little differently next time, i.e. make sure my phone is charged and take a notebook so I can take notes as I’m walking around!

That was my plan but I was running late from the vet and had to rush out the door, and I was still late because of traffic! 🤣

I think these events are probably what you make it but I’ve never been very good at making friends in a large group of people. Especially when it seemed everyone else knew each other!

I didn’t speak to people like I thought I would, genuinely thought I’d make some connections with other local bloggers but that didn’t really happen. It seems the internet is easier to crack!

The girls that I did speak to were awesome and I look forward to meeting them again!

Thanks again to the guys at Deep Sea World for having us and making it a great night! This was their very first influencer evening and I think they should be proud as it was a success!

Claudia xxx