tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83262126780040228372024-03-19T16:53:36.346+00:00Whiskey JarsAlice Gibbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11736950344354461388noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326212678004022837.post-25896267840960405042017-12-28T10:39:00.001+00:002017-12-28T10:39:30.242+00:00S L O W I N G D O W N<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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S L O W I N G D O W N | 28/12/17</div>
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Oops.<br />
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So predictably I have missed some days here. Yesterday, while fully aware I had missed two days of my little writing project, I was filled with disappointment in myself while I ran around at work. I thought about the three days previously and realised just how busy I had been and there I decided that I wouldn’t just give up, but I would write again.<br />
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I also decided I wouldn’t write the extra posts and try to fill gaps unnaturally. I decided I would just pick up again and write when I had the time.<br />
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This morning has been different for me. I woke up at 7am, and for the first time in weeks, I didn’t have anything I had to do. I cleaned my house the night before, and I didn’t have to be at work or at somebody’s house. I wasn’t busy.<br />
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Some days not being busy fills me with dread - I don’t deal well with a lack of routine. But today, I have embraced it.<br />
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For four weeks, my bath has inexplicably been refusing to produce hot water. For anyone who knows me - this is a big bummer. I love a bath. And better still I love a bath bomb. This morning I spent some time on it and worked out how to fix it. After running myself a hot bath with a lovely Christmas bath bomb and candle, I picked up a new book and started to read. A book I want to read, not a book for University.<br />
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It was going well until a few minutes in when I hopped out to check that the kitchen wasn’t on fire (this is routine - when I’m ‘relaxing’ my brain often decides to think up reasons that I shouldn’t be). Kitchen successfully not burning down, I got back into the bath and sat. Continuing to read I pushed back the feelings of guilt that I wasn’t busy working on assignments. Or organising my next few weeks. Or writing this. I just allowed myself to be in the moment.<br />
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This morning, I have allowed myself to have time. And after that, I was genuinely excited to sit down and write this.<br />
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Sometimes, we forget how quickly we can burn ourselves out. We run on empty because carrying on is easier. Checking the kitchen isn’t on fire is a better option than actually spending time with your own head. After moisturising and brushing my hair (I know! Self-care!), I woke up Sam bubbling with my good mood. Sam has seen the raw end of my stress lately, and although I was still waking him way before he wanted to get up - at least this time it wasn’t with a look of despair and a to-do list in hand.<br />
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Today I am reminding myself that <b>nobody has to do it all</b>.<br />
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I have a million ideas in my head and my notebook is about to take a battering as I jot them all down. But for the first time in a long time, they feel a little clearer. I am excited about doing cool things again, and not just stressed.<br />
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Today <b>I am slowing down</b>. Because we create our own calm. And the work will still be there tomorrow - but without taking some time to slow down - we may not be.Alice Gibbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11736950344354461388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326212678004022837.post-45092998387591361262017-12-23T23:06:00.002+00:002017-12-23T23:06:41.253+00:00F R I E N D S H I P S & L O V E<div style="text-align: center;">
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F R I E N D S H I P S & L O V E | 23/12/17</div>
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Today's post is a little late. Well very late in fact. I have been super busy with work this week and am willing to admit that this was a crazy time to start this project. That said, I made a commitment to myself and wanted to share <i>something </i>today.</div>
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This year has been a lot of fun, and also a lot of hard work. One of the biggest things I have gained from this year is a whole heap of new amazing frienships and I wanted to express just how important all of the friendships in my life are to me and just how much they help me through.</div>
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As I grow older, I realise just how difficult it is to keep friendships going. Between real life and organising myself - making time to catch up with people can be difficult. I am so lucky to have such an amazing group of University friends who, by and large, still live around the corner. I am scared about what will happen when that changes.</div>
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This said, I have also got a beautiful heap of friends outside of this circle. I am so lucky to still spend time with people I knocked around with when we were sixteen, and I love nothing more than catching up with those people and watching as they grow into real life adults. </div>
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This year I was also lucky enough to see my oldest friend in the world get engaged and have a beautiful baby girl. I am so proud of her - from when we were five until now, she has always been an inspiration to me. I have re-connected with people from the past who I didn't even realise I was missing until they came back into my life. I have met new friends and thrown myself into new friendships. And I have allowed myself to have the closest of girl gangs that I am endlessly grateful for.</div>
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Friendship is so important. We must burn down the belief that intimacy must be reserved for romantic relationships. Be more loving and embrace vulnerability. I am forever working on the idea of <i>opening up to people</i> and am even getting better at telling people how I am feeling.</div>
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Tell people you care about them. Hold their hands. Tell people you are proud of them. Listen to them when they want to talk and be there for the people you love unconditionally. </div>
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❤️</div>
Alice Gibbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11736950344354461388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326212678004022837.post-54015784352121354552017-12-22T18:00:00.000+00:002017-12-22T18:00:11.757+00:00L U C K<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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L U C K | 22/12/17</div>
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Today I want to talk about the idea of luck. From a very young age, I can remember being aware of the idea of superstitions. The basics: breaking a mirror is seven years bad luck, you cannot possibly walk under a ladder, etc. Of course, these are just harmless old wives tales for the most part. <br />
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Yet I can not pinpoint the moment when I started creating my own ‘superstitions’. The idea that if there was still water draining from the bath when I was in the room, that was ‘bad luck’ - or that if I wear certain items of clothing I will certainly have a bad day. As I dealt with poor mental health further into my teens, these things became more important. To avoid ‘bad luck’ was even more important when everything around me seemed so horrible.<br />
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I still don’t really know how to justify these little quirks and superstitions. Of course, an OCD diagnosis has been banded around - but it has never felt that intrusive to my life, and until that point comes, I don’t see the harm or need for ‘treatment’.<br />
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I have a very clear understanding of how ridiculous superstitions are. Yet ask me to walk under a piece of scaffolding and I will go cold for fear of making something bad happen. But the thing is, keeping an eye on these things makes me feel better. For the moment feeling like I have some vague control over my own ‘luck’ makes me feel more in control of my life.<br />
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As I write this post I can see just how crazy it could all sound. But I think it is important to remember that we all have quirks and sometimes that is okay.<br />
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In a world where so much is happening every day that is out of our control, it is little wonder that we have a ‘lucky tie’ or are avoiding that ladder in the street. Luck makes us feel hopeful and like something is looking after us.<br />
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So today, I want to wish you all good luck. But I also want to remind you that we create our own luck. You’ve got this ❤️Alice Gibbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11736950344354461388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326212678004022837.post-54516063058862959642017-12-21T18:00:00.000+00:002017-12-21T18:00:34.397+00:00A L L C H A N G E<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A L L C H A N G E | 21/12/17</div>
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I have spent most of this year thinking about ‘how different things were a year ago’ and wondering how I ended up in this spot. Before the end of last year, I had big plans that were throwing me rapidly in a very different direction.<br />
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I credit meeting Sam as a large part of why I am somewhere different. Somewhere exciting and where I am truly pleased to be. I think I’ll save writing in depth about ‘us’ for another time- but Sam has taught me that it is okay to let go of control, sometimes, just a little bit.<br />
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This year I have allowed things to happen. Anyone who knows me is aware that I am a little bit obsessively organised. With diaries, google calendars and around seven lists on the go at any one time - I like to know what I am doing.<br />
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In 2017, however, I started the year by getting on a plane <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPBOG1KFjDe/?taken-by=alicetgibbs">to New York</a>. Something I’d decided to do just a couple of months earlier.<br />
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I went <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BRBjFfBBuNA/?taken-by=alicetgibbs">to London on my own</a> and threw myself into two weeks working on a national newspaper.<br />
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Then I needed money, so I applied for a retail job - something I never would have dreamed of before - and enjoyed it too.<br />
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I moved out of my beloved flat with my best friend and was very sad. But I moved into a new house with a new friend, and in the process ended up living with my boyfriend too.<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BWk5JIjFEme/?taken-by=alicetgibbs">I graduated</a> (with a first!) and had the balls to walk in front of everyone with minimal nerves. I hung out with my family and my boyfriend’s and I allowed myself to be the centre of attention.<br />
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I started an MA course, after tons of deliberation. I received a scholarship to study and so far, I am loving it.<br />
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I suppose the theme here is that things have changed a lot for me this year, in ways I never would have predicted. I have made some beautiful friendships (many that I am still excited to see grow). I have learnt a great deal about myself and what makes me happy.<br />
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Above all, though, I have learnt that it is okay just to let things fall into place sometimes. Trusting the universe is hard for me, but at least I’m giving it a little more pull than before.<br />
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🍂Alice Gibbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11736950344354461388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326212678004022837.post-3224634610433658672017-12-20T18:00:00.000+00:002017-12-21T10:12:06.823+00:00C O M F O R T I N T H E D A R K<div style="text-align: left;">
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C O M F O R T I N T H E D A R K | 20/12/17</div>
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For me, the winter has always been a magical time of the year. While some dread the cold, dark evenings - I have always loved them. I revel in the comfort that comes with being curled up indoors and the joy that I find when surrounded by fairy lights.<br />
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The sparkle of winter has always outweighed the darkness.<br />
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Creating a warmth in winter is important to me, though. When I am somewhere - I like to make it <i>mine</i>. I have dabbled in the idea of <a class="" href="https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/hygge">hygge</a>, and even got more involved with Christmas spirit in recent years. The reality, though, is that I don't need all of these things. I just need the comfort of a warm space and a quiet crackle of a candle or fire.<br />
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Comfort in my own mind is something I have struggled with for as long as I can remember, but in the darkness, I know that it is okay to be who I am.<br />
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When I was young, one of my favourite books was <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Owl-Who-Was-Afraid-Dark/dp/1405210931"><i>The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark </i>by Jill Tomlinson</a>. In the book, a young barn owl named Plop meets many characters. A little boy, an old lady, a Boy Scout, a girl waiting for Christmas, a naturalist, an astronomer, and, a beautiful hunting cat named Orion. Plop faces his fear of the dark by learning about all the great things it can bring to people. Dark is 'exciting,' 'kind,' 'necessary,' and above all 'dark is <b>super</b>'.<br />
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I have never really been afraid of the dark, that I remember, but I am often afraid of my mind and with the dark can come some of the scariest thoughts. But like the characters in Tomlinson's book, I have learnt to harness the dark for what it is. It is kind and necessary to every aspect of my life. I need it to be dark to appreciate the fairy lights that I love so much. I need it to be dark to feel at peace when I curl up at night in my boyfriend's arms.<br />
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Even when the shining lights feel like they are fading, the dark is not something to fear. There is always magic and sparkle within us.<br />
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At risk of this becoming very literature and cliche heavy, here is a very popular quote to finish:<br />
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<i>“Happiness can be found in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.”</i></div>
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- Albus Dumbledore in <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Harry-Potter-Prisoner-Azkaban-Book/dp/B017WGP97I">Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban</a></div>
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Alice Gibbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11736950344354461388noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8326212678004022837.post-5484290029262642302017-12-19T20:40:00.001+00:002017-12-19T20:42:14.851+00:00N U M B E R - 1<div style="text-align: center;">
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N U M B E R - 1 | 19/12/17</div>
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Hello! I cannot explain how odd it feels to be updating this little space after so long. Things fell off with this blog a while back, and it feels nice to be getting back into creating a design and tapping words out onto a page once more.<br />
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I have been inspired by lots of people on my social media at the moment who are creating beautiful <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BcKojaegNfH/?taken-by=zjfilipowicz">little reflection projects and posts</a>. A space where it is okay to share thoughts, things you are proud of, what is happening in your life. I have been inspired to find a voice in this space again.<br />
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Thinking about doing this via social media, I felt a little stunted. The lack of space and freedom to share different things on a platform like <a href="https://www.instagram.com/">instagram</a> prevented me from feeling like I could truly express myself. While the sheer volume of people I know and/or professional links around a lot of my social media means I am often fairly careful about what I post and where.<br />
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So this is number one. A fresh post on a new space. I'm not sure how long it will last - but here's hoping.<br />
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Since graduating in July, I have spent less time writing and more time stuck in my own mind. Writing has always been my safe space, and while my journalism is taking a different turn and I find myself more confused by the day about 'what I want to do with my life,' I do know that I want to create things.<br />
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Sometimes creating things looks like me throwing words and scribbles onto a page in my diary, and sometimes it looks like writing a thoughtful text to a friend. Although, a large amount of the time, at the moment, it looks like thinking about it and then losing my motivation.<br />
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Here I will try and write <i>something</i> every day until the new year.<br />
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Let's go.<br />
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Alice Gibbshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11736950344354461388noreply@blogger.com0