Louulia By Louise Marguerite

My GAAAD - where the heck has the year disappeared to? Classic, classic comment.

So, we're heading into a new year & also a new decade .. crikey. I did the trendy 'at the start of the decade vs now' scenario over on my Instagram, seeing as it's currently doing the rounds on social media. When you think about the first photo from 2009, it really is insane to think how different life was back then - without sounding horrendously corny. For me, I was about to graduate from secondary school & all I could think was wtf am I going to do with myself now.

My aspirations included becoming a carbon copy of The Hills cast, collecting every colour of the 'waterfall' cardigan from New Look & of course, growing my Sims community. 
Unfortunately, none of the above were ever accomplished. 
Instead, I scurried off to college & tackled a Musical Theatre diploma.. lol.

Personally, I think it's important to regularly stop & think about your journey, what you'…

Don't get me wrong, my birthday is probably my most favourite celebration of the year- asides from Christmas. I'm a November baby so my birthday is all about cosy, sparkly, piping hot food & social celebrations! I'm also one of those extremely annoying people who hosts an official count down to their birthday, who constantly pipes up with 'it's my birthday soon' in-between any awkward silences. 

But I've noticed I seem to have pretty major mood swings within the countdown to my big event.

It's a real concoction of mixed emotions; obviously thrilled at throwing a celebration, a tad bit nervous on the age factor, eager at the new chapter ahead, skeptical on the expectations that accompany your shiny new age & a wee bit sad of the chapter you're leaving behind.

For me, the age factor has never been a real issue. As humans, we're all ageing & it's something that is impossible to combat. However, I think we fear the age label far more th…

Whilst working abroad, I'm sometimes hit with the struggling knock on the old content creating & growth as a blogger. I suppose I could blame a number of things; the time zone difference that shunts me out of my regular routine (I mean, an hour makes all the difference, right?..), or the classic dodgy WIFI, or the fact that I don't have all my tools to create 'decent' content, or maybe because no one finds a coffee/pastry flatlay interesting, or..
.. maybe I'm just lazy.
But one thing is for sure, staying relevant whilst travelling is a tricky old bugg*r.
Now, I know I'm not living the backpacker life (this lucky sod has hot water & a foamy mattress on hand) but I would still consider myself to be travelling. I'm living outside of my home country, we're on the move daily around Spanish soil - discovering the delights of the surrounding towns/villages/mountains & I technically do live out of a suitcase..
It's just unpacked.
Most content cre…

You may have noticed a slight change to my old barnet in the past couple of weeks.. yup, I've had the chop. I was way overdue (3 years  in fact) a hair cut & I had decided that before embarking on my next Spanish adventure, I would be lobbing off the brittle blonde ends that I've accumulated. I mean, they were practically hanging on for dear life..


So, I've lobbed off the hair & settled for a shorter do', which I am incredibly head over heels in love with, something I never thought I'd say. I would always fear the thought of sporting a shorter cut, due to my face shape & also the confidence to pull the darn thing off. But recently I've been having a lot of 'fu*k it, just do it' moments.. 
.. this was one of them.


After a bit of a shitty stormy start to 2019, I've been taking each month as new chapter to moving on with my life & reforming a fresher, happier & more confident version of myself. As mentioned in a previous post, I am ver…

At the ripe old age of 26, I've pretty much cemented the fact that a handful of the friendships I've built over the years aren't necessarily going to with stand the test of time. 

I've also cemented the fact that.. it's okay?

Friendships are a two way street & if you're not being met in the middle, then it's hardly fair to keep pushing through.


I have always been a people pleaser & someone who overthinks every single social interaction thrown my way. I may seem confident on the outside, but inside I have a stroke of crumbling paranoia that can occasionally creep up when it comes to socialising. Therefore, it was always a brutal blow if I were to lose a friendship or two & I would attempt to nurture every last strand, unable to walk away from that connection. 

Those friendships that take very little TLC & are easy to pick up from where you left off are the ones that are beyond ideal! Low maintenance friendships that only need a little nudge &…

Let's talk about swanky accessories shall we? When you get your mitts on a glorious backpack that doubles up as a Tardis whilst oozing elegance & chic, you'd obviously be raving about it from the hills.

For me, backpacks are my comfort & trusty go-to when it comes to the humungous variety of bag styles we have to pick from. They're comfortable for all day swinging on the back, you can store a ridiculous amount of unnecessary crap in them & they are ideal for the everyday commute/running around like a headless chicken.
Whilst touring, I swore by my cheap'ol Primark backpack, which I certainly ran & dragged terribly into the ground. Therefore, when Gaston Luga stumbled into my inbox asking if I would be interested in a collaboration, I felt like the Accessory God's had answered my 'search-for-backpack-number-2' prayers.
I always like to do my homework thoroughly on a brand & Gaston Luga did not disappoint one bit. Their products are simply di…