CD- Follow up appointment

Today I had a follow up appointment with the surgeon since my surgery, this was just a confirmation that I have crohns disease as well as future plans. I am now being referred to see a gastroenterologist, who will discuss the types of medication I will need for this life long disease, as well as iron and b12 vitamins. As they have taken out the section that your body naturally absorbs b12, I have been taking b12 supplements. Though from now on, I am to have a B12 injections every 3 months. As for my iron levels; I’ve also been anemic, I have to either take iron supplements or to take iron foods, such as beef, broccoli etc, however beef is one of the foods I can’t eat, which makes it difficult.

The most important thing I learnt from the appointment, was  that having the one meal that is under the category of not recommended foods, will not do internal damage, however will mean I will suffer the consequences, e.g. stomach cramps. So for a barbeque which is happening next week, I can have the odd burger, which is nice as I don’t feel so left out. Apparently there’s a chance in years to come that I may need more surgery caused from the immune system and how it works (some science technical stuff), though this could be 10 years or more. Right now I have a positive mind with how everything is going and hopefully it stays on track and is managed relatively well.

I have also purchased a crohns recipe book as I’m finding new vegetables and ways to incorporate them. However I’m more into baking, than savoury cooking, therefore for my next blog post I will be showing my recipe for white chocolate and raspberry brownies.

Thanks for reading!xo

Alice

Crohns Disease

Hey!

This is going to be a different post; not focusing on fashion and beauty, however on health and my personal experience. Over 2 months ago and in the space of a week  I had gone through major abdominal surgery and had spent a week in hospital; what was originally suspected as appendicitis, turned out to be Crohns disease. It took a while for me to understand what had actually happened and the cause of it, but after alot of explaining I now understand alot more about it. I have decided to blog about it, to inform others, as it quite unknown and after reading forums and other people with crohns, found  it interesting to learn about others experiences. 

Crohns disease is a chronic inflammatory disease thats occurs in the iluem (small) and colon (large) intestines. Without getting too descriptive as it can be abit 'bluergh', I've had the surgery where they've removed the part of inflammed section.  Apparently there isn't a complete cure for crohns, however it can be managed through diet and medication. I have spent hours reading through websites, blogs, forums, books, discovering new diets and talking to people who have the same. I have had to cut out alot of the food that I used to eat on a daily basis and basically go through a trial and error process in finding out whats foods effect me. So far I have found some fruits, chocolate, raw vegtables, frieds foods and spicy foods are the ones that have effected me. 

Blogger 'Deliciously Ella' has inspired me to try out new healthy dishes/recipes which are gluten free, dairy free and meat free. So from now on, I have decided to do similar and blog about my own recipes and how they turn out (hopefully tasty) as well as using this blog as a diary entry of each stage and getting through it. I have already planned out to try out an alternative to spaghetti bologenese! 

Thanks for reading!
Alice xo

Scrapbooking

I've recently got into scrapbooking, as I have now finished my time at college. I have no courseworks or revision work to focus on, therefore I now have time for myself. I've always liked being creative and making books, so I decided to make an on-going scrapbook, capturing events that I want to keep as memories. Below I have listed the essential equipment needed as well as displaying pages that are in my scrapbook to show my theme and layout. 

The scrapbook  is a 12 x 12 square size book available from Hobbycraft online and instore. They have a choice between white, black, red, blue and green in this size book, as well as a smaller version of a 6 x 6. They also provide background paper; I've been using the Bohemian 12 x 12 paper which is a country and floral theme. However they also offer a range of different patterns and themes. For the cover, I decided to simply opt for stickers which displayed my name. I used the gold metallic heart stickers outlined with a silver metallic pen . However you can accessorize it to your personal preference with buttons, assorted shapes or ribbon. Below I have put together a series of three images, displaying a few of my favourite pages, ranging from subtle simple designs to loud and vivid. 

Primark Haul - March 2015

Yes, it is time, for the long awaited 'Primark haul'. For some odd reason, I have never uploaded a haul focusing on my Primark purchases, however I went shopping today and picked up some basic tops which I thought would be nice to share.

Now that spring is approaching and the sun has finally decided to shine, I realized I didn't own many t-shirts. So when i went shopping, i was particularly looking for basic t-shirts. Primark had the one stand, selling between £2 - 5, so  I thought that this was a bargain. I picked up a black t-shirt with a pink and purple floral pattern. Which i though would be good for spring, as following the floral trend. However I also opted for a less spring look, with a black and white snake skin effect t-shirt. I picked these tops as I thought they would go with more of my clothes, however I wish I had picked more up as the quality and comfort is unbelievably good. 

Back To Blog

Hello! Long time no..writing?

I know its been over 6 months since my last blog post (oops), but I've gone back being more committed and after catching up with stressful college works and finally get my life on track, I'm continuing on posting blog posts. I've enjoyed organising posts, shooting images and writing, even if noone reads it, so decided to carry on.

Anyway, I have a collective haul from over the past weeks, which I aim to post on Monday. This will also be a bit more interesting and exciting. So definitely stay tuned!

Thanks for reading!

Alice xo

Arundel Castle

As it was my mothers birthday yesterday, we decided to make the most of the British summer and go out. We love our history and visiting castles, so we took a drive to Arundel to visit 'Arundel Castle'. This is also the castle where they filmed 'The Young Victoria', which is one of my many favourite films.

This is one of the sides of the castle (I'm not sure whether this is the front or not). This to me looks unreal and does not look like i'm in England, I mean there is no cloud in the sky! They also held a cute little market that set you in the medieval times, which had events such as cooking, clothing and jousting, which was amazing, because I become a geek when it comes to this sort of stuff!

We also visited the chapel, which was right by the castle and gardens. Although it was amazing and stunning with the stained glass works and woodwork, yes I admit I love that stuff, it was creepy.

The next few photos are from the gardens, which were so peaceful and calming, besides the scorching hot weather.

This kind of day out, is also suitable for younger children, as they held so many activities for them and still keeping it educational. Overall one of the best days so far of summer. Next on my list is to visit Kensington Palace, so stay tuned for a post on that! 

Thanks for reading!xo

Alice

Top 5 Summer Reads

I have always enjoyed talking and sharing about my favourite books and I thought this was be the perfect time to as it is now holiday season! I find that I practically go through my entire book collection. Below I have managed to select 5 of my favourite books to suggest and recommend some awesome reads perfect for summer. 

1. Hester Browne - The Vintage Girl 

This book is great if you like adventure and investigation stories. This story focuses on a young women who ventures to a house in Scotland belonged to her heritage. This book allows you to follow her journey in investigating the secrets of her past family members and soon discover a 

2. John Green - The Fault In Our Stars

A romantic young adult novel with comedic tone and language. This book has been the rave for months, along with one of the best authors, 'John Green'. The success and popularity of this book has lead to becoming a major motion picture. It is the perspective of a young teenage girl, Hazel, who suffers from cancer, but leads to her meeting her love, Augustus. This book had me both crying and laughing, honestly the only book that I have felt quite emotional about. I am quite put of watching the film as I expect such high expectations from the book, but I will probably end up watching it either way. 

3. Rainbow Rowell - Eleanor & Park

This book is very similar to TFIOS, with the original love story of a teenage couple, however the thing that makes this story unique is the differences and how the characters are created. The best thing about a book is watching the character progress and develop, especially for a teenage character, which this book definitely succeeds. 

4. Neil Gaiman - The Ocean At The End Of The Lane 
5. Rainbow Rowell - Fangirl