Adulting is hard...

When I was younger, I could not wait to grow up and have the power to make my own decisions and take responsibility for my life. 

(Yes, I wanted to be a Zebra for Halloween)

Fast forward and I’m now 25 years old.

An official adult.

And I have to say, being a "grown-up", isn't exactly what I expected.

In my case, it's mostly googling things, asking my mum for advice or just pretending I know what I'm doing and going with the flow. 

Adults are supposed to be superior, wise and confident (basically how I wouldn't describe myself) and I also find the following 'adulty' things quite difficult...

1) Phoning things
This could be anything from ordering food to calling the tax man. I don’t wanna talk to another person! We live in a World run by social media- why is there not an app for this yet?!

2) Cooking things
I can't make ice. In fact, I'm no good in the kitchen AT ALL! If I ever did have my own place, I would do a full on Carrie Bradshaw and use my oven for clothing space! And for all those who have the pleasure of having me on snapchat and seen my story of how NOT to make pancakes on pancake day, please take note.

There's even that one time I called my mum on a night out once to ask if we owned a pre-heated oven, as opposed to it being an actual feature on all ovens...

3) Building things

Another Staceface1611 snapchat story gem of how to build a simple £8 clothing rail from Argos that a monkey could make. 

It took me 3 hours, 2 broken nails and a bottle of wine. 

4) Washing things

So wait, I can't mix colours and whites?

5) Car things

I think I would die if I had to look after my car on my own. I can't change a tyre, I have no idea what any of the dashboard lights mean and I have no clue how to put engine oil in, or even air in my tyres... Sometimes I even struggle with petrol.

But if you're lucky like me – you have a 'guy' for things. My "car guy"- Gary (love you) is always on hand when I call and say something daft like;

"Gaaaaary, there's a light on in my car that looks like a Genie lamp from Aladdin. What do I do?"

And even though he rips me to shreds for it, he's always on hand to help a bro out. 

Also, even the car wash freaks me out! (But have you seen final destination 3?)

6) Mail things

When the Postie or Salesman comes to the door and I'm either in my PJs, sweats or look awful in general, I WILL cower in the bathroom with the curtain down so you can’t see me. There are windows everywhere in my house so sometimes to even get to the bathroom, I will crawl. If it is a package, please leave with my neighbour. Kthanksbye.

Oh and speaking of mail, if it’s not from Asos or Missguided, do I really have to open it?

7) Hoarding things

Yes, lets keep my Higher French past papers and clothes from the Kylie range at McKays I bought when I was 13. They might come in handy for when I’m skinnier and I decide to move to France. They’re not taking up valuable space in my wardrobe AT ALL. 

8) Money and saving things

Adult words such as Mortgage, isa, homeowners thingy… Wait, what? Why don’t they teach this in school? Sure I can tell you all about the photosynthesis of a leaf and what cos sin and tan are (second thought, maybe not actually), but I have no clue what a mortgage is or how to go about getting one!

Even when I try to analyse my payslip breakdown, I have a 'Rachel from Friends' moment- who is NI and why is he taking all my money?!

9) Timing of things

I have such an weird issue with time. 

Not as in, “Is it possible to go to the gym in the morning and still meet the girls by 12:00 for lunch?”, more like realising time goes faster than you think. E.g., something comes up on facebook memories: "Laurens hen was 3 years ago today". Wait, HAWD THE BUS, Lauren only got married like 6 months ago right? RIGHT? And wait, Gemma’s pregnant again? Didn’t she just have her baby a few weeks ago?

This is my issue. Thinking I have loads of time to achieve things and suddenly it's 2 years later and you still haven't gotten round to cleaning out your car... (Gary- do you do Valet's?)

10) Scary things

Realising your friends are all married with those mortgage things and babies on the way is scary enough, but I'm talking more about realising you've left your phone charger downstairs and all the lights are out! 

I will turn every light back on until I find it, turn them back out again and SPRINT up the stairs. You never know, Freddie whats-his-face or that mad ghost from Paranormal Activity could just come outta nowhere and drag you straight back down. 

Most likely to remind you the dishes are still in the sink from last nights takeaway. 

“Uurgh, I’ll get them tomorroooooooow, Freddie, GOD!”

Basically, I have no idea what I'm doing most all of the time and yeah, it is scary sometimes, but hopefully when I'm an 'adult-ier' adult, things will all start to make sense and fall into place. But for now, I'm just going to go watch Peter Pan in my old-school, 'My Little Pony' PJs and think back to a far less complicated time to when I was younger with no responsibilities...

Stace x

The Wonderful Uses Of Coconut Oil

WHY have I only JUST been introduced to the magical product that is Coconut Oil ?!

Nah seriously, if you've read about it's magical powers from consumption to beauty to rubbing it all over your cheating boyfriend*, then now is the time to jump on that bandwagon, folks. 

Head down to your local Holland & Barrett and invest in this big, beautiful-smelling jar of joy! 

(*Disclaimer - no guarantees it works on the cheating boyfriend, but here's a few that I've tried and tested over the past few weeks...)

#1 HAIR MASK / SERUM

A friend recently told me that pure coconut oil works wonders as a hair mask, so without any real instructions, I grabbed a very small handful, melted it into my hands and began to work the product through my hair (leaving out the roots, as I know from experience, oily products can leave my roots quite greasy-looking: bleugh!) My friend only left it on for an hour, but I decided to see how it would be overnight. The next morning I washed and conditioned my hair as normal and OMG my hair has never felt so soft and smooth and healthy! It definitely has a shine to it that it once lacked before. 

You can also use this in the shower as a leave-in conditioner. Just rinse off to restore the moisture. 

I also have used the oil as a serum to tame the fly-aways, as my hair is naturally wild n' wavy. 

#2 MAKE-UP REMOVER 

As a make-up wipe kinda gal, I was a little wary about trying this out, but the texture of the oil literally melts away your make-up with a few sweeps of a cotton pad. Fair enough, the eye area is a little difficult to work around, but it does the job.

Even on nights were I'd carry out my normal routine with the wipes, I'd go back over my face with the coconut oil and was shocked to see the cotton pads still stained with excess foundation or eyeshadow :s Eeeek! 

#3 MOISTURISER

Wow. 

After only a few weeks applying this daily to my face, neck and arms, my skin looks FAB! (If I do say so myself!)

My skin just drinks it in and feels super smooth, hydrated and smells AMAZING!

#4 LIP BALM

Anyone who knows me will understand my obsession with lip balm. From Vaseline to Carmex I will always have a lip balm collection in my bag any hoarder would be proud of. But I have only recently popped a lil bit of coconut oil into an empty tin and I'm so surprised to say that it's got me from topping up the chapsticks every so often. Even mixed in with a Vaseline has worked wonders! 

#5 CUTICLE CARE

This is an on-going experiment in a desperate attempt to save my nails! 

They are currently so weak and brittle, I thought I'd rub a little of my fav magical ointment on them to see if it could aid the growing process and even after a few days I have noticed my cuticles getting softer and my nails a teeny bit stronger. 

So there you have it! 

I would totally recommend buying yourself this exotic pot of white, oily gold and see what miracles it can do for you. 

Stace x