Almost Thirty

For the best part of this year, whenever someone has asked me my age my response has always been "I'll be turning 30 in December" or "Nearly 30" Never have I answered with my actually age of 29. For someone who has been dreading turning 30 all year, I am ever so quick to put myself into that age bracket before I have even hit it. Having spent lots of time in a state of "pre-thirty" devastation I have come to the conclusion that although my age is ever increasing and out of my control, this is not the case with my life. I still have control over it so why on earth is an age bracket going to make a difference to that. So instead of focusing on all the things I will have not achieved before reaching this milestone age I am focusing all my positive energy into all of the wonderful things i "am" going to achieve in the next stage of my life. They say that life begins at 40 but for me I reckon its 30. This is going to be my decade. I can feel it. Work, study, learning to drive, new friends and experiences are all part of my achievements I am aiming for in my thirties. 

Now don't get me wrong.. I am not getting out the slippers and knitting needles just yet. I am still a young, vibrant thing and have every intention of raving on well into the next decade and beyond. I may well relive some of my "twenties youth" while I still can, maybe grab some Basement Jaxx tickets and throw down some shapes at the concert?, go on a "twenties only" weekend? or even hit the local foam party at the weekend? Ok maybe not the foam party, I didn't even enjoy this when I was 16! 

Did any of you dread turning 30? Or did you like me go over things you wish you had done before hitting a certain age? One thing's for sure. I am going to embrace my birthday and welcome it with open arms. I plan to celebrate with all the people I love. Here's to the next decade!

*This post was written in Collaboration with 02

Forgotten Birthdays

With so much emphasis right now on Christmas and finding the perfect gift a lot of those December born people seem to get a lot less thought put into finding the perfect gift. I am a December baby and have both my nieces and brother in laws birthday in the same week as my own. Yes there are plenty of Christmas gifts in the high street but I love birthdays as they are all about that one person and I love seeking out unique and sometimes novelty gifts. I am a sucker for personalized items too! There is nothing more unique than a gift tailored just for you and there is a lot less chance of them selling it if they are not too keen! ;-) (Not that my family would ever dream of doing such a thing- I hope!)

Do you put more thought into birthday or Christmas presents? Or do you like me, always like to surprise people with interesting gifts? My sisters birthday has been recently and given that she has a new found love of wine (something she barely touched before now) I was looking for a wine related gift, maybe a personalized wine glass or a funky wine bottle stopper, something really interesting and unique and I came across this fabulous wine cork cage from Homewetbar which stores all of your corks in a fun and decorative way as well as acting as a funky wine bottle holder also. 

I truly believe that it is always better to give than receive. No matter who you are buying for or for what reason, there is no greater feeling than watching someones delight when unwrapping a wonderful gift that you have taken the time and effort to ensure that its something unique and interesting and ultimately something that they will love.

Do you enjoy putting thought into peoples gifts? Or are you one of these people that go out the day before and just grab the first thing you see? What fun and novelty items have you given or received in the past? I'd love to know :-)

*This post was written in collaboration with Homewetbar.com

How To "Really" Bag A Bargain On eBay

I am a total eBay addict and I must admit that 9 times out of 10 I will find what I am looking for on there. If not then I'll pop over to Amazon. I swear eBay, Amazon and Paypal are the 3 most frequently printed words on my bank statements. Whether its for Christmas, birthdays, back to school supplies or even a new fridge freezer, eBay has always been my first port of call. But how do you know if you are in fact getting a good deal? I have a few tips and tricks which I use myself to ensure that I am getting a bargain because lets face it, it's not really worth it if you are not getting a good deal is it?

1. Take advantage of spelling mistakes!
   You would be surprised at the amount of adverts listed on eBay everyday that contain spelling errors. The ones that we can take advantage of are the ones in the main title. For instance if you are looking for a Mr Krabs teddy just take a few seconds to search instead for Mr Crabs. It doesn't take up any extra time and you could find yourself a hidden gem which isn't getting the bids due to a spelling error.
2. Look locally!
   This is especially handy when looking for larger items. I recently purchased a fridge freezer on eBay. It was immaculate and a very large family style one. When you are presented with your search results, sort them by distance nearest first and you will be presented with all the results in your local area first. When things need picking up it leaves a lot of people with no transport looking elsewhere so there are lots of chances to pick up a bargain if you can collect. When I first moved in I didn't have a vacuum cleaner for ages and ended up having to purchase a budget end one that did nothing! Seriously, It left my carpet looking dirtier! For the same small price I ended up winning a fantastic Hetty hoover on eBay which is by far one of the best hoovers around and at such a small price (£19) was one of my best bargains so far.
3. One bid maximum!
   When bidding for something, I always find that people tend to leave the bidding till the last few minutes and If you continue to bid up in small amounts it can turn into a bid war which when something is ending is time consuming and you may end up paying over the odds for it. Have your price in mind. A set price that you wont pay no more than and bid that amount. Whether its 10 days o 10 minutes left on an item just make one bid. If you win it .. great! If not then it has gone for more than what you would have paid so don't worry look elsewhere.
4. Category searches!
   OK So most of the time when we go on eBay we are looking for something in particular and so will put that into the search bar, but when I like to browse for Christmas presents I leave the search bar blank and will just search a certain category. For instance Aalliyah loves games so instead of searching for a certain game I will leave the search blank and just search in the toys and games category. I will be presented with absolutely thousands of search result so I will break it down by clicking on sub categories on the left (Games and Puzzles - New Items Only) Then I am free to look through thousands of brand new games, some of which I wouldn't have even heard of but thanks to category search can find lots more games.
5. BNIB!
   So in eBay language this means Brand New In Box, Its a way to describe something to immediately let the buyer know its not second hand. Another less common one is BNAS (Brand New And Sealed) and with clothing BNWT (Brand New With Tags) Much like the previous one, just simply putting BNIB in the search bar will bring up hundreds of thousands of results, but by simply clicking the toys and games category on the left I am presented with thousands of potential gift ideas for Christmas. This is a brilliant way of finding things I wouldn't normally search for but so many things pop up and I think "Oh that's good for Christmas" and at a fraction of the cost who can complain?
6. The early bid catches the worm!
   It goes without saying that purchasing things early on saves money, especially with Christmas. I personally always start my shopping early on. Most of my early purchases are eBay. The price of a simple board game can change dramatically from August to December. Last week I won around 5 different games, each one brand new and sealed and each winning bid being no more than £1! I know without question, that if I were to bid on the same 5 items in December or even November the winning bid would have drastically gone up. There are many of us who start our Christmas shopping early but the vast majority of us are not even thinking about it, which makes now the perfect time to grab bargains on eBay, especially when it comes to the toys and games category. 
7. Postage costs!
   Even if you think you have got a good price on something. Always take the postage costs into consideration. Your winning bid might be nice and low, but if they hit you with a huge postage charge then you might find its cheaper to shop elsewhere somewhere which maybe slightly higher but offer free shipping or other incentives. Always weigh up all the buying options to ensure you get the very best deal. Unfortunately there are people on eBay who like to keep there listing fees down by selling cheap and charging massive postage costs. Yes postage has gone up but come on.. You know it's not going to cost 12 pound to post an eyeliner out! Think smart when it comes to postage.
   
   There are lots of bargains to be found on eBay you just have to find them. Spend time researching your product and other online prices for it. Hopefully by following these handy tips you can grab a bargain for yourself :)