The 30 day challenge, as some of you already know was a challenge I took on for the month of June! I had to complete something I'd never done before every single day! As you can imagine it was not without some difficulty that I managed to complete the 30 days.
I found it to be somewhat challenging at times; often up against work, weather and time constraints! but I also learnt a lot about myself and my personal resilience to do something new for each day against the odds.
Despite this, I have had the best experiences in the one month than I've the whole 6 months of 2016 so far! I'd honestly encourage everybody to take on a challenge like this, even if it's not for a blog! Where possible, I've tried to choose activities that everybody can do and that don't cost the earth!
Anyway, I think it's about time I recapped the challenge for you all! I've taken the first 5 days straight from my blog post at the beginning of the month - just in case you think you've read them before!
Day 1 Wednesday 1st of June - I signed up to run the Cheltenham Half Marathon in September. I'm not really a keen runner but I was inspired by watching the London marathon earlier this year and I'm ready to give it a go! I went on my first training run today also - a cheeky 5K around Cheltenham after work with my housemate!
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| The 2016 Cheltenham Half route! |
Day 3 Friday 3rd of June - I bought my very first Lottery ticket! I had a little 'money spider' crawling on me, which obviously, I thought would be a dead cert that I would win. Somewhat disappointed not to have won in the draw, but apparently you have more chance of being hit by a car! Great. - A new experience none the less!
Day 5 Sunday 5th of June - Today I was working in town, so I had to fit my new experience in to 30 minutes during my lunch break! I decided to pop in to House of Fraser and have my make up done at a counter. Something I've never done and actually really needed to do but have never got round to it! I went to Bobbi Brown as they give make up lessons for free! Teaching you what make up and which brushes to use daily to suit your skin. It was amazing and totally free so definitely go and give it a go!
Day 6 Monday 6th of June - Today I went to the beautiful Sandford Parks Lido! It was a fantastic 20+ degree day and all day at work, I was dying to leap in to the outdoor pool! I got out of work slightly later than planned and rushed on my bike to get a swim in before closing time! So worth it, as if I haven't ever been before!! It literally felt as though I was abroad, I uploaded a youtube video you can watch over on my channel to see more of day 6!
Day 7 Tuesday 7th of June - Tennis Tuesdays! I had a brilliant evening at a ladies social tennis club. It was held in the Montpellier Park Gardens, a really lovely place to spend a summer's evening with a great bunch of girls. We had such a laugh and I really enjoyed playing tennis for fun, in contrast to previous coaching sessions I've taken part in. If you click the above Tennis Tuesdays link you can find one near you!The programme is part of the #THISGIRLCAN campaign too!
Day 8 Wednesday 8th of June - I visited my local library today. I've obviously been to a library before, but the first was the fact I was going for the first time in my adult life, to read for pleasure rather than uni work or research! I was a little bit blown away by the fact that it's free to loan the books still. - In this day and age, it's becoming more and more difficult to get anything for free. If that's not reason alone to go, I don't know what is! I was also so impressed at how high tech libraries have become, self service loan and return machines - easy peasy!
Day 9 Thursday 9th of June - Sunrise Yoga! Today I went to a yoga class before work, it was an early start but a really great way to begin the day. I won't lie, I definitely thought it would be a calm wee stretch out, I was wrong! - Quite the workout! I'd really recommend trying it if you play other sports or run as it gives you a really good stretch in those tight areas including the hamstrings!
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Day 10 Friday 10th of June - I assembled my first ever flat pack furniture! I filmed this epic task on snapchat and if you follow me over there then you will know I did come up against a few challenges! The video is up on my youtube channel if you are planning a flat pack assembly it might save you some time to see 'what not to do' first! I did however complete the challenge, and I am so proud of myself for it!
Day 11 Saturday 11th of June - Trying an Alpaca burger. Today was Cheltenham's annual food and drink festival. Naturally I went in search of the most unusual food that I'd never tried before! I found the Moor View Alpaca's tent. You can see me enjoying this speciality on my Instagram here!
Day 12 Sunday 12th of June - Spring clean! Today I had a bit of a Spring clean before I went to work, I used vacuum pack clothes bags for the first time and they are brilliant! Space was getting a bit tight in the wardrobe so I packed up all my winter clothes and they will be dust free and ready to wear when I unpack them again later this year! I also filled 2 bags of clothes for the charity shop. It was really good to get a bit of a clear out! You can pick up vacuum bags in lots of stores, I got mine from Argos here.
Day 13 Monday 13th of June - Trying American chocolate! Monday was a super busy day so the suggestion of trying new chocolate was ideal to sit and enjoy with a cuppa after a long day! I tried the Reese's nut bar and the Hershey's cookies and cream bar - both excellent, funnily enough!
Day 14 Tuesday 14th of June - I made lasagne from scratch for my housemates! I've never made all the components of a lasagne because those jars are so easy! I decided to make it for my housemates as it was one of their birthdays! I've also never made my housemates dinner before. I know it sounds awful, but in a house full of young professionals, everybody is on different schedules so it's hard to coordinate meals!
Day 15 Wednesday 15th of June - Today I threw a surprise Birthday dinner for my housemate, Holly! Hence the pre-organised lasagne! It was so fun sneaking around the kitchen, getting it all ready. I'd baked chocolate cupcakes the night before, and had some great firework candles! We put up bunting and got her a helium balloon. She absolutely loved it! Definitely do this if you get the opportunity, we all had such a great night playing heads up and drinking prosecco! The lasagne went down a storm too!
Day 16 Thursday 16th of June - A trip to the local theatre! So I've lived in Cheltenham for over a year and a half now and have never been to the Everyman theatre. I was so excited when the opportunity arose, to go with a group of lovely ladies from work to see Legally Blonde! We went to Bill's for a pre-theatre dinner, the show was brill and we had such a laugh. A really nice night out, so definitely look in to what's on at your local theatre if you've not been before.
Day 18 Saturday 18th of June - Hen party day! Today I went on an all day hen doo around town, it was really good fun. The first, and probably last time, I'll drink prosecco with a straw! Here we all are loving life at the Firestation's 'Bottomless Brunch'
Day 19 Sunday 19th of June - Today I watched a french drama series called The Disappearance on BBC iPlayer. It was a really gripping drama about a teenage girl who goes missing at a music festival in her town. Obviously there were subtitles but after a while I kind of felt I was speaking French! Great for a re-cap if you haven't done languages since school!
Day 20 Monday 20th of June - Learning French phrases! After the tv series I wanted to refresh my memory further! One of the books I loaned from the library earlier in the month, was a book of conversational French phrases. I wanted something that would be easy reading so I could learn a few phrases to use day to day, rather than the typical things I learnt to say at school; the weather, which way to the train station and what was in my pencil case!
Day 21 Tuesday 21st of June - I bought my first vase! Unless you know me, this probably seems like an odd 'exciting first!' I live in a furnished house share and I am yet to have my own home so homeware has never really interested me until recently! I've started to feel much more settled where I live for the first time since I moved here, which is so nice! I love having flowers in the house, but when I bought a bunch that didn't fit my housemate's vase, I decided this would be a great 'something new for the day!' Here I am looking delighted with my Tesco value purchase!
Day 22 Wednesday 22nd of June - Ordering from Deliveroo! So this fab service is the best thing since Uber taxis! An excellent idea that is now a worldwide success! Basically, you order from restaurants that don't normally deliver and you get it brought straight to your door by a deliveroo cyclist or motor cyclist! Myself and my friend Carly ordered from Prezzo and received an absolute feast for our 'school night sleepover!' Great value also as they offer combo deals exclusive to the deliveroo app! As you can see below, the delivery man was loving me asking for a photo! #bloggerproblems.
Day 23 Thursday 23rd of June - Dessert for dinner! So as this week was already super healthy, ahem, what better time to go to Kaspa's Dessert House! This is a chain of restaurants that only sell gelato, ice cream, waffles, crepes and other delightful desserts! I had the banoffee waffle with added strawberries! So so good!
Day 26 Sunday 26th of June - My first Christening - well, other than my own, as my mother pointed out! Today was a really lovely family day! I went to my cousin's little boy's christening. He was so good in the service and didn't cry once, it really was a very sweet morning and a really special occasion. I wore a dress from Oliver Bonas which I belted with a western style Topshop belt. Little Fraser on the other hand channeled the Safari Chic trend in a gorgeous two piece complete with bow tie! Adorable!
Day 27 Monday 27th of June - I bought egg cups! Another kind of random first today, but too cute not to share with you all! I was rushing through Waverley station in Edinburgh to catch my train back to Cheltenham when these wee flamingos caught my eye at the front of the Tiger store! I had to have them and have already put them to good use!
Day 28 Tuesday 28th of June - Cleaning my everyday make up brushes! Okay so this may seem totally gross but it's not that I've had them for years, I was in an awful habit of buying brushes and using them non-stop until they weren't so fresh then binning them and buying a new one! However, now that I've started investing in more premium make up brushes, this method isn't the best! I decided it was time to give them all a good wash! I didn't use a brush cleaner, just a circular of shampoo in palm and warm water! So happy they are now all clean, I can't believe how much make up came off them, definitely give this a try if, like me, you are a bit behind the times!
Day 29 Wednesday 29th of June - I made a Proper Tasty recipe from an online video! I often see people like videos on social media of recipes and quick cooking tutorials but I do wonder how many people actually try them out! The girls at work encouraged me to make this unbelievable pull-apart cheesey, garlic bread. Watch the video here.
Day 30 Thursday 30th of June - The final day has finally arrived! It was definitely time to go out with a bang! After work, my friend Charlotte and I drove to South Cerney Lakes WMSki to go wakeboarding! Such an awesome experience, I literally loved every minute! It just shows you can leave work after a full day in the office and still have plenty time for fun in these Summer evenings! Here I am cruising the lake and showing off my rather fetching wetsuit!
So that is it! 30 days, 30 brand new things I have now done for the first time, 30 new experiences and 30 things that made me smile! I hope this challenge has inspired you to try at least one thing new today or this week. I managed to fit it all in with a busy 6 day working week and really awful rainy 'summer' weather so honestly anything is possible!
In terms of costs, some activities were more expensive than others; the theatre, wakeboarding, the flat pack furniture. However most were great value; my egg cups were 50p each, surfing was only £25 for the all day hire of the board and wetsuit, and the dinner I made for my 4 housemates only came to £12. You can do all of these activities on the cheap too - nothing cost more than £40 which was the wakeboarding lesson!
So that is it! 30 days, 30 brand new things I have now done for the first time, 30 new experiences and 30 things that made me smile! I hope this challenge has inspired you to try at least one thing new today or this week. I managed to fit it all in with a busy 6 day working week and really awful rainy 'summer' weather so honestly anything is possible!
In terms of costs, some activities were more expensive than others; the theatre, wakeboarding, the flat pack furniture. However most were great value; my egg cups were 50p each, surfing was only £25 for the all day hire of the board and wetsuit, and the dinner I made for my 4 housemates only came to £12. You can do all of these activities on the cheap too - nothing cost more than £40 which was the wakeboarding lesson!
A big thank you to everyone that supported the challenge, joined in with me and gave me some great ideas! It's honestly been so rewarding and I've had such a great time!
Any questions, or if you want any alternative ideas to do your own #30daychallenge comment below or send me a message on social media/email!
L x
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