BLOGTEMBER | Tips for Finding Inspiration

Hello my lovelies and welcome back to another post! I hope everyone is well and had a nice weekend. You may have noticed that a couple of things have changed around here. No nothing major apart from a brand new blog theme!

 *confetti canons explode and streamers fly everywhere through the air* 

This theme was once again kindly made by one of my best friends, Charlie. He also made my last one for me. We were talking about logos and things the other day and we both agreed that my blog theme and vibe was a little bit out dated and it just isn't as exciting anymore. So we decided to go for a brand new theme of gold and pink and I absolutely love it. I love my new logo of 'klj', i.e. Katie Louise Johnson in this more handwritten theme with the strokes of pink/purple and gold paint. You will notice that the grey is still apart of this new look as the writing is grey and we've got a brand new grey heart for the end of my posts as well. We've also added some extra's down the left hand side of my blog for you to enjoy. The tabs are different, instead of my social media being in the tabs we've taken that away and we now have a few categories. So we've still got Home where you can find all of my posts I've ever done, we've got the About page like always, but now we have a page dedicated to Lifestyle, Reviews, Coffee Chats, Mindful Mondays, and BORN TO BE. We decided to have pages dedicated to those categories in particular because they're the posts I do the most of now, especially my own series of Coffee Chats, Mindful Mondays, and now BORN TO BE. So if you ever want to find a post in particular in relation to those categories then you can click on the tab and it will take you to all of those posts. There's a couple in each tab right now so go and check them out if you fancy. 

Under my logo we now have a bit of a tagline as well, treating ourselves. Charlie originally had the tagline as 'beauty, fashion, lifestyle' and if you had asked me 3-4 years ago if that's what my blog was about I would've said yes. But I feel like my blog has developed as I've grown up. So we were thinking about it and he asked me 'Well what would you say your blog is about?' and honestly I couldn't answer it. So he scanned through the different styles of posts I've done most frequently over the past year and he came up with 'lifestyle and positivity' and I love it. Lovelies you all know that on this blog we talk about a lot of life related things and I'm always trying to stay positive and help you all find the positives in life situations. So when I really thought about it, the tagline couldn't of been more perfect. Another little extra thing he kindly did for me, on the tab of where it says what web page you're on, you'll see that next to the 'KLJ - Lifestyle & Positivity' there is an icon of a 'K' against a pink square instead of the 'B' which you normally see on blogger accounts. Honestly I can't get over how awesome that is, don't ask me how he managed that because I've got no idea but I am so grateful.

And the final thing he kindly made for me as a bit of an extra. For my two series, Coffee Chats and Mindful Mondays, he has made me two logos specifically for those two series. Honestly I am beyond grateful, I love them and I can't wait to share them with you all. You'll obviously have to wait to see those until I do a new post in those series (hopefully soon) but I'm sure you will love them as much as I do. 

Honestly I really can't thank him enough. He does so much for me and my blog design wise and I wouldn't know what to do without him. Thank you so much Charlie, I love you to pieces.

And now finally, it's time for what this blog post was actually intended for. 

Whatever you do, at some stage we all go through a rut. Whether that's writers block or we lose passion for whatever it is we're devoting our time to, or we just feel a bit bored and unmotivated with what we're doing. Being a blogger and from having a massive shift in my life (moving home from uni) it has meant that my way of life and my emotions have been a bit all over the place because honestly moving home from uni has been a lot harder than moving to uni. But that's a discussion for another day. Anyway because of that traumatic experience (believe me I am really not exaggerating) it has meant I've needed to figure out ways to find inspiration for things again. As I've found I am less productive at my parents home because I associate my home-home with being a teenager again I suppose and just not really doing anything when it comes to work based things. And I associated my life in Chester as my young adult life because I ran my own life every day and did the things I needed to do and went out when I wanted to without any judgement or explanation needed etc. So I'm not going to lie, going from everyday independence to living back at home under the house "rules" has been really hard to settle back into which has affected my ability to be inspired and find ways of focusing. So I figured if anyone is in a similar position to me right now maybe this post could be beneficial and even if you're not in a similar position to me, hopefully the points in this post can help you refocus your mind for inspirations. 

I've been on the hunt for a job recently and it is mentally exhausting. When I lived in Chester I'd go out regularly, about 5 or 6 times a week, whether that be with friends or by myself. But at home I'm finding I can't do that as often, one) because of money, two) because my friends at home don't all live with me like we did at uni, they also have jobs, and we actually have to travel into places to see one another. It's not like when I lived in a city and we were all in walking distance of one another. And three) because my parents always want to know where I'm going and what I'm doing. I know it's only because they care and they want to make sure I am safe but sometimes I feel like I can't go out and do anything without permission. Anyone else feel me? 

Due to all this lately I've found it harder to find inspiration and motivation for life in general. It's only recently (within the last two weeks) where I've been able to figure myself out a bit again. 

So tip number one is to find the right balance of going out and doing things and being busy etc for you. You have all heard me say countless times that I am a very balanced person and if I don't have the right balance of time to myself and time with other people and going out etc, it affects me massively. I also need time to myself at home as well as time to myself when I'm out and this brings me to my next tip. 

Number two, find something you enjoy doing by yourself and for yourself. It's good to spend time out with yourself. You don't have to make it a big thing or anything major. For myself I like to go out to cafes (we all know it's usually Costa) and just sit and relax or read or write and plan posts etc. I just find it an activity I love to do with myself for myself and it's another way of self care and self love for me personally. 

I know a lot of people don't like going out on their own and I really can't figure out why. I'm not judging my loves as everyone is different but I can't imagine not going out on my own now. Maybe it's an independence thing or self confidence thing in general, I don't know. I once went for dinner on my own which I know is a big deal for some people. Try it, push yourself, it's quite liberating. 

Number three, take yourself away from whatever you're doing/ working on. Breaks are always important in life. In our day and age we always feel like we have to do everything right now which I am 100% putting down to society. Your early 20s is an odd time because it seems there are two categories. You're either getting married, having babies, working full time, getting a mortgage etc. Or you're going to university and living your life surviving off minimal funds and going out every Friday night. I feel a tremendous amount of pressure to find a job right now and have my career sorted and stable when in reality life isn't like that. Everything will fall into place eventually and you've got to have faith in yourself as well as faith in time. 

I've noticed recently I've been trying to focus on too many things at once - doing things for my blog, trying to find a job, trying to settle back into a completely different lifestyle, trying to keep up with friends, keep up with content on social media, and honestly all of that 24/7 gets exhausting. So learning to take a break and to not quit everything is one of the best adulthood lessons because as you get older you cannot quit everything just like that. You can't quit your day job if you have bills to pay and a family to provide for etc. A lot of the time in life some things have to instantly take a back seat if you've got other things that are demanding your focus and that's okay, that's life. 

Another good reason your taking a break is if you lose your passion for whatever it is you're focusing on. Whether that's a few days or a few months (depending on deadlines and things). I've had to do that with my blog a lot in the past year; you do your best work at your happiest, most inspired, and most motivated. So try and consider that when you don't feel you're doing as well as you want to be. 

My fourth and final tip for you all is to stay up late at night. This one will not be for everyone as I know some people who go to bed before 3:00am. I can't relate, what's that life like friends? I'm always up late just because naturally I don't fall asleep until around 2:30am or 3:00am even if I have to be up early the next day. 

Personally I find that some of my greatest creative ideas, post ideas, and thoughts come to me when it's late at night. There's something really special about being up late with the fairy lights on or a candle burning with inspirational or thought provoking music playing in my ears and just sitting and thinking. It feels like you're the only one awake in the world because of the surroundings you're amongst at that very moment. I find that really inspiring and I can't completely describe the sensation it brings, you just feel something different ignite within your body and within your mind. Anyone else experience this? 

As I never go to bed early because I physically can't I use the late night vibes to work creatively as I'm more productive in that sense than I am in the day time. It's not always the best as sometimes after a late night blogging session I'm much more awake and my brain is more alert which results in me not wanting to sleep at all. So I wouldn't recommend it all the time but it's good the engage with every so often. 

I've found that lately doing all four of these tips have improved my creativity and my want to make content that is different and interesting. Also doing all four of these has also improved my mood, I've noticed I've been a lot happier, and when you're in a happy mood you're more likely to engage in certain tasks more often than you would when you're feeling down or anxious. So I'd recommend for you all to give these a go for when you're feeling unlike yourself or you're feeling demotivated or you feel a bit lazy when it comes to whatever work you do etc. 

Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed. 

You can follow me on Twitter @katielouj0hnson, Instagram @katiej0hnson, Pinterest @katielouj0hnson, and Bloglovin' @ Katie Johnson. 

Hopefully, I'll see you tomorrow. 

Love,

Katie

BLOGTEMBER | AUTUMNAL TRY ON HAUL: Newlook, Asda, Next, and Primark!

Hello my lovelies and finally welcome back to another post in Blogtember. I am very sorry that Blogtember has been a little bit of a fail. If I'm honest I think trying to blog every single day for this month and working on BORN TO BE (cheeky plug, but if you've not checked out the first post in the series click here) was a bit too ambitious, even for me. I've found that even though I have done all of the research and I've got all the media content etc, I'm still finding the actual physical typing of the posts take a lot of time to complete because I want it to be as effective for the readers as possible. So for the rest of September I'm going to try my best to do as many Blogtember posts as I can and the ideas I don't manage to get up for Blogtember I will just upload through October. 

So anyway, if you guys follow me on Instagram, if not you should (@katiej0hnson), then you might remember me banging on about this haul I was gonna do and well you can judge by the title that it's finally arrived. I decided to wait out for a bit because I felt like what I had originally purchased wasn't enough for a try on haul and I knew I'd be buying more clothes because there's so many nice bits out for autumn at the minute. 

The mustard and yellow obsession (you'll see throughout this haul) continues for me as we start with 

this gorgeous oversized knit jumper with a bit of a roll neck. 

This jumper is honestly so comfortable and soft, the sleeves are nice and long but you can easily roll them up for a bit of a different vibe, I love the slouchy roll neck on this. I usually really hate when roll necks are so fitted to the point you feel like you can't breath but this one is perfectly comfortable. 

I got this in a size 20; as you can see it sits just below my stomach which is nice as it's not overly long but it's not cropped. It's also not tight around the cut of the hem which means it's nice and loose and carefree to wear. I'm so excited to pair this with leggings like you see here or a pair of jeggings with boots or easy slip on shoes. This colour just screams autumn and I can't wait to wear this out when it's that crisp cool air but it isn't cold enough to wear a coat yet. This little gem was from Primark and was £10.00! I also think they have other colours in this as well. 

We may as well continue as we mean to go on with the yellow theme. I got another slouchy jumper but this time it's not knitted, just standard cotton. However this has got a bit of fleecing inside so it's another one where I'm going to be super cosy and warm. The sleeves are once again really big and roomy and I love the 'Hello Yellow' writing on the front in this pinky red shade. I think the colours compliment one another really nicely. Like the last one, it again sits just below my stomach and the cut of them hem again makes it nice and loose and comfortable. This material is actually really heavy but in a good way of it feels like it will last for a long time and will keep you warm throughout the really cold weather we get here in the UK. This is actually a size 22 - I just preferred the more oversized fit compared to the size 20. I've already worn this out before and I wore it with denim jeggings and some slip on yellow sandals (yes I was that person) but in the colder months I'd probably wear just some standard slip on shoes or boots. 

This was from Next and was £22.00 

Yellow strikes again, shocker. 

This little top I am actually obsessed with because it's so easy to wear. It's really soft and again is a slouchy fit; in gold writing it has 'Je'taime' across the front which gives it a little extra detail which I like. I actually love the tie front of this which is suprising as sometimes I find them to be too tight and fitted when they're right at the front and on my body I personally don't find that very flattering. But I think having it on the side gives it something a little bit different that your eye catches. I also like that the sleeves are a little bit longer than your average these days. 

I got this from New Look in a size 18 as this was in their standard range. As you can see it's again another slouchy fit and slightly oversized. It's a little bit cropped but it sits on my stomach comfortably for me to feel like I can wear this with jeggings or leggings without the shape of my stomach being fully exposed through my clothes. It is a little bit see through because the material is so thin however it's nothing to be worried about when you go out. I wore this the other week just like this and wore a denim jacket and some easy slip on shoes. This is a great top for our weather here at the moment in the UK because it's dull and cloudy but it's still quite humid. Today as I'm typing this it's 22 degrees but the sky is completely overcast. So this is great for days like this where you feel warm but you don't feel appropriate to go out in a vest top and shorts etc.

This was actually in the sale for only £4.00! 

To conclude our yellow obsession we have this tie front shirt/ blouse. I really struggle with shirts because they never fit me right. They're usually too fitted around my stomach which I really don't like and then they're too loose at the top. Or the actual fit of them makes me look boxy and I'm personally not into that style. So I honestly didn't expect much from this piece but I was pleasantly surprised. 

This actually fits quite nicely. As you can see it's just your standard button down shirt/ blouse with a little pocket with mid length up-turned sleeves but it's got a tie front which makes it much more casual than your standard shirt. I really like the pattern; yellow and white stripes down the front. 

It's a little bit shorter in length than your everyday shirt because of the tie front but it sits really comfortably on my hips without being too tight or fitted. It's again a little bit see through but nothing too much that you couldn't comfortably wear it out. I would most likely wear this with blue wash denim jeggings and slip on shoes or lace ups. 

Again this is from New Look so I got this in a size 18 and it was £17.99 or £19.99 I think. 

Now when this trend came out of the stripes down the sides of leggings, trousers, jeans etc I was never really that bothered by it. But I saw these in New Look's sale (we all know how manic that has been throughout the summer) and I decided to just try them on and see what they're like because you never know until you try and I think it's pretty evident that I really like them otherwise I wouldn't have bought them. 

These are in a size 18 and I was surprised that these did fit because I tend to go for size 20 in leggings. But as you can see they're just jet black and they're not see through which is fantastic. There's nothing worse than super see through leggings; with these thick coloured stripes down the sides of the legs. 

One thing that is really interesting about these is where the stripe down the side of your leg is, it almost gives this like slimming effect. You can see it better in real life than on these pictures but it's just really weird but I think it is to do with how thick the strip of colour is. It might just be how it fits to my body but some how they make my legs and hips appear more slim-curvy than they actually are. 

These were £6.99 each and they were originally £12.99 each. So I got two for the price of one, bargain!

I am obsessed with New Look's new autumn range this year. I am pretty much in love with everything in there. So much so that I'm gonna share a New Look wishlist with you all. But I tried this exact outfit on when I was with Chloe a couple weeks ago and I fell in love with it. I just love this pattern of leopard print on these trousers because the background colour is kind of a soft creamy shade with hints of yellow in with your classic black leopard print spot shapes. I just thought it was a bit different to your classic dark brown/ orange leopard print colours. As you can see they're kind of culotte style whilst still being fitted from the knee upwards. 

Although these are fitted and hug my legs and hips which I think you can tell on these two images. These are not tight at all, they fit really nicely, they're kind of like crepe/ crape material but much thicker, and they have an elasticated waist which we all know is the key. If it ain't comfy I ain't buying it. I'm also really happy that they don't have a tie at the front of these trousers because when they do I feel like I'm forced to wear a crop top or something I have to tuck in because of the tie front detail. So I'm glad I still have the tie front detail but on this top instead. 

This top is honestly so soft and so comfy. I adore this brick brown/ red shade for autumn and I know I'm gonna get so much wear out of this because I could easily wear this top with patterned trousers or jeggings or leggings etc. This top isn't cropped, it's just a normal length top which is an actual miracle in our day and age. The tie front is really loose which I like as it means it's not really tight and it's a nice slouchy fit. I love the sleeves, I love the neckline. I might have to consider buying some more of these in this style as I've seen recently that New Look have released quite a few of these in different colours and patterns. 

This top was £15.99 and the trousers were £19.99. 

Again when I went shopping with Chloe, when I actually wore these trousers out, we went into New Look again because we've got a serious problem. I saw this top that is half a cropped cardigan kind of style but it is not as thick as a cardigan. As you can see it's 3/4 length sleeves with a v neck and buttons going down the front like a normal cardigan or shirt/blouse. You can't really tell in these two images but the texture is kind of ribbed but the material isn't very soft. It's a little bit rougher to touch however wearing it, it is not itchy or uncomfortable. 

This material is a little bit thin but again nothing to feel too worried or self-conscious about. The main reason I wanted to get this was because I thought it would be a good staple piece to have as we transition to autumn when it's too cold to wear short sleeves or no sleeves at all but it's too hot to even wear your thinner jumpers with long sleeves. So I think this will be a happy medium for me and because it's black it will go with a lot of my autumnal wardrobe. And of course you could just undo the buttons and wear this as a normal 3/4 length sleeve cardigan if you felt like it.

This is also from New Look's standard range so I got this in a size 18 and it's slightly more fitted than the brown/red tie front top but it's not tight. I've still got room in there to breath and as you can see it is slightly cropped as it sits on the middle of my stomach (where my belly button is). But when I tried this on with these trousers I actually really liked it together for when I just want to wear these casually with a black top that I know is gonna together. As I do have days when I'll wear whatever I like and feel confident - bold colours, patterns, you name it. But I also have days when I want to feel neutral with the bold patterns. So like with these two pieces here. 

So I'm really excited to wear this and see all the different things in my wardrobe I can make it work with. It's definitely going to be a great staple I think. This top was £19.99 I think. 

The final item from New Look is this bandot crop top with caramel coloured stripes and the actual top it's kind of an off white colour. It's got fabric buttons down the front which is a really nice detail and has an elasticated stretchy band under the bust as well as across the shoulders. Now I wont lie, this is not usually my style. Yes I do wear crop tops more often now than I used to but I've never worn one that is this short. With crop tops like this I have to wear something highwaisted because I can't deal with having my whole stomach out.

I would have to wear this with a skirt like I am here or with a pair of loose fitted shorts because even trousers for me are sometimes too fitted on the shape of my stomach for me to feel confident enough to wear a crop top with a pair of jeggings, leggings, or trousers etc. Anything where there is no coverage on my stomach, e.g. a tie front or something like tassel detailing etc, makes me feel self conscious the majority of the time which makes me less confident as a whole. Wow that was long-winded. 

But despite all that I still bought it. I think the overall cut of the top is really flattering and feminine which I love. The elastic waist band makes it pretty comfortable and you've still got room for your boobs to sit comfortably. I personally can't wear crop tops or any tops or any dresses etc for that matter without a bra. I just don't feel comfortable going out and knowing my boobs are not supported and I just don't like the feeling of it personally. So it's always important for me that I am still able to wear a bra in a crop top. Especially because some of them can be quite tight as I know many people go out in just a crop top with no bra and obviously you need to be confident enough to know your whole boobs aren't gonna fall out if there's too much room in there. 

I'm trying to work out if this top goes with this skirt or not. Lovelies let me know what you think in the comments about this combo together. I think the colours go as this off white shade is also within the skirt but I'm just unsure if the patterns clash or not? 

I got this in a size 18 and this was only £6.00 in the sale. 

As you've already seen the skirt, we might as well now talk about the skirt. If you guys saw my IG story the other day then you will have seen me put a picture of this up with a bunch of other skirts asking you to try and guess which one I purchased and well now you know. You should all know by now that I was obviously going to pick this one because it's floral, I adore my floral patterns so very much. But in particular what I liked about this one was the muted tones of colour because it makes the design feel a bit vintage. 

So originally I tried this skirt on with the black cropped cardigan I showed you earlier because I thought it would look really good together, mainly because I though the cardigan was going to sit higher up than it actually did. So imagined wearing it without tucking it into the skirt but it just didn't look right so I decided to change it to this top which is what I wore on the day of taking all of these outfit photos and I actually prefer it a lot more. The khaki top really compliments the bursts of khaki in the skirt and I think it just looks really good together.

I love skirts, they make me feel really feminine and really girly, however sometimes they can come up quite short and I'm not going to lie this one is quite short. Maybe a little bit shorter than I would normally go for but I just love the design and how the skater style looks on my figure. The main reason it comes up a bit short is one because I'm tall, I'm 5'11 so anything that is a skirt or a dress always runs that risk. And two because I've got big curvy hips and a big bum for this to sit comfortably over. I got this in a size 20 and it does cover my bum but only just, but I figured if I wear really thick tights or even leggings (maybe) then it should be fine. I'd wear this as it is in this photo but just put some tights or leggings on and wear some slip on shoes or boots. 

This is actually from George at Asda and it was only £10.00! Oh and for anyone interested, this top is also from New Look but I've had it for a good few years now. 

And we have our final item in this haul, possibly my favourite item in this haul. You all know how much I love a jumper. When you think of me as a piece of clothing it's an over sized jumper isn't it? This is also from George at Asda and honestly Asda as a clothing brand are so underrated. They have such gorgeous pieces for great prices and they actually fit how they should fit. So, I purchased a couple of jumpers last year from Asda which I loved and I still love now and they were like almost velvety but much softer and they don't have that weird gritty pulling feeling when you touch them unlike velvet. They had another one in this year in that same material but in a pattern like this one with white, burgundy pink, and purple. But I have a lot of pink and purple things so I decided to go with this one as I don't have anything like this in my wardrobe. 

This is in a size 20 and you can just see how cosy and comfy and over sized this is. I think this is cable knit style which makes it really chunky. I love these block colours together, they compliment one another so nicely because they're more on the pastel side of things. I love wearing colours like this in the winter as I associated soft cool colours with snow and the feeling of cold etc. Also whenever I wear blue coloured clothes people always compliment me and say it goes really well with my skin tone. 

The fit of this jumper is honestly just perfect, completely what I look for in an oversized jumper. It's loose, it's cosy, it's comfy, it's soft, it's easy to wear. Throw on with a pair of jeans or leggings, some cute slip on shoes or boots and I'm good to go out the door and get on with my day. 

I actually wore this the other day when I met Chloe but I originally was going to wear that floral skirt, black cropped cardigan, tights, and my black slip on shoes but I wasn't feeling it. And on those days when I'm not feeling it in any of my outfits that I put together in my head. It's important that I have pieces that I know always work together and make me feel good when I'm hating every piece in my wardrobe. I'm gonna address this more in the upcoming instalment of BORN TO BE (cheeky spoiler for you all) because it's a serious issue I've been dealing with a lot recently. I also want to do a post where I share my go-to outfits on those days when I'm hating everything in my wardrobe and I've got somewhere I need to be. 

As you can see it goes past my stomach comfortably and isn't tight fitting in any way. I'd pair this with leggings like these or jeggings like the other day when I met up with Chloe. With some boots or lace ups, slip on shoes etc. 

I got this for only £14.00, such a bargain price for a jumper of this quality. 


Well my lovelies that is everything in this haul. I hope you enjoyed and you saw some bits and bobs you liked. Let me know down below if you've been adding to your autumnal wardrobes yet. I'm gonna do my best to get as many posts up for you guys as I can for the next 11 days to make Blogtember semi worth it. 

 But you guys should definitely follow me on all of my social media if you don't already. I'm always posting things and getting up to bits and bobs on my IG story. 

You can follow me on Twitter @katielouj0hnson, Instagram @katiej0hnson, Pinterest @katielouj0hnson, and Bloglovin' @ Katie Johnson. 

Thank you all for reading and I'll hopefully see you tomorrow. 

Love,

Katie