Hannah Elizabeth

I'm taking a little break for annual leave again this upcoming week. I think it's important for me to take these little time outs and after never taking a scheduled break on the blog prior to this year, I've decided to made it more a focussed commitment. Don't worry, I'll be back soon with the usual 4 scheduled posts a week. See you soon! 

Papergrang is a monthly stationary subscription box that fits perfectly through your letterbox. Each month they collaborate with an artist, creating exclusive stationery for subscribers to be delivered straight to the door. Every box contains at least £20 worth or product, with 4 or more exclusively designed pieces of stationery.  The company also collaborates with charities each year. These have historically included: Marine Conservation Society, Arthouse, Butterfly Convervation, Bee Conservation Society, ME Society, Switchboard LGBT+, Blurt Foundation, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. As you know, I love supporting charities and smaller business', but also companies that have sustainability at their core. Papergang plant a tree for every 4 boxes sold; so far over 40,000! For a stationary company, I think that's so important and crucial.  You're first month, you can actually pick which box you want from previous past boxes, as well as the current month which would be more o

My boyfriend’s family has recently got Disney Plus so of course I’ve been taking full advantage. I’ve been wanting to watch a number of Disney film and shows for a while, but waiting until I go to my sister’s to watch with the kids. Well, with it now available at my house, I’ve managed to watch some at my own house which has been lovely!  I thought today, I’d share a mini review of the four animated Disney films that have been released so far this decade. Spoiler: I love them! I'm a bit of a fan of animated Disney films, even those not about princess'.   Onward Released in March 2020, Onward was the first animated film released by Disney this decade. It shares the story of a once magical world, that technology has now taken over, following the journey of Ian as he becomes an adult and adventures with his brother to resurrect his late father.  I thought this film was so cute. I really liked the concept introduced at the beginning of the film; it really got me thinking about our

Back in June I started my community rotation part of my preceptorship as a newly qualified midwife. Last month, I shared my thoughts one month in , but due to the fact the entire month was supernumerary, I wanted to share how my first month alone and working independently went too.  Well it's been just over a month now, and I can honestly say, I'm actually really enjoying the job. I really didn't know how I would feel going from the hospital to the community, because I loved the hospital so much and of course, I'd been there for over 2 years straight. I love the continuity of looking after my women and being able to provide that consistent care. I also think it's so lovely to be able to develop that relationship with women. Even though I've only been doing my clinic for the past two months, I've seen some women every two weeks, and then 3+ times at home as well which is lovely.  Speaking of home visits, they are absolutely lovely. I love seeing the new litt

It's been a while since I shared an Influenster campaign review on the blog. I've shared about the company before in more detail, but each month they select profiles to review a range of beauty products in exchange for getting the item for free. This box had a dry shampoo product from Colab.  Having used dry shampoo before, I've always leaned towards the well known brand of Batiste. However, I don't love the scent of their products. I hadn't personally heard of Colab until this box so I was very excited to try the product and very impressed to receive not one, but two 200ml bottles of the Dry Shampoo + Extra Volume. The bottle itself is tall and slim. I love the gold and black colour scheme, as it looks beautiful on the side, whilst it can also be stored fairly easily due to the diameter of the bottle. As with all aerosol product, it is a pressurised container so keep away from heat or ignition sources as it may burst.  Described as "instant backcombed volume&q

I'm actually really enjoying writing these slightly more personal posts again recently. I went through a bit of a phase of loosing my passion for these, but it's back with a vengeance and I have lots of titles saved in my drafts folder, ready to be completed. I thought I'd start with 5 irrational fear I defintely have but defintely shouldn't, starting with the strangest!  1. Insects entering my body through crevices   I genuinely didn't think this one was strange. I thought multiple people would have it and then after mentioning it to a few people, I realised they didn't! Let me explain... At night, I'm really worried about little animals or creepy crawlies crawling into my body holes e.g. ears, eyes, belly button etc. I always make sure to have my top covering my belly button and that the duvet circles over my ears, nose and mouth! I think it stems from when I was little and read an article saying that an average person swallows x number of spiders whilst t

Unlike most people who have to wait mere weeks from their last exams, to finishing their degrees, and becoming graduates, once again the downside of being a January cohort becomes apparent.  I actually finished my Midwifery degree in December, well before Christmas. Then it took just over a month to get the qualification sent to the NMC by the university, and then just a few hours to be approved and to be made a registered midwife . Since December I have been a "graduand", which is a student who has completed the requirements for, but has not yet been awarded, a particular degree. Despite all that, as of last week, I am officially a graduate...only 8 months late!  I requested the day of work months ago, so I could celebrate but after hearing nothing from university and then being told it was just going to be a series of tweets, I ended up switching my days off because I forgot to block my clinic and unfortunately we had no cover. Just a few days before the day, one of the gi

Just a short hello post from me today. If you follow my Instagram you'll have seen that I've been very busy working over the last few weeks. I've ended up doing a fair amount of overtime, as well as lots of shifts. My off duty has been shocking this month!  As a result, I haven't really been doing much. On the two days I've had off, I've been doing some "side hustle" work and life admin so haven't been vlogging the boring day-to-day life. I have some fun days planned and a couple of upcoming trips to see family so stay tuned for some vlogs later this month, but for now, I hope you've had a lovely weekend! 

From keeping cool to something warm, today's post is all about Blue Coffee Box Blue Coffee Box . As the name suggests, this is a coffee subscription box with a difference, including handpicked gourmet coffee from 22 countries, delivered in a sleek, letterbox-friendly EcoBox.  They're value revolve around the acronym blue: best, luxury, unique and ethical. They select speciality coffee, lovingly roasted in the UK. Every box is top quality curated for your personal tastes and preferences and delivered fresh to your door. Variants come from all over the world, introducing blends you wouldn't find in a supermarket. Plus, they support sustainable farming as they dealing direct with farmers and co-operatives for the improved future of families and producers. This ensures farmers earn more money from their sales than if it was through a larger corporate company, so they can enjoy a better quality of life. On average, the farmers here earn 30% more than the Fairtrade price. My box

The usual British weather is traditionally wet and miserable, but over the past few weeks, we've had some record high temperatures. Whilst a lot of people have been complaining, I've personally loved the warmer weather. I love being able to come home from work and sit in the garden, or have the doors open whilst watching television and have the fresh air coming in.  There has been a little break but the met office now predicts a two week heatwave for the majority of the United Kingdom. I must admit I would much prefer to have some annual leave while the weather is nice, but sadly I couldn't get any approved this year, so instead, I'll be making the most of the evenings again. Like many, when the weather is hot, it tends to be my sleep that is impacted the most. England just isn't really cut out for the warmth; our buildings tend to be built to keep heat in! Today, I thought I'd share some top tips on how to improve you sleep in a heatwave.  Start with the basics

The National Health Service just turned 73. It was actually just under a month ago now on Monday 5th July. Despite landmarks including football stadiums, town halls, churches, hospitals and bridges lighting up blue ahead of the anniversary of the founding of the health service, there was little to celebrate. The NHS is so understaffed, overstretched and lacking in almost every area. It has been an extremely challenging year for the NHS and the country as a whole. The government and senior management teams keep saying it is a year of hope, but it's hard to see that right now.  There's been two "presents" given to NHS staff recently. The Queen awarded the George Cross to the entire NHS, in an unprecedented honour, bestowed collectively for only the third time. It seeks to appreciate the vital role the service plays in our lives, and to recognise and thank the extraordinary staff who guide, support and care, day in, day out. It would be quite nice to have a physical toke

I travelled back to Wakefield to spent the hot heatwave weekend with family, before working a 49.5 hour plus week at work!  Click here to watch the vlog or see below.  After a late finish at work, as has become the new normal, I headed back to the house with a McDonald's in tow because I was a little frustrated. I decided to wait to head back to my mum's until the traffic had gone and so set off at half 7 instead. Sadly, there were so many roadworks and the motorway ended up closing completely so it took over 2 hours to get back sadly. Nevertheless, I made it back, unpacked and head straight to sleep.  The next morning, we headed off bright and early to the Great Yorkshire Show. The Great Yorkshire Show is a family tradition for my family, and I was so gutted that last year's event had to be cancelled. This year, it was almost called off again but thankfully, it went ahead and I managed to get the day off work to attend! It was such a lovely day, with beautiful weather and