I seriously can't believe how quickly June has gone. We're over halfway through 2016 and that's definitely going way too fast! June has been a month of ups and downs for me, but I've still got plenty of bits and bobs I've been loving to share with you. Like May, there are mostly beauty and makeup products, but being on my summer break I've had a lot more time to experiment and try out new things. 

Whilst it may not feel like we're coming to the end of June in terms of weather, it technically is summertime. In the UK we tend to have a burst of summer, all of a sudden we get sunshine, nice weather and people wheel out the barbeque. I like to be as prepared as possible for such bursts of sun, so here are my summer essentials.

About a year ago I posted about seeing myself being on medication for the foreseeable future, and how I need to not let that define me. Things have changed a lot more in a year than I could've ever expected, so here's a little update.

Wedding season is upon us, and I for one one a wedding. I went to a wedding at the weekend so I thought I'd share my makeup, hair and outfit with you all. As always I went for something pretty simple with my makeup, a fairly neutral base with neutral defined eyes and a nude lip, and with my hair too. I'm a creature of habit, what can I say! But my outfit was something that once upon I time I wouldn't have worn at all, so I guess you could say that's where I made the change from my usual. I think a bit more neutral and classic makeup is always the way to go with makeup/hair/outfits for weddings, as you don't want to look back on photos wishing you'd gone for something that stands the test of time better.

Way before I got into blogging, I loved reading blogs. It started with reading the blogs of youtubers, and then I started discovering bloggers on twitter and I've never looked back since. I can spend so much time reading blogs and discovering new blogs too. I love loads of blogs, but I thought I'd share the love and gather some of my absolute favourites with you.

Cute little drawstring pouches can be so useful, whether it's to house your sunglasses  or to keep your powder and lipstick handy in your bag, I have a lot of uses for drawstring bags. Way back in April I decided that I was going to use a pair of old pyjamas to make a drawstring case for my magnifying glass, which was a lot easier than I thought it would be! Sewing your own really doesn't take too long, and doesn't require oodles of sewing skills either, I mean I can barely see the needle to thread it! For this DIY I do recommend using material from old clothes as you then don't need to sew a hem, making it even easier! Here's my simple step by step guide to making your own in no time at all.

Nature noun - 'the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations'

A couple of weeks ago, the lovely Hannah tagged me to do the 7 day nature photography challenge. This couldn't have come at a better time for me as I was just about to head home to the Suffolk countryside for a few weeks.

Taking time to practice mindfulness, being calm and properly thinking and switching off is so important for our minds, and not just if you suffer from a mental illness. We live is such a full on society where taking a break from staring at a computer screen is staring at a mobile screen. It's very rare that we spend time completely for ourselves, allowing our minds to wander and totally relax without screens and the constant outside world connection.

So I've been blogging for a year-ish. I say ish because if you go through the archives of Emily Writes, my first post is actually 26th April 2014. But for a year from that point my posts were extremely sporadic, and it wasn't until around this time last year that blogging really became I hobby that I wanted to pursue. So to celebrate and to say thank you for your support I'm running a little giveaway.