Monday 29 April 2013

iLIVEiGIVE..

Hey Guys,
Hope your okay?
So today's post is a very important post to me.
Which means a pretty long post again - sorry!
Let me ask you all something?..


Are you on the organ donor list?
If not do you know how quick it is to join it?

There's more than 10,000 people in the UK who need a transplant.
1,000 of those people will die while waiting on the transplant list.
Yet only 31% of us are actually on the organ donor list..
This means,your more likely to need a transplant then to be a donor!

Now before you all think 
"oh,its easy for you to say join the list because you've had a transplant but why should we think about it?"
When I was 16 a spur of the moment decision made me join the organ donor list,I ticked everything but my eyes.
I spoke to my friend Jade who also joined the list at a similar time about it and why shouldn't we do something to save lives!

Then strangely enough a year after.
I was dying from Liver Failure.

It's as simple as that.
You never know when your times up,
and you'll never know if it will be you needing a transplant.

So then I ask ?
If you was in Organ failure - would you accept a organ?
Which is when you all say "Well of course!"

This is what confuses me,
people would happily receive a organ but would not think about donation.
I understand the thought of death is scary,and that's why people aren't always keen to discuss it with there family.
Yet when I was 16,I wasn't thinking about death,simply was thinking about if I can help some one then I will.

It's not just organs like the liver and heart that help,so does tissue donation!
A tissue donation could save up to 50 people,as they help so many different things.
Restoring sight (I actually spoke to a lady who had a cornea transplant and regained her sight which changed my mind on donation of eyes),repairing heart defects and can even be used as a natural dressing!

My intentions of this post aren't to force my views on any of my readers as I know everyone has the right to think differently to me,but please guy's give it a thought if you haven't already.


If I hadn't of received my transplants,
I wouldn't be seeing my baby sister growing up.
Wouldn't have had a chance to fall in love.
And most importantly - live my life to the full.

Some one at some point decided to give so that someone like me could live.

This brings me round to the topic of an amazing awareness campaign I'm currently supporting called iLIVEiGIVE.
The campaign is based on trying to get people to celebrate live,and living it to it's fullest while inspiring people to think about how they could give the gift of life to someone if something was to happen to them.
The campaign uses specially made t-shirts to increase awareness, whether it be on the street,at a concert / events or on top of a mountain!
Then posting pictures of themselves with them at those kind of things to social media like Facebook and twitter!


I will be wearing my t-shirt in the sports wear round in the Miss Birmingham final this Saturday!


You guy's can check the campaign out by following
Twitter : @iliveigive https://twitter.com/iLiveiGive
Email them at ilive.igive@nhs.net
or check there website out iliveigive.org


So if you guy's want to help?
Firstly.. JOIN THE REGISTER
You can do that by texting JOIN to 84880
calling 0300 123 23 23

Secondly you guy's could get in touch with iLIVE iGIVE and help support the campaign!!

Sorry for the super long post but I hope you guys can give it a thought and be sure to contact me for any information at all!

Stay Safe & Speak Soon
Kate 
xoxo

Saturday 27 April 2013

YouTube - Vote Miss Birmingham?



Hey Guy's 
Hope your okay?
Here's my new YouTube video letting you guy's know how else you can get involved in Miss Birmingham.



I'm hoping you guy's have just watched the video,
but if not,here are the links to the facebook page if you want to vote for me in the final :)

Update you all soon with a Vlog and another YouTube video soon,
hopefully this time actually with video footage ha ha

Speak Soon.
Kate 
xoxo


Friday 26 April 2013

Question tag off the GIF planet..Tumblr.


Hey Guy's,hope your all okay?
Soo.. I thought I'd do another post so you guy's could get to know me as the last one did well!
I went on Tumblr and found this one but had to delete a few questions as alot of the questions were rather insane ha ha.
So here you go!

1 - Who was the last person you texted? My Dad :)

2 - When is your birthday? 16th November

3 - Who do you want to be with right now? My boy..<3

4 - What sports do you play? Absolutely. None.

5 - Who is the first person in your contacts? Family friend - Alan.

6 - What is your favourite song as of the moment? What a night - Loveable rogues (you can buy it here..http://smarturl.it/WhataNightDigi?IQid=youtube)

7 - If you were stranded on an island, who do you wish to be with? There's way to many people to mention!

8 - What do you feel right now? Okay.. Hate that word but yeah I'm okay thanks Tumblr *hugs*

9 - What chocolate is your favourite? Milky Bar mmmm yum!

10- Why did you create a Tumblr account / Blog? Started writing blog posts on Tumblr then came over to blogspot once I started writing more! :)

11 - Who is your favourite blogger? Probably Zoella or Sprinkle of Glitter?

12- Where do you want to be right now? On holiday some where nice!

13- What do you want to be in the future? Healthy and Happy - that's all.

14 - When was the last time you cried? Why? Tuesday, a friend of mine sadly past away.

15 - Are you happy? The happiest I've been in years,yes.

16 - Who do you miss? The other half <3

17 - If you were given a chance, would you like to have a different life? Never, my life has moulded me into the person I am today and  I truly believe if I hadn't of gone through the things I have that I wouldn't be any were near the person I am now.

18 - What was the best thing you were given? my life back,from three selfless donors <3

19- Who was the last person who called you? My boyfriend.

20 - What is your favourite dish? Any pasta dish.

21- Who is your best friend? I have a few close friends but don't really class one person as my best friend :)

22 - What is your biggest regret? Forgetting who I was,and letting people convince me I was never good enough.

23 - What kind of music do you listen to? All sorts really, if it's good - I'll listen.

24 - Are you over your past? Not a hundred percent,I still question myself but the difference is that now it will never make me limit what I think i can do.

25 - Who is the last person in your contacts? Zen,my lovely girl <3

26 - Did you try to change for a person? I have in the past but never again,stay true to yourself always!

27 - Name someone you can’t live without ? My donors.

28 - Do you regret your past? Never regret my past but there are things I would change and not do again.

29 - Do you love someone as of the moment? Yes I do.

30 - Have you had an accident this year? Got hit by a bus a few months back..oops

31 - Do you believe in the phrase “If it’s meant to be, it will be”? Defiantly!

32 - What should you be doing right now? Probably not this haha.



Chat soon!
Kate
oxoxo





Tuesday 23 April 2013

Birthday party in the sun!


Hey Guy's so this is just a quick blog post really.
It was my little sister's third birthday yesterday and her party was on Saturday,here theme was 'pirates'
Figured I would just do a post of photos from the day,as its crazy busy at the minute!
For those of you wondering the brave birthday cake was made by my auntie - amazing right!















 If your wondering what the lush bag is?
We got her a little bath ballistic especially for children.
'ikkle baby bot'
and is lavender scented and works wonders !

So that's it guys!
Hope your well and enjoying the sun - staying safe too of course.
Stay safe and speak soon 
Kate
xoxo

Sunday 21 April 2013

April BirchBox Review.

Hey Guys,
Its near the end of the month which can only mean one thing..
BEAUTY BOXES!
In this post I will be reviewing April's Birchbox which was spring inspired.


Now before I get started if I'm honest I only really liked one of these products maybe two at a push..
If your going to subscribe to a beauty box I would personally advice you try glossy box first and birch box if you want to try more expensive,samples?

Anyway so starting with something I quite liked..
Weleda's Skin Food


This product is £8.95 full size and is actually pretty good.
Its a moisturiser that really helps dry heels and stuff like that, Victoria Beckham apparently swears by it!
I have got to say it is really good quality so I could possibly think about re purchasing this full size,but I'm not one hundred percent on that really.

Next I spotted Gerda Spillmann's Renaissance age serum.


Now I'm always to find a good eye serum so was excited to try this one out.
But was slightly disappointed by its consistency.
I found it way to watery,not pleasant at all!
Mind you I am smitten with my Elizabeth Arden 8 hour cream that I sampled from a  previous beauty box.
The product is nice one worked in but at £69 full size I am defiantly sticking with Elizabeth Arden!

Then I spotted this cute packaging..



 This was a soap from La Societe Parisienne De Savons.
Never heard of the company before so was curious!
Then got a wiff of the soap..
It isn't really my cup of tea it is very musky I think,but on that note im not keen on solid soaps.
I will try this soap wet and see if it smells any different but and £8.50 can't say I'm blown away due to the smell..
The packagings cute though!..





 Then I spotted this lip colour pen and as you guy's no I'm obsessed with lip colours!
This gorgeous product 'Glossy Kiss' is from the company mirenesse in shade 14. Perfect Kiss.
Now this product is absolutely stunning, but is rather pricey at £17.50 per product - eek



 As you can see they really are glossy!
The only downside is that they are rather glittery,and I don't like shimmer in lip products
BUT that is just personal preference really.
I love this product but it would have to be a amazing shade without shimmer to make me want to spend £17.50 on it.



This conditioner?
Cute bottle and its organic!
I can't really review it yet as I haven't tried it yet,
but it has lavender in it so can't wait to try it tonight!
Especially as full size it would cost a cheeky £16.00.

And then hiding at the bottom was the cutest little mirror ever!


Its a lovely mirror and seems pretty 'zoomed in' too me,
its fab for touch ups on the go!
£7 if you were to buy it separately - cute design though.

So that was april's birch box,
like I say I haven't been to impressed with birch box to be honest sooo
my verdict is...

GlossyBox is the way forward...

See you soon & Stay safe 

Kate
xoxo

April Glossy Box Review..

Hey Guy's
Hope your all well!
So it's that time of the month when the beauty boxes get sent out.
If I'm honest though I actually cancelled my subscription to both glossy box and birch box as I have been trying to find one I really enjoy.

This months glossy box was gorgeous! The design was by Pearl Lowe and was a beautiful rose pink floral design.



(I brought this gorgeous necklace from H&M for £7!)

So as usual I couldn't wait to see what was inside!





This month was all about products for spring,and the warm weather we will hopefully be experiencing soon!
By first looks I was crazy excited as I could see two full size products!

The first product that instantly caught my eye was a full size essie nail lacquer - now people always rave about essie nail varnishes but at £7.99 per pop I was pretty hesitant to buy it myself..



The varnish was a muted pastel lilac, absolutely stunning for spring!
It was gorgeous and with two coats the colour lasted a good few days,and I had a busy weekend with loads of washing up too!


The picture isnt great as my nails needed tidying up ha ha.
I'd defiantly buy more essie nail varnishes after trying this and actually am after a mint colour for the summer.

The next product that I saw was the Sun sense Daily Face SPF,
it has a invisible tint finish which includes UVA and UVB sun protection which has a matte finish!
Now,with such a pale complexion I need to be protected when the sun comes out and especially since transplant I have to be a lot more careful.




This is a amazing product! I have been using it over the weekend and it defiantly meant my make up was matte and my skin was protected well!
So at £18.50 for 75g I will defiantly be buying myself this for the summer!

While on the topic of creams,there was a 50g pot of Nip + Fab body butter in Coconut Latte.
I'm not a fan of coconut but this smells divine!



It's a gorgeous consistency and isn't too thick either which i dislike about some body butters.
Its so moisturising,and has a moisture boosting ingredient in it called Aquaxyl which improves skins water reserves.

At only £9.95 for 200 ml I'd like to buy this again but would like to see if you could get smaller pots as they do pistachio and mango smoothie scents too which id love to try!

There was also a perfume sample..
Now i never get excited about perfume samples as you can get them for free at fragrance stores!
Any way this fragrance was  So Elixer Purple from Yves Rocher.
I was pleasantly surprised to see a 5ml bottle of the fragrance.


It is described as an intoxicating and magnetic fragrance.
Its lovely!
For a full size 50ml it is £44,which is quite good!



The next full size in this months glossy box was a cheek and lip tint from model co in Rosy Red.
It was cute - just a tad bright for my fair skin!
Soo.. may have to use it as a lip tint more.


Once worked in though the right way, I think it would look gorgeous.

So this months glossy box was great !
So good I may actually re subscribe to it!

See you soon & Stay safe.
Kate
xoxo





Monday 15 April 2013

FUNDRAISING UPDATE

Hey guys,
Quick update about the Miss Birmingham final!
So far I've hit £200 !

BUT
I know we can raise more guys!

If you don't want to watch my YouTube video to find out how to donate then here you go..

If you wish to donate go to -
OR
Text  TTKT50  with your donation and send to 70070 eg - TTKT50 £2 to 70070


Thanks guys!
xoxo

Have a look at my Transplant Journey..

Hey Guy's,
I recently discovered loads of photos from before and during my transplant so thought I'd share you with you  all.
Some of them are very emotional for me to look at as it brings back memories of struggles.
Just makes me realise what the last 3 years have really been like..

I was a 'normal' teenager loved my family and friends and having fun..
And working in child care doing the job I loved.




Then it October my face started to swell..and I started feeling unwell.
In the second picture you can see how withdrawn I was feeling.

In between then and my diagnosis of liver failure there were no photos...
Apart from those from the plane crash that was carrying donor organ number one..



Then after transplant #1 + #2 ...
(the transplants were 8 days apart)















So this was my first Christmas post transplant!
I was let home on December 23rd 2010.
Look at that steroid face!
ha ha 
Then I began my recovery..

    Living a normal life,being crazy as usual and doing all the big sister things I had missed out on while in hospital.

Then wasn't long and I was suffering with rejection again..


By my 19th Birthday it was evident how my liver rejection was affecting me.
Jaundice was setting in and then I found out I was again in end stage liver failure and I would soon be put back on the list.


 Each week I was just going down hill and it was evident..
I was getting more jaundice and  I was getting gaunt and breathless.

But Christmas 2011 I got to go home,
and on the journey back we got the call to say I was on the list.
I wasn't to stay home after christmas though I was to go straight back and honestly I have very little memory of that christmas..
All I did was sleep because I was so weak and exhausted.



When I got back to the hospital it wasn't long until I went down to intensive care as I had fluid in around my heart and lungs..
I was so tired,I was constantly fighting but I still stayed positive.
Two weeks before transplant I could barely stay awake for visits,even though I was too positive to admit it. Time was ticking on and things were not looking great.


But they got better.
And I had transplant number three on the 4th Febuary 2012.
Yet again a selfless donor had saved my life...

So the last three years have been crazy ones to say the least..

I built myself  back up..


and thats been eventful...

Upsetting..loosing both my grand dads in this time..



But there's been amazing times too!


I met the Queen!


Became Friends with one of the firemen who saved liver number one!


Passed my first year studying fashion!


Ran in a competition to be the face of a cosmetics brand.


   Fall in love with a right crazy person!



       


Made some new friends...


and kept some of the old ones..


           Got support from the strangest of places..

But most importantly.
I finally have happiness and health.
I'm taking every oppurtionuty that get's thrown my way and I'm loving it!
You don't know when your day's will get called so seriously guys
live.laugh.love.


Kate
xoxo