As we are about halfway through 2015, (I know right, it's crazy) I thought I would do a little recap of the year so far and what I want for the next 6 months. At the start of 2015, I decided to put together a bucketlist of 100 things I wanted to do/achieve during the year. Did you ever have those 'reflection days' at school where you had to write your aims for the next term, and talk about what went wrong the term before, it's basically that without having your teacher's disappointed look glaring at you. When writing the list, it wasn't things I had to get done, it was more a list of prompts to help me fulfil a productive year. I will of course be reevaluating this again in December.

CAREER

This for me is the most important part of the bucketlist. If you read my post you'd know that I really wanted to get back into the fashion industry, and luckily got a few jobs working during London Fashion Week. I've always said that a fashion show is most influential to me, and working in an environment close with designers really reminded me how much I love, and miss designing myself. Since then, I have been constantly working on sketchbooks and my portfolio, which is kind of strange to me as I have always done these with briefs set from uni/school, so it's great to have my own freedom to just be completely creative on my own terms. I have also brought a huge roll of pattern paper and have been drafting out blocks for myself, which hasn't been the easiest thing to do, but I guess I love the challenge. I'm hoping within the next few months I'd have completed my portfolio and sent them off to designers, and maybe even design and make a few things ready to sell.

LIFESTYLE

I think this is the hardest part of the bucketlist, not in the sense that they're hard to achieve, but because it's more of a mentality thing, which can be hard to suddenly change after being one way for so long. I have been trying not to get so stressed over things, especially with my blog. I love my blog, it is important to me and I obviously try my best with the content, but I know I shouldn't get worried if my posts are a few days late, or if something has gone wrong with the photography and I've had to completely change my idea. These things happen, even to the best bloggers, you've just got to get over it and move on. I'm trying this new thing with scheduling my time where instead of just doing lots of different tasks throughout the day, I've set aside certain days during the week to blog, and other days to design. So far, it seems to be working quite well, though I sometimes do ignore my schedule.

BLOGGING

I really wanted to try harder with blogging this year, not just with the content, but everything that goes with it. Sometimes you wonder why people don't comment on your posts as much, or even know your blog exists. A good way of getting your blog seen is to comment on posts and interact with other blogs via Twitter and Instagram. I am not saying that I expect people to comment or follow me because I have done so with theirs, but it helps you to get to know other bloggers. I am slightly lacking in the blogger friends department, so I am going to try and spend more time interacting online and see what happens. Another thing I am trying to do is blog at least twice a week, which doesn't sound a lot seeing as people blog daily, but as I've mentioned above, sometimes things don't go too well. I know it would be easier to write posts weeks in advance or in bulk, but I like having my content reflect on how I feel that week, or talk about things that are happening at that time. One exciting thing that has happened on the blog is my first fashion campaign with George at Asda, which I was really happy to be a part of. I've been reading posts about how to get in contact with brands you want to work with, so I'm going to throw myself straight in there and see what happens.

ACTIVITY

This is my favourite part of the bucketlist, despite not actually completing any part of it. I'm going to make the excuse that these are all summer activities and seeing as it's still spring, I couldn't have completed any of them. I do really want to start taking photography seriously, so if you could recommend any books or blogs with basic tips, I would be extremely grateful. I've also got some fun ideas for a DIY day, which I will, of course, be blogging so you can try too. One part of the bucketlist which has been going well is reading a book each month. I've been reading books which are categorised as "painful lives", which might sound like a strange read, but I like to read about things that I haven't experienced or fully understand, again if you could recommend me any books, leave them in the comments below. I am really looking forward to the summer to try some of these exciting things!

SOCIAL

This is the most successful part of my bucketlist. I really wanted to get more social media savvy I guess, so I made sure that I constantly update my Tumblr and Pinterest daily, which has obviously really worked as I've managed to gain 200+ new followers in the first 6 months. It sadly hasn't been that rapid with my blog, but I always think to myself that coca cola only sold 25 bottles in its first year. I'm definitely not aiming for worldwide domination, but anything close is good enough for me.

FOOD & HEALTH

I'm really proud with myself when it comes to food. I've tried to cut out any processed food but seeing as I am a vegetarian, and Quorn is processed, it can sometimes be a little hard. I've been cooking most of my meals from scratch; if you can make it yourself instead of buying, that's what I try to do. I have been experimenting more with quinoa, (which has become one of my staple foods) as well as buckwheat, kale and spinach. I know it sounds pretty boring, but when you add the right ingredients, it can taste truly amazing. Managing to only eat pizza once a month is a big achievement for me; I am a pizza addict. I have started to make my own sort of pizza, where I use a quinoa base. It sounds strange but it tastes really good and is really healthy. I have also completely cut mayonnaise out of my life (another thing I was addicted too), and now only drink soya/almond milk. These aren't huge changes, but I have noticed a difference and feel healthier.

OTHER

This is the random section of the bucketlist, well I guess you could call it that. It's just a few things I've wanted to do/try for a while now, but haven't had the time or motivation to do so. Now that it has been written down and published, I have no excuse, but whether I'll be able to afford a Chanel handbag in the next 6 months is something I highly doubt. I have started a few things from the list, such as creating my own playlists (search helloaycan on Spotify), and completing a Listography book, which I find are always a good thing to complete just before you sleep or after you've woken up, when your mind is in a rather strange place. I do really want to get a tattoo, and dye my hair a bright colour, but as I know myself very well, it will be a spur of the moment thing.

Let me know in the comments below some of the things you've achieved in 2015 so far, and a few things you'd like to do for the rest of the year.