Social Networking 101: Blogging Inspiration #1

This is a list of my Blog Idols or Blog Crushes... Blogs that make me cringe with jealousy that they are so professional, interesting and pretty to look at and make me want to do better! There's nothing like a bit of healthy competition, so without much ado I'm going to let you in on my little secrets...

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I adore...

Victoria's Vintage 

   So I might be a teensy bit biased seeing as the blogger is my bestie Victoria Measures, but this blog is really great to while my spare minutes away browsing. She posts hundreds of pretty photos each month, writes about people that inspire her and gives updates on her day-to-day life including fashion hauls, competition wins and DIY craft products. She's One To Watch if you ask me, so head over there and take a look!

Fleur de Force

Fleur has a great blog but the real 'win' of her work in my opinion are her YouTube channels. She posts frequent fashion hauls, make-up and nail tutorials and beauty reviews really frequently at her Main Channel and I often watch them early in the mornings during breakfast or something. Fleur has such a nice conversational style that her videos are really easy to watch! Plus, if like me you are uber-nosy then Fleur has a great Vlog About Her Personal Life too! Here's just one example...

Elle and Blair

These two sisters were the girls that got me into blogging and vlogging! Elle, the older sister, started making videos of herself in her bedroom years ago with an average camera and minimal editing. She got her sister involved and now they both have a couple of channels each, as well as their website where not only do they post features on beauty products, fashion brands and competitions they're loving, but readers can also talk to each other on their forums and shop tons of girly essentials in their online store Glitzy Glam. Elle posts great haul videos like this;

And Blair is the BEST at make-up tutorials;

I wish I was a Fowler girl!

What Olivia Did

This is one of the most beautiful 'real life' girls I've ever seen (meaning she's not a famous super-model, actress or musician) AND she has the most amazing clothes collection I've ever seen. I would kill for just five minutes in her wardrobe, no joke! If I'm ever lacking in a bit of fashion inspiration, I know I can head over to her page and 'borrow' one of her looks with my own clothes and look classy, sexy and chic all at once. She's my ultimate, go-to, blogging, fashion idol. Be prepared for the lushness.

AndreasChoice

This is another video blogger who I like checking out on one of those days where I'm exhausted and just want to spend the day in bed under the duvet getting ideas to make me look hot! Of course, Andrea's videos are perfect for this as she's extremely gorgeous in a very natural way :) Furthermore, she's absolutely hilarious and never fails to make me smile. She has really clever ideas about home remedies for lots of different problems that girls might have... Dark underarms? Acne scars? Various uses for salt? AndreasChoice has you covered! As if that's not enough, she's really nice too and Tweets, comments and emails back as often as possible.

Temporary Secretary

Sarah is a jewelry designer and blogger which I love above all others (apart from those in this list which naturally I love equally!) Her jewelry is so cool and unusual in lots of cute little styles. My favourite piece in her collection is this little bird cage necklace, but sadly it sold out before I had times to get my hands on it! The pieces are very reasonably priced and so many people would compliment your bling if you were wearing Temporary Secretary. A busy bee, Sarah's blog is awesome too to the extent where she actually won Look magazines prestigious blog competition. As with Andrea, Sarah is really sweet and she is always happy to answer comments and Tweets if my experience is anything to go by. Seriously one worth following.

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So, those are my top favourite bloggers and vloggers so far! I literally find new favourites every day, so if you think I'm seriously missing out on one which you think I would love as much as the ones listed above then let me know... It's quite a challenge though! I seriously believe in sharing the love and congratulating girls (or guys) on their blogs when they're doing a great job, because even with my few viewers I know how much work goes into a blog. So, well done ladies!

I advise all readers to click on the above links and rate, comment, like, follow and subscribe to them... I promise, your fashion sense, beauty regime and lifestyle will thank you for it :)

Love

gabriellasofia

x

Honey, I'm Home!

Ohhhh the excitement of seeing blogger interface on my screen once again! The thrill of sitting before a clean page of 'New Post'! The buzz of being able to type the blog-post which I have been looking forward to for ever so long... I am LOVING LIFE!

For those of my lovely loyal followers who have stuck by me during what feels like a millenium-long blog break, I have nothing but the most sincere thanks. As you will know, making the decision to take my break was really difficult, because to be honest, blogging is quite literally my favourite thing to do. I love it so much, that I was wanting to invest more time in HauteFuture than in my university studies. Now I know some of you are probably thinking, 'So why didn't you???' Well, it can be hard when you know that the consequences of doing something you love might be disappointing to the people you love the most. Although I'm still quite positive I'm only going to get a *perfectly respectable* 2.2 degree classification for my past three years studying English Literature at the University of Birmingham, I had to feel like I was doing my best, so at least if my grade does disappoint, I know there's nothing more I could have done. Anyway, enough of that palaver, if you want to read more about my Blog Break Decision click here. So as I said, thank you very much, followers, for sticking by me and being patient whilst I pursued my education for a little bit.

Also, a huge thank you goes out to my fantastic guest bloggers who held the fort for me while I was gone. If you missed any of their posts, please check them out! We had...

Fighting Acne Together by Sophie Nightingale

Long Distance Fairy-Tale Relationships by Karyn O'Donnell

Being Miss Thrifty by Victoria's Vintage

Fur, Friend or Faux? by Erin Allenn

North American Fashion by Rachel and Her Journal

Also, there were many other lovely ladies who got in touch in order to write guest posts for me, but we just didn't get round to publishing them yet, so please expect a couple more guest posts in the future, and similarly, if you think you'd like to write a guest post for me please read this post and send me an email :) I welcome anyone, blogger or non-blogger, male or female, human or amphibian.

Finally, I want to say a huge thank you to my friends and family who have been so supportive over the past few months. Having to quit something you're passionate about in order to pursue something you're not passionate about was a big sacrifice for me and without lovely home-cooking, hour-long phone calls, and the occasional late night booze-up I literally wouldn't have gotten through all this! You realize the people who really love you not by the fact that they're always there to enjoy the good times, but also because they pick you up when you're down and share the bad times with you too. I'm pretty sure I owe drinks to way more people than I can afford at the moment because of all the support, but I promise I'll get it all sorted in good time... Like, when I get a job maybe? Yes, I think that's fair... :)

So this was just a huge 'Thank You' post really, but I think it needed to be said. I'm so happy to be back to blogging, especially as there are so many posts that I've been dying to write for months and I can't wait to get back to my YouTube channel as to be honest, I feel like my most recent video was one of my best and the most professionally done so far, so I can't wait to improve even more! I'm definitely going to be posting often now, however, I'm not going to make a schedule just yet because I believe that will ruin the spontaneity which I'm loving at the moment. I may consider making a schedule after a few weeks, but we'll see! If you'd like a sneak peek of some of the things I've got in the pipeline, click here. My next post will be a run-down of all the things which have been keeping me busy over the past few months...

Now you know I'm back in blogging-business if there are any posts you'd like to see, please let me know... Would you like some more beauty tutorial videos? More lifestyle than I used to do? Perhaps I could write up some more events I've been attending? It's totally up to you! So please let me know :)

Love and snuggles
gabriellasofia x

Guest Feature: Being Miss Thrifty by Victoria's Vintage...

My best pal Vikki has a very successful blog which you can find here. She's absolutely lovely and when she agreed to guest on HauteFuture during my blog break I was thrilled. She is my most save-savvy friend, so when she was wondering what to write about I agreed that it would be a great idea for her to share her bargain-grabbing tips with all of my followers, because times are hard and who doesn't want to save a little cash whilst shopping? This is what Vikki from Victoria's Vintage had to say...

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The phrase "one man's trash is another man's treasure" has never been truer. Increasing prices in everything from fuel and rent, to fashion and household products is forever rising. Now is a good time to look at your outgoings and see where your highest spends are going and how you can cut down on them. This doesn't mean you have to cut it out of your life totally though. When I realised I was spending a huge portion of my student loan on clothes, shoes and accessories I decided to change my spending ways, and started looking at how I can still buy these things without it costing so much.

 

My newest eBay bargain purchase; I wanted this from H&M in November but it went out of stock so quick. It was £20 in store, I got it on eBay for 99p! 

eBay is your friend. You shouldn't dismiss it as something that people use to dispose of their scabby old clothes and belongings. It takes a lot of time and effort (and fees) to list on eBay, so people tend to only list things that are actually worth selling. I have bought many items brand new with store tags on, and some things are still current season! Sometimes people have things such as unwanted gifts, or they just don't fit them or need them anymore. They then sell them on at a tiny fraction of the cost, which is where you can pick up the savings. You can pick up a dress for less than £5 including delivery, or you could pick up a new season dress for a bit more. You will almost always find something worth bidding for on eBay. I often search eBay for something I've regretted not buying in store, but then find I can pick it up even cheaper! Also, if you’re a bit crafty, you can always buy something in a couple of sizes larger if you really like it, and then sew it to your own size. I have never had a problem with a seller sending me something in bad condition, or not as described. But if you do have problems, Paypal is always on your side to get you your money back. So what have you got to lose? Check out eBay now to find some vintage or brand new goodies!

This dress was also 99p from ebay, new with tags and a belt!  

If you prefer to buy things in person rather than online, why not head to your local charity shop or car boot sale now the summer is approaching? These are a bit more hit and miss than eBay buying, where you can specifically search for something. But if you dig around long enough, you'll be sure to find something that catches your eye. Especially with home-wares, if it looks nice but a bit worn, think of ways in which you could spruce it up with a revamp. I often buy old wooden jewellery boxes and then sand them down and repaint them, decorating them with leftover fabrics or embellishments. You just need to buy some regular emulsion wall paint, sandpaper, and a paintbrush! You will have lots of up-cycled goodies in no time.

I bought this old jewellery box for £2 from a charity shop, with a lick of paint it looks shabby-chic! 

Prices at car-boot sales can be literally pennies, but if you’re brave, don't be afraid to haggle a little to get the price down... it's all part of the fun! With charity shops, remember that your cash will be going to a good cause, so recycle those goods into something new, whilst doing your bit for charity. Don't forget to recycle your old goods too, where you can make your own cash at car-boot sales or on eBay! You can list for free if you start your item for 99p, don’t be afraid that someone will buy your prized too-small Topshop dress for a quid; the prices will shoot up within the last hour! It's better to make a bit of money so you can buy something new, rather than keeping your things in the back of a wardrobe, never to be seen again until you throw them away. Sell them now while you can still make some money! You can also swap clothes with your friends to find new styles and make up new outfits.

If you really want to buy things brand new, that’s fine too. But don't forget; only buy something if you really need it AND can afford it. It may look pretty on the hanger, but when it’s never worn, what was the point in buying it? If you do need to buy it, always check to see if there are any current discounts or promotions. Especially if you are buying online, check discount websites such as HotUKDeals.com for any current discount codes, you can often save a percentage, or get free delivery, saving you up to £5! And if you have a student discount card, flaunt it! There are great savings to be made in many high street stores. Also, always shop around. Don't always head to one place, take a look in cheaper shops first. Don't be afraid of heading into Primark or even Tesco for your fashion fix, they're cheap, cheerful, and if you're only going to wear it a handful of times, what's the difference? Their quality and style might not be as bad as you think. And no one can really tell the difference unless you tell them! 

Other little hints and tips are:

·  If you see a competition, why not enter it? There’s a good chance you could win!

·  If you're planning a meal/day out, check if there are any 2 for 1 vouchers floating around the internet. 

·  Book your travel tickets in advance, this can save you lots on your regular train fares!

·  Try saving £5 or £10 a week, it will build up in no time, and you could then treat yourself!

·  If you see your favourite health and beauty products on special offer, why not stock up for when you run out?

 

 

A designer 'Gorgeous Couture' dress I won worth £140 from an online competition! 

I hope you enjoyed my guest post :) If you would like to find out about how I manage being thrifty, and still have the things that I like, check out my blog where you can see all my bargain buys, DIY projects, and competition wins!

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So there you have it! I've always been a bit apprehensive of purchasing on eBay, and I've never been lucky enough to find a designer handbag in the back of a charity shop. However,  now I've read this, I think I must persevere as my fashion habit is quite an expensive one... What do you think? Have you ever used eBay, or been into entering competitions? Picked up any bargains recently? I've been naughtily shopping at River Island online recently... Managed to bag some real steals!

Hope you liked this guest feature. If you're interested in writing for HauteFuture, no matter what your experience I would definitely welcome you! Go read this post and send me an email :)

In the meantime, definitely check out Victoria's Vintage blog page... she's currently running a giveaway, so if you win make sure you share your prize with me as you saw her here first :P

Got some more great guest posts lined up for the next two weeks, so keep an eye out. Until next time, beauties!

Love

gabriellasofia

x

My 21st Birthday!

Hello Sex Goddesses!

I'm still super busy and whilst it's been really hard not blogging I feel like it's given me much more time to study which is exactly why I did it...

Nonetheless, I still wanted to bring you guys up to date about my Birthday last Saturday and was dreading finding the time amidst my dissertation, assignments and revision to fill you in. But then, the lovely Vikki from Victoria's Vintage went and wrote a fab blog post about the weekend she spent with me for my Birthday so there, problem solved. I can fill you in by directing you over to her page...

So, click here to see what we got up to for my 21st Birthday.

Hope you like her page, please click 'Follow' over there if you haven't already <3

Thanks for all the support and your patience during my blog break, I have about ten different bloggers lined up for guest posts at the moment, so please keep an eye on my blog. Also, if you didn't spot it already, the lovely Sophie from Simple Sophie was the first guest blogger I've featured since my break and she wrote a wonderful piece about fighting acne. To check out the post, click here.

Until next time,
Love and snuggles
gabriellasofia
x

The Versatile Blog Award...

Only bloggers truly understand how lovely it feels when another blogger recognizes your blog as one of their 'favorites', or when they compliment you on something you've posted... So imagine how great it feels when you're given a 'Blog Award' and are mentioned in someone's Top 7 blogs worthy of congratulations on their page.

The lovely Lucee from LuceeLovesBeautyBox has very kindly recognized HauteFuture as such and I literally can hardly contain my pride :) When you blog, along with putting in the time and energy with each post you publish, you also insert something very personal; you. This is why it makes me so happy to receive the Versatile Blog Award, it's very touching for me, and I just wanted to say a great big thank you to Lucee, all my readers and everyone who comments on my videos and posts. Its fantastic to be able to see how much support everyone's given me with my blog, and I think it's very important to say thank you when it's due. This is why I'm running my first ever Blog Giveaway in which I'm giving my readers the chance to win a collection of beauty goodies including products from the likes of Nails Inc, Models Own, Juicy Couture, 17, Nars, Dior and Barry M amongst others. Please head over to my Giveaway Page in order to be in with a chance of winning :) This is my thank you to you guys!

Anyway, without much further ado, the rules of the Versatile Blog Award require that the winner provides 7 secret facts about themselves, so here goes...

1) I am half-Dominican, speak Spanish (my mom's first language) and cook a mean rice, beans and fried chicken... which I eat with a banana chopped up over the top, just as the Dominicans do. I do this with chilli con carne and chicken noodle soups too. If you never try it, you'll never live!
2) I'm not part of a group of friends. I have a handful of friends that I'd trust with my life, but we don't spend a lot of time together and we're not a group as most of them don't even know each other. I've always been somewhat of a lone ranger, despite not being a psychopath, nudist or total female dog. I feel like sometimes with friends, spending too much time together can be more of a hindrance than a help. To see who my friends are, Check This Out.
3) I'm a total television addict. Like, it's a serious problem. Programs I can't go without watching include: Casualty, Holby City, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI NY, Grey's Anatomy, Pretty Little Liars, One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, 90210 and Cold Case. And on top of that, I like watching: Toddlers in Tiaras, The Girls Next Door, Kendra, The Kardashians, Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, Kourtney and Kim Take New York, Big Brother, The Steve Wilkos Show, The Jerry Springer Show, The Ellen Degeneres Show, My Super Sweet Sixteen, Teen Mom, 16 and Pregnant and WAY MORE. See what I mean when I say it's a real problem? Bar my blog, my television dominates my life.
4) When I was 19 I was invited to and attended an audition for The Apprentice. The grown up one. However, I wasn't successful but had a fab day!
5) I worked at Walt Disney World in Orlando last summer, making dreams come true for a living. No joke. If you want to hear more about my Disney Journey, head over to my other blog All We Need Is Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust, and my Disney College Program Youtube Channel TheGabriellaSofia.
6) I go on a diet every Monday. I give up every Tuesday.
7) I could gladly spend all day every day in bed. No, I wouldn't get bored, lonely or depressed. I'd read mags, watch telly and write blogs and I would be as happy as can be!

So that's it! All that's left for me to do now, is pass the award onto some bloggers who I think are worthy of The Versatile Blog Award... I think there is a certain number of bloggers I'm supposed to hand it over to, but I'm not sure what that number is, so I'll just give it to a handful of faves. *Drumroll please*...

Victoria's Vintage

Tokki and Oliver

Miss Holly

Yoyo and Bel

Pretty In Pink

Well done girlies! You're all fab, put in a lot of time, energy and YOU into your blogs and that's why I'm pretty addicted to them :) They help me to wake up in the morning and relax at the end of a long day. I love them, and I hope you'll all keep up the good work, I sure will! If you could, please do me a favour and put my sexy new button on your page... All you have to do is paste the code underneath my button on the top right hand side of this page into a HTML widget on Design and I'll love you event more! This is what my button looks like...




Even if I haven't given you a Versatile Award, please post me your links in the comments box beneath, and maybe even 7 facts about you. I always want to know my readers better and be more interactive with everyone, so please use the comments as I ALWAYS reply.

Love you all
gabriellasofia
x

Back From Sabbatical!

Hey Strangers!

Yes, I know how terrible I've been recently by not blogging for ages, but honestly, my university commitments are more intense now than they were back in September when I started this whole 'blogazine' idea and as it turns out, it's just not practical for me to operate my blog in that way. In theory, the 'blogazine' would have been great... Like our favourite mags I would have had a different 'issue' published each month with almost a feature a day posted on an array of topics. But the pressure to post certain 'articles' on pre-decided days got a bit much and I simply couldn't keep it up!

This year is my final university year so it's really important for me that I make my degree my first priority. And so I've abandoned the 'blogazine' (although I'm likely to revisit it once (or if!) I graduate) and I've decided to keep this fun, breezy and something I can do to escape the pressures and deadlines I have rather than adding unnecessary deadlines to my To-Do list. Having said that, I will be listing blogs I want to post in my To-Do List page, purely to remind myself!

So what else has been keeping me busy, rather than the likes of Shakespeare, Dickens and Rowling? Well, as you may have noticed, I've been making some changes to this blog in order to make it look more professional, attractive and easy to navigate. As you can see, I've changed the back-ground and my header with the help (ok, she kind of did it all...) of my best friend Vikki to something a little better suited to the sophisticated luxury feel I would like my blog to exude. Also, you might notice I've listed a few tabs up at the top so it is easier for my readers to Contact Me and I've also included an About Me page which allows readers to learn a little more about my personal life. I put the links for all of my Reviews so far in one place making it easier for readers to find my thoughts on different items I've tried rather than having to hunt for hours through my archives. My favourite page by far though is where I list my BlogCrushes... Blogs and vlogs which inspired me to start HauteFuture, blogs and vlogs which I check almost daily as they're so full of great stuff! Be sure to go and check them all out.

I've also been busy hanging with my bestie Vikki as she came to my hometown for a couple of days. We went shopping in the town center, ate posh cake at the gardens near my house and ate Italian food. Call me sad, but the times I love best with Vik are when we're just sat under the duvet eating yummy cupcakes, catching up on the Junior Apprentice and working on our blogs!

On top of fixing up my blog and hanging with Vikki, I've also been juggling four literature modules including my dissertation which will (hopefully!) culminate in a 10,000 word assignment on April 25th... I've spent more time in the library in the past two weeks than I probably did across first and second year put together.

Things have been pretty crazy, but I'm finally happy with the direction this blog is heading in so I feel really mellow :) I hope you like the way I've organized it all and I have many plans for blogs over the next few weeks, so hit Follow (even if it means you have to set up an account) and you can come along for the ride! Please take some time to click on my tabs and see the new features I've added as I've put a lot of work into this blog and I'd love to see that there are people out there reading!

I love you guys and hope that you get involved with HauteFuture by following (here at Blogspot and also on Twitter), liking (on Facebook), subscribing (on Youtube) and commenting (EVERYWHERE!) as it would mean an awful lot to me!

Love

gabriellasofia

x