recovering from the reading festival under my mermaid blanket

So for those of y'all that don't know, I recently went to one of the biggest festivals in England - the Reading Festival. It was five days of mud, bad music, and a diet consisting of candy and packets of Lays chips. I've spent the past couple of days trying to recover from some weak sunburns and memories of the human waste cesspit, and it feels so great to be able to shower, sleep in a normal bed, and eat actual food again. The journey back from Reading was insanely stressful, and living on three hours sleep over several nights has really caught up with me. And so, I've taken some time out to recuperate - with the help of the super adorable mermaid tail blanket sent to me by Everything AF.

At least twenty other people in my circle also found their way to Reading last weekend, and everyone I've spoken to since is still pretty out of it. By contrast I definitely recovered quickly, thanks to lots of self-care and "me" time. And so, here comes the big question I know what you Creamfields and V-Festival people are begging to ask -"how?"

Hot coco

It's a little known fact that hot coco is basically the key to life, and so, if you want to recover quickly from any situation (festivals, university, sudden discovered lactose intolerance), a warm mug of some warm liquid chocolate is the way to go. You guys have to try out cherry coco and white chocolate too, they're so underrated.

Body care

Then what you've got to do is massage coconut oil into your hair ends, have an insanely hot shower (finishing off in ice water), smother yourself in cocoa butter and then lay back in a fluffy dressing gown and not move for hours. Maybe put on some Breaking Bad for several days running, and bonus points if you can blackmail someone into giving you a massage.

Face masks

You name it - charcoal, tea tree, witch hazel, my face was begging for something to take away all the grit and dirt from the festival. Face masks are honestly the best things for chilling after a stressful few days, and you can make some great ones out of a selection of honey, raw egg whites, oats, avocado, lemon juice - whichever suits your skin type most.

A trusty mermaid tail blanket

And then this is the best bit! Having recently received a mermaid tail blanket from Everything AF, I was super hyped to try it out. I've seen photos of girls with mermaid blankets, and despite feeling like such a little kid for wanting one, I literally fell in love. And hey, why not? It's comfortable, cute, and basically turns me into a freaking mermaid!

The tail is made out of a mixture of knitted acrylic and cotton and is crazy cozy, it's so easy to nestle up in it on the sofa or chair. It's super soft, and turns lounging in the living room into basically just casually playing dress-up. When I first scouted this tail online I was with my nine-year-old niece, and now she is insanely jealous that I actually own one. I swear, she'll end up getting her own one and we'll be matching. It's a perfect little gift, as every single female I know would love to own one - and even a few dudes, too.

These tails are also super popular at the moment, like I'll be browsing Pinterest and will find an edgy photograph of a redhead girl covered in glitter in one. I'm in love with my new lil blanket, and it's genuinely been so perfect for helping me recover from Reading. I have literally spent days on the sofa in our living room in Wales, sprawled across the leather in my blanket watching Netflix and eating donuts. I have stayed in my pyjamas and just put on face masks, stalked Instagram, cwtched with my dog, and drank such a sheer amount of hot coco that I forget I'm actually really intolerant to dairy. That's what this tail does - it wraps you up and keeps you away from the real world where you're not a mermaid and haven't got IBD.

The detailing of the tail is that of ribbing, which is an adorable pattern that every middle aged mom would give a nod to, and all Everything AFs products are cruelty-free and vegan which is always a plus. I feel pretty extra hanging out in a mermaid tail, but I genuinely love it. I feel fabulous, and I feel like it's definitely helped me recover from some dreary days at a crazy music festival.

And so, a massive thank you to Stephanie, the owner of Everything AF. You can check out a wider range of her products over at her online shop and Etsy, and tell her I say hi when you do binge on her adorable items. I'll tell you guys more about Reading in my next post, but for now, happy thoughts.