I'm forever looking at other people's plant hauls and collections and you can guarantee that every single time I will find a plant I want to add to my own ever growing (geddit) collection.

I've put together a little list of plants that I have my eye on...

Hoya carnosa compacta (Hindu rope)
I'm a bit of a sucker for a hanging plant and this hoya is no exception. It's technically a succulent so to speak, but I absolutely love the look of their draping vines that resemble thick ropes (hence its common name). The vines have an almost waxy look and feel to them and the flowers they produce look stunning.

Variegated monstera deliciosa
I have 4 regular monster delicoisa plants and it's fair to say that they are a firm favourite in my collection, and I so desperately want to add the variegated variety to my collection, but the prices of them are ridiculous so I've been holding off buying one. I've been so close to caving and buying one on many occasions, but so far have been beaten by the sensible part of my brain telling me not to!`

Monstera adansonii
Another monstera! They really do have the most unique foliage. I've wanted a monstera adansonii since I first saw a picture of them, but I have yet to find one in a store or nursery and I hate buying plants online. I love that these are trailing plants and I want to add one to my collection so badly!

Senecio radicans (string of bananas)
I mean, who doesn't want a plant with hundreds of mini banana looking foliage on it?! This is such a fun and unique looking hanging plant, but again, I've yet to actually find one in person.

Pilea pepermioides (Chinese money plant)
These plants have become so popular recently, and for good reason! Their round foliage is so distinct and they are quick growers that produce lots of little plant babies. I've not been able to find one in person and my local garden centre sells out of them within a couple of days of getting them back in stock!

My birthday was back in March, and whilst this blog is a bit of a newbie around here, I've written this post every year for the past 4 years on my previously (but now deleted) blogs.

So here I am, once again, recapping on everything I've learned in my 25 years. Some serious, some lighthearted, and some without a doubt not applicable to everyone.

1. Your gut instinct is almost never wrong. Sometimes you've got to listen to what you think is right, even if that feeling sits deep, deep, deep down in your gut. People might tell you otherwise, but only you really know what's right for you.

2. You are not a number on a scale. Something I have struggled to accept over the years, and whilst I've still got a bit (okay, a lot) of my mum-tum (including hips, thighs and arse) to loose, I've slowly but surely learned to relax a little about what the scales are telling me. I'll get to where I want to be... eventually.

3. You are NEVER too old for a Disney film. I'll burn in hell before anyone convinces me that I can't watch The Lion King for the third time in a week.

4. Plants don't talk back. Feeling broody but are not yet ready for kids? Get a houseplant. They pretty much require the same level of care and attention but without shouting MAAAAM at you at 5.30am.

5. You don't have to have your shit together yet. Your mid twenties is a weird phase, because you're old enough to know better but young enough to still want to have fun. I feel like I fall somewhere in the middle. Here I am not really knowing what I'm doing but I'm not knowing what I'm doing with a mortgage, a kid and two dogs in tow (oh, and a fiancee to join me in not really knowing what he's doing either).

6. Spend more time with your parents. And family in general. Since becoming a mother myself, I have realised how hard raising small humans can be, and I have a whole new level of appreciation for my parents. As we grow old, they do too.

7. It's okay to not want to do things. Working full time whilst trying to raise a child is HARD. Time spent with her on weekdays is very limited, so when the weekends roll around, I like to spend as much time with my daughter as possible. I often get invited to do things on a weekend and I was always that person who hated saying no, but I've learned that you've gotta have your priorities in place, and family will always come first.

8. Raising children can be really, really hard. She spat in my mouth the other day. Enough said.

9. Social media is a highlight reel. No one ever wants to post the "bad" stuff. Don't be fooled into thinking everyone lives and Instagram perfect life. They don't.

10. Not everything you lose is a loss. Getting a bit emosh here. At t⁸he time it might seem like it is. Sometimes things happen for a reason, and you're better off without the things you thought you needed.

11. Dry shampoo makes everything better. This is just science.

12. Turn your bloody phone off. There's a whole world around you.

13. People who don't like cheesecake scare me. Like, really, really, scare me.

14. Nothing is really worth stressing over. If it won't matter to you in six months, why stress over it now? Try to see the good in a bad situation, as hard as it might be, your mind (and stress levels) will thank you for it.

15. There's no shame in admitting you hated being pregnant. There's almost this unwritten rule that you HAVE to enjoy your pregnancy. I didn't. Not in the slightest. And that's okay, it doesn't make me love my daughter any less and it *probably* won't stop me having another baby in the future, but I'm the first to hold my hands up and say that my pregnancy experience was an absolute train wreck.

16. You can't have too many houseplants. Despite how much your partner protests.

17. People will hurt you. And then act as if you are the one who hurt them.

18. Plants really DO make people happy. Again, science.

19. It's okay to ask for help. If you are struggling, in no matter what sense of the word, ask for help. There's absolutely no shame in doing so. Remember that no single person can do everything.

20. It's okay to not have a plan. This one kind of goes hand in hand with point number 5. I find if I make a plan, it rarely ever happens anyway. I much prefer to just see what happens. I am a very firm believer that everything happens for a reason, so whatever will be, will be.

21. Having a small social circle isn't a bad thing. Quality over quantity, right? As my Nanna used to say... it's better that have five 20ps than a hundred pennies.

22. You're allowed to have a career AND be a mother. Because this isn't the '60's and a girl gotta make that dolla.

23. Friendships are allowed to fizzle out. And that doesn't make you a bad person. And it doesn't make them a bad person, either.

24. You're allowed to be pissed off with family. A bit of a personal one for me, but nether-the-less, just because someone is "flesh and blood" doesn't mean they can't be an arsehole too.

25. Time goes too quickly. Seriously. How do I have a two year old this year? How, in the blink of en eye, have I somehow had a baby, had almost a year on maternity leave, and am now back to being a fully fledged working mother? Time needs to just relax and slow down.