Merry Christmas

Unfortunately for me it's not been such a merry christmas since i've come down with an ear infection and i still have a really bad head cold, typical illness in time for christmas but oh well, hopefully ill enjoy it anyway.

I'd like to wish everyone a huge merry christmas and a happy new year, i hope santa brings you all the presents that you want and everyone enjoys their time spent with friends and family. I will see you in the new year with new posts and new exciting things :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS. 

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'Tis the season

Wow. I've officially broken up for christmas from uni and i literally cannot believe i've been there 3 months, 3 MONTHS?! To be honest, it feels like a hell of a lot longer and it feels like i've known the people i've met for my entire life.

University is a massive stepping stone in my life, and in the beginning i was unsure as to whether i'd be able to hack it, but i feel like i've settled in surprisingly well and made lots of friends. I still have a constant worry whether i've made the right choice in university and the right course, but i feel like i've gone though my entire life thinking this, i thought this through GCSE's and through A Levels and now looking back i'm completely happy with how that went, so i'm sure in the end this will turn out good for me too.

Being a fresher, it's hard to tell who you're going to be friends with for life or just for those initial few months, i've always had a hard time choosing the right friends in life, somewhere along the lines something seems to go wrong and i've made the wrong decision, i just had to hope that i've learned from all those past mistakes and now i'm friends with people who really do care. The people i've met in my halls are some of my favourite people and i'm so happy i made the effort to go downstairs and go to their parties, even just making the effort because otherwise i wouldn't have become good friends with them as i am now.

Something that's happened in the last month or so is choosing a house to live in for 2nd year, the initial dilemma was deciding who to live with, but after events occurring with the other choice i'm very very glad i've chosen to live with the 4 girls i'm going to be living with. We had an initial struggle with the agency we originally went with and lost one of the houses we wanted, the house was a 20 minute walk away from uni which was not ideal, but apparently there was NO houses left close by. After finding a poster for a house which is about a 2 minute walk away from the campus centre we discovered that we shouldn't listen to everything estate agents tell us. After losing the £75 agency fee (which is a lot for a student) we finally found a decent house in a decent area and it's even connected by the front gate to a house of boys next door, so hopefully they're easy enough to get on with and life will be good!

It's been a bit of a stress having to make such a big decision so early on in the year and after only knowing these people for a couple of months its a hard decision to make, but i feel happy and i feel like i've made the right one!

Being away from home and being surrounded by so many people is extremely overwhelming, but coming home and having been home for the past week has made me realise how much i actually enjoy it and how much i miss it already. I can't wait to go back and start the second term, i feel like my time at uni is already going too fast, but i'm enjoying every second of it so it's worth it!

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On another note, something actually relevant to the blog title, ITS CHRISTMAS IN 4 DAYS TIME, unfortunately for the next three days i'm working which is annoying but it'll make the days go quicker so christmas will get here faster! I'm overly excited for christmas this year and i'm not entirely sure why because my parents haven't spent a lot and i won't be getting much, but having so little money is making me appreciate the time i get to spend with my family more, especially with my baby nephew who's only a few months old so this christmas will be his first! Its all very exciting, I hope you enjoyed this post i'll definitely try and post a bit more often because i love writing, i've got a few more lighthearted posts coming you're way so look forward to those.

Lots of love xo

University Haul/Bathroom and Stationary

Over 2 months into starting university and I've still got stuff that i bought beforehand to haul for you! This is the last one i promise!

Lets start with bathroom stuff, now I'm lucky enough to be in halls where the rooms have ensuites which means i get my own bathroom, which is very convenient. But that also means i had to buy stuff for my bathroom as not everything was included. I picked up all the towels, flannels and the bath mat from primark and as you can see went for a 'light pink' colour scheme, since my bedroom was general a  kind of grey/cream very vintage chic theme i wanted something different for my bathroom, all the other bathroom essentials like the bin, the toilet brush and the toothbrush, soap and hand wash holders were from wilkinsons, i didn't want to go too overboard with the pink though so i got these in white. 

Stationary was hard to pick out as i wasn't 100% sure on what i actually needed since i'd never been to university before and i wasn't sure how much i would need to be writing down or how much extra paper i would get. So, i bought a couple of notebooks, a larger folder which has some nice paper in it to write out notes nicely, some copier paper for my printer, a divided folder to store spare bits of paper, some post-it notes, a box of bulldog clips, noticeboard pins, staples and paper clips, an academic diary, some plastic wallets, some black and blue pens, a pencil case a notebook cooler for my new laptop and some bigger hard storage boxes for storing all my work at the end of the year. 

I also placed the bag i got for uni on here, its from H&M and it was £25, i also bought the scarf alongside it to make it look a bit less plain, it's perfect size as it fits my laptop in it for when i'm going to the library and fits all my books and folders in it when they're needed. 

That's the end of this little university haul series, i do plan to do a mini room tour with pictures so a lot of this stuff will be featured again in that in the near future! 

Lots of love xo

New Tattoo!

An experience i had before coming to university to mark the beginning of my new life and the new experiences to come, was getting a tattoo. I absolutely love tattoos whether they are derived to have a 'meaning' or not, no matter what reason anyone gets a tattoo, somewhere along the lines they absolutely loved it which means it has reasoning behind it.

I have 4 now, and i love each and every one because i remember the significant moment in my life in which i got them and i will always remember that. They're like milestones so i'm able to remember the journey i go through whether it ends up being good or bad in the long run.

Im coming to university to study english language and media and communication, and of the media aspect my favourite part is photography, i've always had a passion for photography and i've always owned an SLR camera, its something me and my stepdad like to do together sometimes and just has a vital part in my life. I always knew i wanted a thigh tattoo as well so i thought a good place to get it was here. The artist who did it was truly amazing and i would definitely go back to him again. Very very happy with where my life is heading and this translates in the tattoo.

Lots of love xo

University Haul/Kitchen

Even though i've now been at university for 2 months, i thought i'd share with you what i bought for my kitchen anyway, since i've already shown you the bedroom i might as well carry on with the series, it may give you some idea of what you might need to take to university with you.

Most things i bought were either from poundland or wilkinsons as there's no point in spending a lot of money on things that are likely to get broken or lost. Here's just the basic things you'll need for starting university in self catered halls. Some things are not as necessary, but so far i've used everything that i bought. 

Lots of love xo

What lies ahead...

My journey has only just begun, i am aware of that, but i'm excited to see where this crazy adventure will take me, i never thought i would have the ability to travel the world and do something for the good, because i don't think i could have been away from home, but my 60 days at university have taught me that, wherever you go in the world you can find a way to fit in, and although homesickness is inevitable its likely that the experience will be so worthwhile that it will become unimportant.

My future plans are to finish my english language and media and communication Ba(hons) degree at De Montfort University, and then go on to Leicester University to complete my PgCe (post graduate certificate in education). After that, who knows where i'll end up, my plans so far are to go to Thailand for a few months and experience teaching english to Thai children, i think it will be an amazing experience and travelling there would hopefully take me to another country as well where i can teach some more. While i'm young i want to take the opportunity to make the most of my life!

There are so many things that can get in the way of these things happening; homesickness, boyfriends, friends, doubt. But I'm determined to live my life for me for the next 6 years, i want to do whatever i can, and if things stop me from doing that then they don't deserve to be in my life. For now, this is what i plan to do, and after that who knows where my life will take me, maybe one day ill settle down and have a family but i have years before i have to think about that. My journey is going to be extraordinary, i will make sure of it.

Lots of love xo

Student Life: A New Beginning?

I have been living away from my parents in my university halls now for 59 days, 9 hours and 18 minutes, and I love it. I can't describe how it feels to be independent enough to have to look after yourself every day, buy your own food, be able to leave the flat without getting permission or informing someone of where you are going. Yeah, there's the hard times, the struggle with money, being ridiculously poor but still wanting to drink copius amounts of alcohol, but it's manageable. There's the few times i've felt very very homesick too, i miss my mum and dad, i miss my nephew, i miss my dogs, although you create strong bonds very fast with people you meet at uni, it's just not the same as being home with your family and having your mum bring you a cup of tea.

The lack of blog posts, i say lack of, i haven't posted since i've been here, would suggest that i've been ridiculously busy with uni work, but truth be told i've just been living the student life, procrastinating and getting drunk a lot. Let's be honest, everyone takes time in their lives to just go a bit crazy. Some people's crazy spells last for years, I think i may have overcome mine at least a little bit with my time away. University has given my opportunities, not necessarily good ones, that i never had before and i decided to live by Drakes philosophies ahem, "yolo" and just go for it.

But i'm back, i'm here to tell you about my university experiences so far, the good, the not so good and the terrible and i'm sure there will be plenty more to come that i will continue to share. I'll carry on doing the beauty/fashion side of this blog because i still have a passion for it, but i also want to take you on the rest of my journey through university, and maybe we'll help some people along the way.

I hope you enjoy
Lots of love xo

University Haul/Bedroom

As you may already know i'm heading off to university in just over a week, so during the process of preparing to leave home i have had to buy all new stuff for the bedroom, kitchen and bathroom, so i thought i'd do a haul for you, and show you where everything's from because i got it all at fairly reasonable prices because i obviously was not willing to fork out for expensive stuff. I'm splitting the haul up into sections which will include; office supplies, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. In this mini haul i'm going to show you my stuff i bought for my bedroom!

Duvet and Pillows - Primark

Mattress protector, lamp, doortop, cushions, duvet covers, throw, string lights and willow heart - Asda Living

Clock - Argos

I love this vintage style Jones clock, i really like the look of the old style numbers, and i also like how they've managed to make it look old without using roman numerals. 

This Paris style doorstop goes really well with the 'Ooh La La' pillow and travel style bedsheets. I love how everything goes well together! 

Macbook Pro 13" Unboxing

So it was my 19th birthday yesterday, and i knew for a few months that i was getting a Macbook Pro because my parents had to make sure it was right and it would help me with my uni course and everything, but i was still very excited to actually receive it and actually start using it! So here's a little reveal/unboxing of my new laptop!

Update and things

It's been over a month since I last posted, that is totally NOT acceptable! I've had a proper lazy few weeks because I've finished work now and i'm just waiting for uni to begin, the waiting around makes me very unmotivated, but I have a few post ideas that i'm thinking of doing, and i'll have lots to talk about when i get to uni in 12 days time! So there'll definitely be more stuff to read!

It's my 19th birthday on Thursday! That's scary, feels like yesterday I was starting Year 13 and turning 18, crazy! I can't believe that i'm actually moving out, it still doesn't feel real, even though my room has just been overtaken with Uni stuff. I'm very excited to decorate my dorm room and bathroom, so i'll definitely be taking pictures and documenting it while its all tidy and not messed up!

I feel in a bit of a slump at the moment, because I've literally done nothing for the past 3 weeks and it feels so lazy but I think i'll be glad of it because soon enough I've got to start worrying about paying rent and paying for food and looking after myself. Scary stuff!

Over the next few days hopefully i'm going to create a few posts and schedule them over the weekend and next week so i don't have to worry about it over my birthday period and it keeps the blog going I guess.

Apologies for being away without saying a word, but i'm back in business, trying to get my motivation back!

Love ya xox

Weekstagram #2

I've done this over a week and a half after the first 'weekstagram' and I'm sorry about that but I've had a lot going on over the past week but don't worry posts about it are coming soon... so here's the second in my weekstagram series! Let me know if you actually like these?

Christmas socks in July - Costa with a friend - Brown legs and comfy socks - Refresher ice lollies - Present from ex-boyfriend - Sweet and sour chicken - My bed is appealing - Too many DVD's - Summer climbed in the bath - Got a Macbook Pro! - Road trip with my little brother - Two beds for 1 person - My brother and sister-in-laws wedding - Nails for the wedding - Wedding pictures - Bridesmaids outfit

I enjoy being able to look back at what's been happening in my life for the last week! The wedding pictures are a hint of what i've been doing! My brother and his pregnant girlfriend just got married and they're very happy! She's due on the 5th of September with my first little nephew! I'm so excited. Expect a wedding/getting ready post as i was bridesmaid and got to be with Cat as she was getting ready for the big day! 

x

Denim Dungarees OOTD

I've always wanted a pair of denim dungarees, but i definitely don't think my legs would be able to pull off the shorts version, so when i went into primark, just before my holiday i found this dungaree dress, i thought i might be able to work this a bit better, and since it was from primark it was only around £12 so really cheap! 

Usually i would wear a crop top with it, or a patterned top which goes with the light wash denim, but today i paired it with a sports contrast top as i thought it made it a bit more casual and a bit more dressed down. I actually really like how the look turned out, i think i can pull of a boy-ish top because it is a dress rather then shorts. 

The dungaree dress has a little pocket on the front which i think adds a nice touch and it also cinches in at the waist and flares out like a skater skirt so it is very flattering. 

Sorry about the miserable face but this was the only half decent photo! I was not having a good face day. I used my normal everyday make-up and pinned my hair so it looked half up, half down, i think this made it look a bit more feminine to rear away from the sporty top but was also out of my face and looked put together.

 

I'm wearing Barry M's new 'Gelly' Nail Polish in Prickly Pear, i really like the texture of these nail polishes and they truly do last for days without chipping at all, even without top coat. 

I hope you enjoyed this post, sorry that i seem to be doing a lot of OOTD's i'll definitely do a more variety of posts soon! 

Closet Organization

As I have only posted a short post tonight, and posts have been lacking a bit for the past few days, I thought I'd give you a longer more interesting one on top of 'Weekstagram'. I recently spent a whole day reorganizing my closet before I head off to Uni, and although i'm not totally happy with the results it's the best I can do, and the best it will ever be as i'll be moving out in September so it won't be needed anymore. 

My most important thing is that it looks tidy when the curtains are both closed and open! I'm lucky enough that my closet is built into the walls rather then it being a wardrobe because it means I have much more room for clothes and don't have to use up lots of drawer space, it also means I can keep all my clothes in one place and don't have them scattered about my room! The curtains that are across the wardrobe are from Argos and so is the wooden drawers, the storage box next to it is from an outlet store near me.

My clothes are just hanging on a metal pole that was already attatched before I moved into the house, it's under a lot of strain because of the amount of clothes that are on there, even after a clear out! But it's fine, I just have too many clothes. 

I can't remember where I got this shoe organiser from, but i keep all my flats, sandals and trainers downstairs in a little drawer in the outhouse so i don't need to make room for them in my room, but all my heels are kept upstairs because i barely ever wear them. But they all fit neatly into these organizer and its nice that they're on display but they're not taking up too much room! 

Down one side of the wardrobe is some random stuff, the topshop shoe box holds spare make-up bags and purses, and on top are just my clutches that need to be easily accessible but they're not used everyday. I've just got my empty laptop box sitting there because I'm getting a new laptop soon so it'll need to be put away in there. 

On top of the box that holds all my pajamas are some blankets that i just use when it gets cold and i want to sit downstairs, in  the summer months they are obviously not used but they're used well as a cover for the inside of the box. 

Inside the box are my pajamas, leggings, old t-shirts and old shorts, mainly i just wear these clothes to bed, so they're in an easily accessible place and I can just grab whatever i need and go. I didn't have enough drawer space to put all of this in drawers so this is another way that i can store them.

In this white container on top are just my bra's, belts and tights. I don't particularly like the idea of my underwear being so on display but as my wardrobe has a curtain they are barely seen. 

The top drawer of my drawers is seasonal, so at the moment it contains my bikinis a couple of pairs of sunglasses and my sunhat. In the winter it would contain winter socks, and scarfs hats and gloves. 

The second drawer down is my underwear, of course organised into types and they are then folded and put in rows. 

The bottow drawer contains all my socks, I don't really wear socks are the moment except at night when my feet get colder so that's why all my bed socks are near the top, in the winter my everyday socks would be near the top because i'd be wearing them everyday. 

I hope you liked my closet organisation, and if it didn't give you any tips for yourself I hope it was interesting at least, i love seeing closet tours so i assume there's some people who are the same! 

Love ya, bye x

Weekstagram #1

Weekstagram is a new series in which every week I shall post the pictures that I've been putting up on instagram, if you want to follow me on instagram the link is here.

In the garden's at Grandads - Yankee Candle purchase for £4.78 - Egg Sandwich - Organizing my wardrobe - Posh meal at the Hen Do - Cherry Pajamas - Not Thirsty Thursdays, Hungry Thursdays - Yankee Candle crazy - Pizza and salad - KFC - Girls on the boat at the Hen Do - Burning Candle - Going out for a family meal - On the boat - The Harvester - Nautical Nails for a nautical hen do. 

I don't know whether I'll do one of these every week, or just every so often but I like the idea of summing up my week in pictures. 

Mwah x

Mint Green OOTD

Just a quick OOTD post, it was fairly sunny the other day and I just went to visit my grandad with my mum so I wasn't doing anything special but I quite liked my outfit anyway so I thought I might as well share it! 

Top: Primark

Skirt: New Look

Necklace: Primark

Rings (l-r): Topshop, Primark

Bracelet: Somewhere in Greece

I did my usual everyday make-up routine, the only difference is I tend to use different combinations of the MUA heaven and earth palette, just to mix it up a bit!

I put my hair in a messy bun, because it was on the second day of not being washed so it was looking a tad greasy, so it looked much better pushed back into a bun, also it was a really hot day so it's much nicer when my hairs out the way of my neck!

I used 'Moonlit Path' by Bath and Body Works as my fragrance, their fragrance mists, are one of my favourite things to use in the summer because they're so light and refreshing and don't smell too strong.

On my nails I have American Apparel 'Office' on, it's my favourite mint green and I got it in America, I wish American Apparel Nail Varnishes weren't so expensive in England, and I had an American Apparel near me! 

I've never got into mint green until this summer, now I love it! Plus, even though it's weird I kind of like matching my nail varnish to whatever clothes i'm wearing, that's normal right? Right? Right. 

High End and High Street Foundation Mini Reviews

Now, I have gone through bottles and bottles of foundations, all different as I love trying out new things and never tend to stick to the same one, but these are the four I have most recently tried and tested so I thought I would do a mini review for each of them and compare them to show you if it's worth splurging on an expensive foundation or just sticking to drug store brands which are much cheaper. 

Rimmel London Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation in 100 Ivory

Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation with SPF 15 in 100 Ivory

Collection Lasting Perfection Ultimate Wear Foundation with SPF 20 in 2 Ivory

Mac Studio Sculpt Foundation with SPF 15 in NC15

Rimmel London Lasting Finish 25 Hour Foundation

The hardest thing for me to find in a foundation is one that exactly matches my skin tone, and although this doesn't exactly match I feel like it contains the right hues so that he can easily blend into my skin and make it look like there is no foundation there. The coverage on this foundation is really good and this is by far the best out of them all for my particular skin type. This is the only one I have repurchased on more than one occasion. As for the 25 Hour part, this is not the case, but I doubt it will ever be the case, no foundation is ever going to last 25 hours, but it lasts long enough so I don't have to reapply all day, which is what most people look for in a foundation, so that's the good thing about it. The only thing I have a problem with is the glass bottles, I've never been a fan of glass bottles especially as when it seems as if the product is finished with, there is actually still half a bottle left in there with no way of getting it out, but I suppose for such a cheap price there's not really a lot to complain about. 

Rimmel London Wake Me Up Foundation

Another one of my favourites, this has been repurchased once so far, and I will probably go ahead and purchase it again. I love Rimmel foundations, because they have the right amount of coverage, however, for people with more problem skin you can only use a pea sized amount of this on your entire face, because if you use more the tiny amount of glitter in it becomes more then a small amount and your face just looks like a big ball of glitter (may be exaggerating slightly). When I'm having a bad day with my skin I much prefer using a different foundation with more coverage. A negative for me was this foundation, as it is supposed to, makes your face looks glowy and dewy, however I much prefer it when my face is more matte so I do prefer other foundations for that reason, but there's always the option to use powder over the top which mattifies it a bit. 

Mac Studio Sculpt Foundation

This being the most expensive foundation by far, should live up to high expectations. A massive bonus with this foundation is the colour matches my skin exactly, which is hard to find with drug store foundations mainly because you have no-one who is able to advise you on the best colour to use, however, at the time I was using this regularly I felt like I had to put a lot on my skin to cover up all the problems I was having, I feel like though if I was to repurchase this again while my skin is much more improved then it used to be I would enjoy it much more. The good thing about it, however, is that it is build-able so it can be used as a lighter foundation or a heavier one so it suits a lot more people. The SPF within the foundation is also a bonus, although definitely not normally necessary while living in England, ha! All in all, although I don't think this foundation is worth the price for me personally, I can see what makes it a great product and why it would be perfectly suited for some people and therefore would be worth paying a little extra. 

Collection Lasting Perfection Foundation

First of all, with this foundation you can certainly tell that it is the cheapest out of them all, the texture is not as smooth and it is harder to apply and blend evenly to even out your skin tone. This was the lightest colour I could get in Boots at the time I bought it so I'm not sure if there is a lighter one or not, but this was certainly not the right colour for me, and even when blended you could tell where it had been applied even though usually the colour 'Ivory' goes perfectly with my skin tone. I may try and purchase the lighter coloured one and see if that improves my opinion of it, even a little bit, but even without looking at the colour difference the formula is definitely not the best being a bit heavier and gloopy. I wouldn't recommend to anyone who doesn't want a high coverage, cakey foundation. 

Finally here are the swatches from l-r; Rimmel Lasting Finish, Rimmel Wake Me Up, Collection Lasting Perfection, Mac Studio Sculpt

I hope you notice the improved quality of the pictures from my previous posts, i'm still using my Nikon D3000 but i feel like I've significantly improved the lighting and got a bit more into editing. I guess it can only get better!