Its the Little Things...

Hey Everyone!
When you're feeling a bit down, its essential that you have a kind of mental list of things to do that improve your mood. I've never really had one, but its been developing over the last little while and I thought I'd share the beginnings of it with you.  

1. Fresh flowers

I've never actually had a bunch of flowers until my mum bought me some a couple of weeks ago (how cute?!) I never realised how such a simple thing could brighten a whole room (and your mood.) I now want to have flowers in my room permanently- though I'm not sure how well that would go down with my hayfever.

2. Doing nails/ having pamper sessions

No matter how small or seemingly insignificant, looking down at nicely done nails or smelling new body lotion definitely improves my mood. Also, the time spent doing my nails is so relaxing.

3. Inspirational quotes

Ok, I realise sometimes there's a fine line between uplifting and cheesy, but I always manage to find a lil feelgood quote on Pinterest lying in bed at night. Wether you're looking for fitness inspiration or determination to succeed you can be certain that there are words written in fancy fonts against cute backgrounds awaiting in the realms on the web.

4. Lighting candles

If you read this post, you'll know I'm a big fan of candles. I'm working my way through this strawberry one pretty quickly, and although it doesn't quite live up to the amazing scent of my fig and herb, its still good to have a candle burning in the background when I'm studying or on my laptop. Also, while you're looking for a little cheering up, why not pure some good karma out there and send a friend a card or happy note. When I received this cute card from Melanie I was over the moon!

What are your best mood lifting tops?

What's In My Bag?

Hey Everyone!

I mentioned in my catch up post that I recently bought an amazing bag from Zara and I am actually now using that but I thought I'd do a What's In My (old) Bag because I thought these pictures were too pretty not to share. I find these posts really interesting so I can always do an updated one with my new bag and purse.

I was using this Primark soft leather cross-body bag for a good few months and it was really convenient, a good size and was under £5. It reminds me a lot of the soft leather River Island bags. 

So what is inside?

umberella // hankies // hand cream // hand sanitiser // accessorize floral purse // pen // a maple candy from Melanie // chewing gum // bobble // plaster // paracetamol // eye drops // a compact mirror // the day's lip product // baby lips // keys 

My phone isn't in the picture- but that would usually be in my bag or in my pocket. As would a comb for my fringe.

I love the pinkness of it all. I haven't went into much detail- so feel free to ask me any questions.

Spring Haul Ft. Primark & New Look

Hey Everyone!
Can you see it? Can you feel it? CAN YOU FEEL IT? Kidding sorry I need to control these random outbursts into song. Anyway- spring is in the air WOOPEE!! I can't explain the happiness it brings me to see a little bit of sun coming in my window- hello bright, clear pictures and a fresh looking room. With the arrival of spring, new season lines land in shops and before you know it you're at the till with an armful of pastels and florals. 
While in Edinburgh at the weekend, I went to Primark and New Look and picked up a few bits. I managed to restrain myself and not go crazy but I got some lovely items that have brightened up my whole wardrobe and will drag me out of dark coloured jeans and jumpers (even if it is still a bit really chilly).

Primark: Bright Floral Tee- £3 (bargain!) Mint Quilt Top - £6 Floral Floaty Blouse- £8 Mint Necklace- £5
New Look: Pink Jumper- £14.99 (£13.50 w/ student discount)
I'm so excited to wear these as I haven't had a chance yet. It is so sad- these days I wear school uniform Monday to Friday and work uniform Saturday and Sunday- I'm gonna forget how to dress myself in normal clothes! 
I have a statement necklace from Primark already but its a bit big (hence the statement I guess) and formal for everyday wear, so I wanted to get my hands on one that was a bit more demure and that would match more of my clothes. I thought that since this one matched my new purchases, it would probably match quite a lot of other stuff in my wardrobe (I tend to go for the same kind of thing- anyone else do that?). I'm in love with the mint quilt top- its so soft. I'm also super excited about the pink jumper. Not only did I get student discount, but I've wanted a pink jumper for ages and it will keep me warm in the transition from winter- spring (and probably to summer too, let's face it- Scotland is cold).
I've had a lovely little night of drinking tea and participating in the #bbloggers chat. The twitter community are always so inspiring and happy. I'd better get back to my English dissertation redraft now (eek) -I only need to cut out another 1,000 words. Who said I was a rambler? I should also do today's instalment of the 30 Day Ab & Squat Challenge- I have actually made it to day 30!!! Though today consists of 40 sit ups, 100 crunches and 100 squats. I have a stretcher on stand by, don't worry. 

I'm Back/ Catch up!

Hey Everyone!
Remember me? I can't quite believe I have left it this long since my last post: one week turned into two and four months later here I am- eek. You may be wondering what has been keeping me so busy, but in fact, other than the usual school demands and my weird craving for constant sleep, nothing has stopped me- I've just not been making the time to blog. I've been on Blogger almost everyday- flicking through my reading list and keeping myself (kind of) in the loop. At the same time though, I've been watching my follower count slowly drop and I'm not exaggerating when I say that I cry inside at the thought of even one person clicking unfollow. I left it and left it because I felt like there is pressure after such a lengthy period of absence to come back with a ground breaking post, but let's face it, none of my posts have ever been astoundingly excellent: they're mostly pretty chatty and based on whatever takes my fancy. So, after weeks of telling myself to snap back into it, today I have bitten the bullet and started typing. 

Ok, so this picture has no relation to what I'm talking about but anything to pop in one of my 'I am basically a professional photographer' attempts Is it too late to tell you about my new years resolutions? I'm going to anyhoo. It just proves that I haven't forgotten them- which is a record for me seeing as its the middle of February. 

You will see, unlike last year, blogging isn't on my resolutions, but I figured that if I wanted to, I would. Some are more important/ realistic/ specific than others. "Study", "Do more good deeds" and "Be more organised" are pretty vague, and though they're well-intended, I haven't been placing as much emphasis on them as the others. Lateness is one of my big flaws (did I mention my love of sleep?) so I've been making a huge effort this year to be on time for everything. So far it's been mediocre. What I've surprised myself with was the "Exercise" one. My original draft of resolutions- written at about 10pm on Dec 31st, said 'Exercise- but I'm never going to' which isn't the most optimistic start. But, I have a holiday booked in August with my friends and the thought of wearing a bikini has been quite the motivation. I've been doing this 30 Day Challenge and although I know alone it won't be turning me into a beach goddess, its a start. I also bought a really really cute diary in Ryman and I've been using each day for to do lists and for writing the highlight of the day. Considering the fact that I gave up with my 'happy thought in a jar' resolution around the beginning of February last year, this has been going pretty well.

I realise this post is becoming quite lengthy, so I'm going to condense the rest of my catch-uppy news into bullet points because let's fact it, not many people will be interested in the screeds and screeds of ramble. (Screeds is a good word isn't it? My English teacher uses it a lot to describe my work lol)
▪I got into my first choice university to do English Literature woohoo- I start in September ▪I still have my job (I'm not sure if I mentioned it) and that's time-consuming and tiring but I'm still enjoying it. ▪I bought my first 'ladies handbag' from Zara and its so amazing and I love it- it deserves a whole post of its own so look out for that soon. ▪My mum bought me my first bunch of flowers! Not really that big a deal for most people but I'm so happy. They brighten my whole room and I just can't stop taking pictures of them. ▪I got new furniture! My old drawers and wardrobe were totally falling to pieces so it was due. The new ones are so sophisticated and chic. ▪I'm definitely not as focused in school this year but I'm trying to pull my socks up in time for the final exams in May. ▪I'm still watching my favourite tv shows: The Carrie Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, KUWTK and Doctor Who. Let me know if you like any of them because NO ONE I know (really) does. ▪I read Jane Eyre and it now holds 2nd place on my favourite books of all time (Gatsby still has 1st and deserves it considering how obsessed I was last year). ▪My blog's two year anniversary was a few days ago. Remember last year I had a knitted cake and collage of posts to celebrate- no such luck this year! But it is still a pretty big deal and even more of a reason to get me back into posting.   {Edit: I forgot one of my biggest bits of news- I'm so silly! I got a full fringe ooit}
So, I think I've pretty much covered the last four months. Now, would you look at that, I've just written a whole post and it was easy peasy!
So, what have you been doing? Anything exciting? Did you have a good Halloween/ Christmas/ New Year?