Life Lately: A Catch Up & A Ramble

This week something completely unexpected, earth-shattering and incomprehensible happened: I submitted my two mid-term essays... 2 days early *gasp*. After worrying about how little time I had and how I didn't have a clue where to start, somehow I managed to get them done - and early. I'm odd. Since I've had a couple of well-deserved days off uni work, I've been trying to get back into blogging. It is always so strange delving back into the blogging community because everything seems to have moved on so much in only a few months. I don't know what twitter chats are still happening, what the latest hyped up products are or how platforms have changed. Its been 5 years since I started blogging but everytime I come back to it I feel completely out of the loop. Tonight I hung around the #bbloggers chat for half an hour and it was deserted - where is everyone?!

Life Lately

Happy Christmas Eve Eve everyone! After building up to Christmas for so long (I had the Christmas CD playing in my car in October) its hard to believe its finally here. The excitement was so real when I recieved my first few presents a couple of days ago. I love trying to guess what could be inside the parcels! I also watched The Santa Clause 3 yesterday which left me feeling very Christmassy. I love how the adults are just as, if not more, excited than the kids to be at the North Pole. I'd be jumping up and down with joy too! 

I was looking through my old instagram/ updatey posts a couple of nights ago and it was so interesting to see what I was doing a few years ago. I thought I'd do a new one to show you the nice Christmas pictures and ridiculous amounts of unhealthy (but delicious) foods which I've snapped lately.

From left to right and down:

there is a fab Christmas market in George Square for the first time ever and its so festive and cheery! | Frasers on Buchanan Street have lit up their whole building - its so pretty | my manager bought me this cupcake to have at lunch one day. It was lovely but I got in quite a mess because it was so tall| Costa festive hot chocolates are my FAVE - this year I've had the black forest (not as good as previous years), the toasted marshmallow (yum) and the mint (also yum)! | cute decorations I have hanging from my wardrobe | my first Christmas card this year, some Santa ornaments and a M&S Christmas candle | I've put fairy lights and tinsel round my mirror - love! | Frasers again | Tiger is excellent for these cute small decorations for only £1 or two | does anyone remember this laughing lady on MSN messenger?! | high fat, high satisfaction dinner of mac & cheese & chips before seeing Fantastic Beasts in the cinema | a Lush bath bomb | eye makeup inspo | I absolutely love Dirty Dancing and this twentieth anniversary soundtrack accidentally found its way into my Amazon basket when I was ordering my uni books for next semester | new shoes for work only £7 from H&M | Aldi's answer to Dominoes pizza - stuffed crust pizza for only £2.49 - don't mind if I do | they said these new £5 notes were unrippable - | everyone loves a snapchat filter!

Right now I can hear the rain pelting off the windows  - I'm so glad I'm indoors and all cosy. I hope you all have an absolutely fantastic Christmas! Let me know in the comments what you've been up to lately.

A Trip to York

Last month my family and I spent a long weekend in York and I couldn’t think of a better way to share the highlights of the trip with you than a very photo heavy post. York isn’t somewhere which would immediately come to my mind as a weekend trip destination - in fact I think my brother randomly suggested we visit after watching Braveheart for the seventeenth time. It isn’t easy finding somewhere which has something for all of us- ‘culture-y stuff’, shopping, sports/ leisure, a nice hotel and good food but I was really pleasantly surprised by what a fantastic time we had.

My favourite touristy thing was the Castle Museum. It covered York’s history ranging from its prisons to toys to wars. Best of all though- there was a recreation of a Victorian street with people dressed as actual Victorian’s who spoke to you and told you about things! I was actually quite taken aback when the girl in her 1890s get-up turned around and told me how fashionable it was to be pale and how gloves were necessary to keep the hands delicate when I was in the tailor’s.

The hotel we stayed in, the Marriott, had big, beautiful grounds and looked onto the racecourse. It was around 30 minutes walk from the town centre but it was a nice area and I like looking at all the houses along the way (is that sad?) There was a tennis court at the bottom of the hotel gardens which was free to book out for an hour. My brother is the only one of us who plays tennis but we all had a go and it was actually really fun- as far as exercise goes anyway. I also loved the swimming pool because I’m a big kid at heart when it comes to being in water. The buffet breakfast was superb- so tasty and lots to choose from (or not choose and eat everything from). 

Talking of food, we had some delicious dinners too (see food photos and drool). I had a pepperoni pizza in Zizzi’s on the second night and on the last night we found an amazing Italian called Lo Spuntino. Sometimes chain Italians just can’t come close to a small independently run ones. The place was compact but the food was delicious and the service was great. 

Compared to my usual holiday spending sprees I actually bought very little in the town centre. I had a notion before we went to have a browse for makeup samples online and I downloaded a couple of vouchers and picked up a few freebies instead. There was a nice mix of high street staple shops like Boots and unique, independent ones. We also visited ‘The Shambles’- an old fashioned street of quirky little shops. It reminded me of the lanes in Brighton.

I found York to be pretty centralised so for only being there three days we crammed so much in. I had an absolutely excellent time and would definitely go back.

Thanks for stopping by and well done if you reached the end of this lengthy post. Be sure to leave me a comment telling me if you’ve ever been to York or any other places you like :) 

Hello Again!

I've been finished my exams for a whole month and I haven't written one single blog post- I've been too busy chilling out and turning into a sloth watching endless TV shows on my laptop. So far I've watched 5 seasons of Gossip Girl (I LOVE!), rewatched Doctor Who and watched Breakfast at Tiffany's for the first time. I think I'm pretty much guaranteed to have square eyes by the time I'm 30 with the amount of time I spend on my laptop.

Anyway, as always, to launch back into blogging, I've put together a little updatey collage of my last few months. My blogging lapses have become so regular since I started back in 2012 that they're routine now: I blog away all summer when I have free time, get together a few posts over Christmas when I'm off and a random post or two through the year if I'm lucky. With how focused I am with studying you'd think I could apply that to blogging, exercise and other parts of life but nope- I'm lazy when it comes to everything else!

my lecturer wore these leggings one day #absoluteawe | what I'm like in uni | jk what I'm actually like in uni | I've become obsessed with Eastenders again this year- my long lost soap love | lush baths! | maoam pinballs = fave | new bikini for holiday | me arriving at the beach this year ahaha (this pic gets me every single time)  

my uni is pretty | strawberry daiquiri mmm | exploring the library | chinese takeaway= life's special moments | my laptop broke for a few days in May & it was a very, very real struggle | brunch in TriBeCa- if you've never ate here you must- immediately | my new lamb onesie is soo cosy | cheesecake (insert heart eye emoji) | going for a catch up with girls a few nights ago

Now that we're all up to speed I'd just like to say a quick thank you to everyone for sticking around even though my posting is so inconsistent. I've got heaps of post ideas for the coming months and I'm so excited to be back!  

We Heart It Picks

Admittedly, I'm probably in a minority of We Heart It users. I feel like most are 14 year old over-thinkers/ Directioners/ dreamers going through the 'who am I' and 'what does the world mean' and 'no one will ever love me' phase. Its a bit like Tumblr but minus the nudity and angst, a bit like Pinterest but less mumsy and organised and a bit like Instagram but less personal. I realise I've not really set it up in the best light but its all to soften the blow of what I'm about to admit. I am addicted to it and absolutely love it.  
You know when you're lying in bed at night when you've finally turned off your laptop (a major statement of intent) but you're not quite ready to sleep? This is perfect. I can literally scroll through it for an hour double tapping nearly every second image. You know why? Every single picture is so pretty! I've never stumbled across so many creative and girly images. I want to print them out and make a huge mood board/ inspiration wall. So here are some of my recent favourites that I thought I'd share with you all in the hope that you won't think less of me for this guilty pleasure. After all, I think everyone still has a bit of the over-thinker/ Directioner/ dreamer phase left in them. Particularly the Directioner bit. I still love Zayn Malik and I'm not sorry.

Lisbon Photo Diary

Hey Everyone!

Last week was spent in with my family in Lisbon, Portugal: enjoying the sun, shopping and generally being a tourist. Its a stunning city and thankfully quite straight forward to navigate. I love the city and beach combination as I get bored just sitting around all day and like to pretend I'm cultured. 

I've decided to restart the little series I used to do of fortnightly picture diaries. Not only are they really interesting posts to look back on but they're easy to read (or skim) and I enjoy looking at other people's posts like this to see what they've been up to.

From left to right and down:

stunning view of the city on a boat trip | sun sea and sand :) | Jeronimos Monastery | when I was trying to be all artsy and take cool pictures | pretty blossom outside the Museu de Arte Popular (which is currently closed- maybe for renovations?) | the view from the Cristo Rei momument | amusing myself on the beach | the city at night | stumbled upon the cutest shop with heaps of these vintage inspired signs | sunset while boarding the plane | metro map | couldn't find a stand alone Sephora but the department store El Corte Inglés saved the day | hotel bathroom | freezing coke by the pool | heading up to the Olympic Stadium | sun lounger selfie | it looks so exotic | relaxing on the beach

I'm Back/ Update (Again)

Hello friends!
I've lost track of the number of posts I've opened with 'I'm back!' or 'Remember me?' etc etc. I'm so inconsistent but thank you so much for those of you who are still around! After every lengthy absence from blogging I have the urge to dive back in with an updatey post-I feel like I need to let you know what I've been doing. I'm going to keep this short and sweet and make it just like one of the weekly instagram run-down posts I used to do back in the day. Its weird: when I started looking for pictures to sum up the last two months I realised I really need to start taking more pictures.

So, main things that have been happening:  •I done my exams, finished school and went to prom.  •I turned 18 ahhh woopee!!  •I went to the music festival T in the Park.
Other things:  •I've been eatting lots of yummy food (bye bye that bikini body I thought was possible).  •I've become absolutely obsessed with Jake Bugg.  •I've been really into fake tan though I think I've managed to make 90% of applications disastrous before rinsing.  •I've been on an absolute mission to tidy and organise my room.
I have lots and lots of posts planned and let's face it, its SUMMER- I have all the time in the world to write up blog posts so expect lots of content from me- yay!
What has your summer consisted of so far?

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?

My Summer In Pictures

Hey Everyone!

In line with my 'end of summer' themed posts, today I'm going to share a few (or 21) snaps from over the summer! Apologies for some of them being bad quality as they were taken on my phone. I know 'summer', the season, doesn't technically end till well into September (yeah later than I thought too!) but to me summer = time off school. Maybe that's why it seems so short compared to other seasons.

 This was in Edinburgh very soon after my exams- the holidays hadn't started but in my mind they had! I stumbled upon this gorgeous shabby chic bathroom in Jenners and I literally wanted it all. I always worry that when I get a flat/ house there will be no variety of decor at all because I only like one style- shabby chic. 

At the beginning of June we had some amazingly sunny days! I loved wearing my £1 Primark wayfarer sunglasses!

This was the day I sat in my garden in the sun for about an hour and made a daisy chain. I took an alternative approach to it though and used a kirbie instead of my nail to make holes in the stems. It actually worked really well! Sadly the daisys began to wither within a few hours but I managed to preserve them by pressing them!

Despite my short, horrible looking nails- I love this picture! Its soo summery and cute.

Remember I had "Use fake tan" on my summer bucket list? Well I used it. And then some. I went for the dark St. Moriz because I usually need at least 4 coats of the medium for it to make the slightest difference. Fair to say my friends were a little taken aback when I came out this colour as apposed to my usual milk bottle white. It was pretty severe at first but after a couple of rinses it was really really nice!

This pretty much sums up how I spent my time before Africa. Eat, TV, eat, TV. It was fab!

This is just some of the piles and piles of stuff I needed for Africa. I think I actually used about 1/10 of the stuff I brought!

I had a superb birthday this year. It was a really quiet, family celebration and was perfect.

Yes. This is what happens when I'm bored and get my hands on my elf palette.

I had this in a fancy ice cream place having a catch up with friends. It was, as you can probably imagine, amazing.

I look a bit scary here haha! I had a fight with my enormous mosquito net. I won. Muaha.

My backpack was literally like carrying another person- I didn't know if I was going to tip backwards or forwards.

This was on Safari. I don't even need to caption this- its just so spectacular that it speaks for itself.

Again, the most beautiful and remarkable picture. My view of Mt. Kilimanjaro on my last nights in Tanzania.

I have been loving these lately! I just finished my tub of body butter and the perfume has been my go-to everyday. The scent is soo yummy!

I'm actually so proud of my photography skills here! I have been keeping this for special occasions only and absolutely love it. I will be so gutted to finish it. Although- my mum was so kind and bought me Eau So Fresh which I cannot wait to try!

I think this is the best I have done my eye makeup ever! I was so proud of myself but haven't quite been able to recreate it. I'll need to keep working on it. 

I cannot describe how amazing the feeling of getting rid of old school stuff is. I literally filled the recycling bin! I was so pleased when my results came in and one of the first things I did was clear out all the stuff I won't be needing this year.

I have fallen in love with Costa this summer (despite the fact I don't actually like coffee!). My favourite drink is the Red Berry Fruit Cooler but I've tried the Belgian Chocolate and Raspberry and White Chocolate Creamy Coolers too. Yum!

My family and I took a little trip to Blackpool before the schools went back. Its kind of a family tradition and we always stay in the same hotel (which is lovely!). These arcades are so fun but seriously addictive.

While we were in Blackpool, there were shows by the Red Arrows! They were amazing but soo noisy!

So that's been my summer! I know I've said time and time again how quickly it has went but it really has whizzed by. I'm glad to say though that I done a lot and enjoyed every day!

What was the highlight of your summer?