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

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?