First term of University!

My first term at Reading University is officially over, and I can truly say I've had the time of my life! Not only was settling in and making new friends much easier than I thought, I've had so many new exciting experiences that have made these past three months amazing. 

Although, the workload has sometimes been hard to deal with and has got me down a bit I feel that all the fun times that I've had really outweigh these down moments. I've really surprised myself in how I coped in moving to a new place as I am quite a homely person so I thought moving away from home was going to be much more of a painful experience than it has been. Don't get me wrong I've missed my family and all but having a great group of friends at Uni makes me feel like I'm at home. I've somehow learnt so much about myself, showing that I really do like to be independent, despite my reservations before I left, as well as finding out that I kind of enjoy looking after other people....even if it is a bit annoying sometimes doing other peoples washing up or cooking for them. 

My new group of friends have really made a difference in all this and I have found people that I can really just be honest with and know that they'll listen and understand. As well as this we've found that we can just be sarcastic towards each other all the time and no one will get offended, which just goes to show how comfortable we've become with each other. From day one we were kind of like a little family, and still now we all cook together every night and do our weekly shop together, which actually makes it so much cheaper than doing our own shop. 

Never did I think that I'd end up going out clubbing at least once a week or seeing artists such as Lethal Bizzle or Wilkinson however, I've somehow changed my mindset and just taken every opportunity to  have a good time...and just live a little, because I didn't do much of that before!

My family and friends will probably get very fed up of me talking about uni over the Christmas Holidays however, hopefully they'll understand that this is because I'm just extremely happy with my life at the moment :D

Thank you for reading! 

A few of my favourite memories :)

My 19th Birthday!

Another year has gone by so quickly, which means I'm another year older. This year my birthday seemed to come round ever so quickly I feel like I only turned the awaited 18 just yesterday. This year seems to be much more significant than the last as this is my last year of being a teenager, which even to me sounds very odd! However, this past year has been one of the best yet, with many happy and new experiences it has left me hopeful that this next year will be the same. I can't wait to see what new, fun things being 19 brings me! 

Anyway.....moving on from the deep stuff! As I am at university I decided to spend the weekend at home with my family, as I've never been the type to want to go out with my friends for my birthday I much prefer a family get together, so that's exactly what  I had. The weekend was filled with catching up with friends and family, and eating far too much yummy food. 

However, when I returned to my halls on Monday morning I was greeted with a Happy Birthday banner on my door and many balloons outside in the corridor, which made it so much easier leaving my family again! All my friends we excited to go out for my birthday that evening, and to my surprise they even bought me some presents and made a very funny, yet embarrassing birthday card which was so lovely of them. Now as for the night out all I'm going to say is that I took the phrase 'go hard or go home' a little too literally and ended up having THE worst hangover the next day, which I hope will never ever happen again! But apart from that I had the best night, with the most amazing group of friends I could have wished for. 

Thank you for reading!

Pink Ombre birthday cake

My brothers and I on my birthday

Liv and I at Q club in Reading 

Birthday Banner! 

The Coronas

 As you may already know I  seem to have a theme in my music taste which is that all of my favourite bands are from Ireland. So following this theme, last Friday I went to see The Coronas in Shepherds Bush Empire. 

I have only been a fan of their music since earlier this year, but have wanted to see them live ever since. They truly did not disappoint the atmosphere within the venue was electric, and the addition of Hudson Taylor as their special support act made the night even more amazing. 

What made the night even more unforgettable was Danny (the main singer) crowd surfing at the end, as I have never seen a band do that, so it was quite fun to watch. 

Having the chance to catch up with one of my friends from school was great as we hadn't seen each other in over 2 months, so it was nice to hear what she had been up to while I've been at university. As well as this being able to spend a weekend at home was definitely needed after having a very stressful week, so having time to myself with my family really helped me de-stress and comeback to university more motivated than I was previously. 

Thanks for reading!

University

I have officially started University Studying Food Marketing and Business Economics! Even typing that sentence felt slightly odd even though I've now been living in Reading for over a month now. 

I have finally settled into my new home at university and can definitely say these first few weeks have been the best time I've had for a while. Luckily I have been placed in halls with the best group of people, we all get on so well which makes it more like living with my best friends than people that were complete strangers till a month ago! Already we've made so many good memories, and invented many a corridor games to play to pass the time. 

Before I came to university I was fairly quiet, and didn't really enjoy the night-life scene that many of my friends loved, which at times made it quite hard to fit in with my group of friends. However, I came to university with an open mind and surprisingly I now actually really enjoy going on a night out with everyone that I have met, which I thought I'd never really do.

 As someone who went to an all girls school I obviously have a large group of friend that are girls which is amazing because I always know that I have that great support system however, growing up with brothers and male cousins I have always found it much easier to have a mixed group of friends, just due to the fact that sometimes a large group of girls can cause a lot of unwanted drama. This is probably partly the reason I am now starting to enjoy going out of a night because I've now gained this great mixed friendship group. 

Since starting university in September I can honestly say I have learnt so much and have tackled so many irrational fears just through living on my own and having to fend for myself. I've always relied on my parents quite heavily, so the opportunity to become more independent has been a great way for me to learn more about myself and has actually greatly helped my confidence. 

Although, at times I have felt homesick and a bit lonely, being able to have touch base with home through a quick call or face time with my parents has really made settling in much easier than I thought it would be.

My advice to anyone who is moving away from home would be to try and stay at university for as long as you can before taking a trip home, because although I haven't been here long I think that if I had visited home within these first few weeks it may have been slightly harder to leave again. My parents have visited me twice to make it a little easier but in all honesty I have been so busy it has been hard to notice that I am actually not living at home any more, which I guess is a good thing.

Thank you for reading! I'm hoping to post more regularly now :)

August favourites

Another month of 2015 has flown by, which means it is time for another monthly favourites post. Here are a few bits that I have been loving throughout the month of August.

The first Items are two Real Techniques brushes; Expert Face Brush and the Powder brush. I have always been a bit sceptical about how good these brushes are and how much better they can make your skin look. However, I thought I'd give them a try after so many recommendations. I can truthfully say that these brushes are one of my best purchases! I chose the expert face brush over a foundation brush as I have owned a foundation brush in the past and have found them too harsh on my skin, which this brush definitely is not. Using these brushes gives any make up look a more 'air brushed' finish to your skin, making your skin seem 'flawless'.

Carrying on along the theme of make up brushes is my next favourite which is the Real Techniques eye brush set. This includes a base shadow brush, crease brush, accent brush, eye liner brush and a brow brush. At the moment I have only used the base shadow and crease brushes, and they have worked so well in making my eye make up look neater and more professional. 

My third favourite is the Topshop 'Innocent' lip stick. I have mentioned this lip stick before in a post however, the colour and pigment of this lip stick is so good I thought it was worth another mention. It is suitable for all occasions whether that is wearing out in the day, or pairing it with an outfit for going out at night!

Another reoccurring favourite of mine from a couple of years ago are these black suede shoe boots, which I have purchased many a times from ASOS, because of their reasonable price, good quality and how comfortable they are! If you're like me and struggle to find shoes that are comfortable when you're wearing them for long periods of time, then I highly recommend these shoes. They were great for me having a summer job where I was on my feet all day, and they were still comfortable even when I was walking home from 8 hours on my feet. 

As its getting colder and Autumn is in full swing I thought it was about time to bring out the beanie hats....now I know what you're thinking, this is an august favourites post....however, these hats were just too cute and comfy at the beginning of September that I couldn't not mention them! They are all from ASOS and come in a variety of colours. 

Finally, I have been loving these cute frilly socks again from ASOS, which I bought for only £4 (Bargain!). I love to wear these with boots and having the frills poking out the top to add a more girly touch to my outfit or, they can be worn with shoes such as converse. 

Thanks for reading! 

A trip to Ireland

Last week my parents and I took a trip to Ireland, and while we were there we visited Belfast, Cushendall and Dublin. 

We started the week in Belfast where we went on a fascinating black taxi tour, and learnt about the history of Belfast in terms of  the conflict that occurred in the the late 20th century. For me this was the first time I'd really learnt about the troubles that happened in Northern Ireland, which I found extremely interesting. I would definitely recommend taking one of the tours or finding out about the history of Belfast if you ever visit. While in Belfast we also visited the Titanic museum, where we took far too many pictures outside by the Titanic sign! 

On the next part of our trip we ventured up the coastal road, and stopped in many picturesque villages along the way including Cranny falls, Ballymena and Ballycastle. We stayed in a village called Cushendall where we stayed in a small B &B. From there we visited the Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge, the Giants Causeway and the Glenariff waterfalls. 

Finally, we travelled back to Belfast to catch the train down to Dublin. We stayed in Dublin for three days and travelled round all the tourist spots on a sight seeing bus....where we encountered many humorous bus drivers which made the journeys more fun. First we visited the Guinness Storehouse, where I had my first pint of Guinness, where I found out that I don't really like it! We also visited Temple Bar, Dublin Castle, the Wall Of Fame, the Little Museum of Dublin, the Natural History Museum and Trinity College. Most of our trip to Dublin revolved around me dragging my parents to places that had something to do with The Script....which they kindly obliged! 

I had an amazing time visiting a few of the places in Ireland, and cannot wait till I can go back and explore the many more beautiful landscapes. I felt really at home there and  feel like for some reason I had a real connection with some of the places I visited, which may be due to Dublin having a similar atmosphere as London. One thing I do know is that I will definitely be back! 

Here are a few pictures from my trip, I hope you enjoyed this post & thank you for reading!

Dublin- Wall Of Fame

Belfast Mural

Belfast Mural

Belfast- Old Court House

Belfast- Titanic museum

It was raining but we were still smiling

Fishcake starter in 'The Potted Hen'- Highly recommend, their food is delicious

My Battered cod, Asian vegetables and chips- 'The Potted Hen'

My dad's Duck, broccoli and potato main course- 'The Potted Hen'

Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge

Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge

The Dark Hedges

Temple Bar

Guinness Storehouse

Guinness Storehouse

Dublin- Liffey River

An afternoon with a view

On the 4th August my mum and I went and had afternoon tea at the Shangri-La Hotel at The Shard in London as a special treat. Now as you know I am an avid home baker, and of course I love going and seeing what new baked treats are out there, and where better to find new and unusual flavour pairings than a fancy hotel in London!

At the Shangri-La hotel you are given two options for afternoon tea, one being a Traditional English tea with earl grey scones with jam and cream, egg & cress sandwich, crab sandwich, cucumber sandwich, smoked salmon sandwich, chicken sandwich, egg & mayo sandwich, chocolate and caramel mousse, cheesecake, strawberry & basil cake, Apricot and white chocolate compote and a blackcurrant and violet macaroon.

The second option was the Asian tea which included spiced scones, spiced crab sandwiches, vegetable gyoza, prawn dumpling, duck sandwich, wasabi and ginger cured salmon tartlet, cheesecake, raspberry lychee and rose macaroon, tea and ginger roulade, peanut caramel and chocolate tart and a white chocolate and apricot compote.

It was such a lovely day, with a beautiful view across London, and it gave me many more ideas for new bakes that I need to try out at home. 

Asian Afternoon tea

Traditional English Afternoon Tea

Thanks for reading!

Exam Results!

On the 13th of August I received my A-Level exam results, and to say the least I was more nervous than ever as these grades decided whether I would get into my chosen university. The excitement of finding out I had got into The University of Reading to do Food Marketing and Business Economics before I had received my results was great and made opening that horrible envelope a little less painful.....I'm not going to lie I did cry a little when I found out I got in! 

I'm not going to post what results I got on here as I feel like that's a little inappropriate or boastful and at the end of the day all that matters is that I'm happy with them & I know that I tried my hardest. Getting the results you want, although not the biggest thing in the world, is such a great feeling and it shows that all your endless hard work has finally paid off. 

It made me so happy to see that most of my friends were so pleased with their results and all of them achieved what they needed to take the next step in their lives, whether that be going to university, taking a gap year, getting a job or an apprenticeship. 

If you received your exam results this year whether their GCSE's, AS Levels or A-Levels I hope you received the results you hoped for, If not its not the end of the world! Letters on a piece of paper do not define who you are or what you are capable of. 

I am so excited to be starting University in mid September and hope that these four years will be as good as my school years. 

Thanks for reading! 

A summer holiday to remember

Last week four friends and I visited the Greek Island of Crete, where we stayed in a small town called Stalis. We had an amazing week away with a few trips into  the well known town of Malia, as well as relaxing by the pool, and taking a boat trip. As it was our first holiday away on our own there were some ups and downs but I don't think we could have had a better time.

A view of Santorini island from the plane

Our hotel was a 5 minute walk to the beach and had three pools, as well as a spa and other activities.....although, we only really used the pool. Most of our trips out to the local town included a drink at our favourite restaurant/bar called 'Akti', which for the record sold THE best waffles.....and the free WiFi tempted us in too.

A view from the hotel of Stalis beach 

Stalis Beach

Akti waffles

Activities pool

Main pool

My best friend Grace and I on Stalis beach

Malia was a 45 minute walk along a coastal road, lined with many shops, restaurants and bars which made it quite a nice walk of an evening. The buzzing atmosphere of Malia did not disappoint however, I did think that the 'strip' would be much larger than it was but none the less we had a great few nights, despite clubbing not really being my kind of thing. We met so many funny and nice people while there, which gave us quite a few things to joke about during the holiday.

Grace, Amy and I on our balcony

Grace and I 

On our final day we visited the beautiful Chrissi Island just off southern Crete. The pure white sands and clear turquoise sea made us feel like we were on a dessert island or in the Bahamas. The island has two beaches one which has more pebbles and 'the Golden Beach' which has white sand. There are no inhabitants of the island, with only two bars for the tourists.

Chrissi Island

Chrissi Island

Chrissi Island

Thanks for reading! :)