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!