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!