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! :) 

Summer Clothes Haul

In preparation of my holiday to Crete in just under two weeks time I have been doing a bit of holiday shopping (or procrastinating against revision). As usual at this time of year there are so many nice clothes, shopping can get a little out of hand.......

I thought I'd share with you a few of the things I have bought. 

Navy blue sun dress- Primark £5

The first item I bought is a navy sun dress with flower details at the top. I thought this dress may be cute with sandals, or as something to throw over a bikini on the beach. 

Black & white Aztec print 'runner' shorts- New Look £12.99

I have been looking for a pair of casual light weight shorts for a while now and I'm so pleased I found these in New Look. They have them in a variety of colours and patterns, and they are so comfy! I feel like these could be just worn around the pool on holiday or worn out on a day out in town. 

Light blue high waisted pom pom shorts- Miss Selfridge £24 (In the sale originally £30)

Pom pom clothing seems to be really 'in' at the moment with most shops stocking a variety of tops, cardigans and shorts in this style. I loved that these were high waisted and they look extremely cute with the little pom poms at the bottom. I hate it when shorts are too revealing, so although these look quite short they are perfectly fine when on. 

Light blue denim skirt- Miss Selfridge £28

I think this skirt is my favourite purchase, with it taking me back to my childhood of wearing this kind of outfit. It is high waisted (again) and have two small pockets on the front with undoable buttons down the middle. I cant wait to wear this with a pair of sandals and maybe a stripy top on a day or evening out.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S top (because who doesn't love friends!!)- Primark £6

Now this top isn't very 'holidayish' however, I thought it was only right that I bought it considering my massive 'F.R.I.E.N.D.S' addiction, and thought it might be nice to wear on the plane. 

Burgundy scallop edge top - Primark £5

Peach scalloped edge top- Boohoo £10 

Scallop edge tops and skirts seem to be another item that is 'in' at the moment with both of these tops being available in multiple other colours. I love the flowy loose fit of these tops, and the style means that they can be dressed up for a night out or worn casually in the day. 

Stripy 'Hello' top- Topshop £22

I absolutely love stripes so when I saw this cute 'hello' top I just had to have it. It is part of a new range in Topshop called 'Tee and Cake'. 

City stamps travel document folder- Paperchase £4

I'm one of those people that likes to be very organised so the fact that I booked the whole holiday for my friends and I meant that I'm responsible for all the paperwork that comes with it. Now this is a very daunting responsibility for me however, it has meant that the organisation freak within me has appeared. I could not resist this travel document folder, it has three sections within it 'documents', 'passport' and 'tickets'. My friends are most likely going to laugh at me when I get this out at the airport because of how organised I am but at least I'll (hopefully) have all the stuff they need!

Black patterned rucksack- Primark £10

I wanted a bag that was suitable to take on the plane as my normal hand bag is a bit too small to fit some plane essentials in. I've wanted a rucksack like this for a while but didn't know if it would suit me but I thought I'd just go for it. I love the patterns on the pockets, and feel that its a great size to fit everything I need for the flight in.

Pastel colour beach towel- Next £12

As I've never been on holiday on my own before I needed to get some boring bits like a beach towel. It is surprisingly difficult to find a large towel that does not have some silly slogan on it at this time of year however, I found this lovely pastel coloured stripy towel that is huge to say the least. It is perfect for wrapping up warm after coming out of the pool or sea on holiday.

'Innocent' lipstick- Topshop £8

The final item I purchased is the 'Innocent' lipstick from Topshop. I've bought a few lipsticks from Topshop in the past and have loved the pigment in them and the range of colours they supply. I have already got a dark red and a bright pink however, I wanted something more natural that I could wear in the day. Although, quite light this lipstick looks so natural and goes so nicely with the peach scallop top above.

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this post!

School Leavers & A trip to Brighton

So last Thursday (21nd May) was my official last day of school, and it was oddly satisfying to walk out of the school gates for the last time however, exams are fast approaching meaning I've got a few more weeks till the real end of school (forever! weird hu?!) 

On Friday we had a Leavers Tea, it was such an amazing day with cringey (but cute) speeches, embarrassing picture slideshows including pictures from year 7 that will always haunt us and a chance to get our prom tickets and leavers hoodies. Of course there was celebrations after including a (short) pub crawl, which was a bit problematic due to us all wearing our old school uniform, but it was fun all the less. I'm now looking forward to exams being over and celebrating the end of school with prom and a trip to Crete with my friends after.

This week is half term which unfortunately at this time of year means that it is full of revision however, as a little break my mum and I took a short trip to Brighton. We had a nice little lunch in Jamie's Italian and had a wander around the lanes with many a trips into each cake shop for baking inspiration as well as a well needed trip into a kitchen ware shop (sad I know) where we definitely made many excuses to buy things we didn't really need, but the little old fashioned milk bottle and paper straws did make use feel very Pintrest!

Cupcakes- Raspberry & chocolate, chocolate rolo, caramel, victoria sponge, red velvet and Oreo

Harry Potter 'Sorting hat' cake and 'Drive me wild' wildlife cake

Flower wedding cake

'Catwalk Cakes' shop in Brighton

 Thanks for reading!

Stereotypes

I have loved baking and cooking ever since I was a little girl when my mum used to show us how to make cupcakes and cookies, and it has now grown into a huge passion of mine. Baking is something I do as a stress relief, to take my mind of things be it revision or a hard day. When I got the opportunity to study Food Technology at school I was so excited to actually take my passion and put it to use in what I think of as an academic subject. However, I was not ready for the ever growing stereotypes of studying this subject.

I am now nearing the end of my ALevel Food Technology course and although it has been stressful I have loved every minute of it. However, I still get friends and other people at school asking me what I'm cooking 24/7 or whether my exam involves describing how to make a cake, and although they may see this as showing interest it does get very irritating after a while. 

The stereotypes of subjects similar to this of being just 'cooking' or non academic is extremely outdated and fails to represent the hard work that people like me put into it. Not only does this subject involve the practical skills that go far beyond cakes but also a very detailed nutritional knowledge base. To be good at cooking you have to know the science behind nutrients and their interaction, and this is something that many people do not understand. Alike subjects such as drama, art, dance and creative writing the subject is pushed under the carpet and not recognised enough as academic and something that requires a lot of skill. I've not only noticed this from speaking to people but also through the lack of schools that offer this subject, as well as the constant battle at school to keep the subject going even though the results are far better than some so called 'academic' subjects....and this is definitely not at all because it is easier because trust me its not!

The food industry fuels our economy and without people studying in this area we would not have the developing range of products that are available today. From viewing university courses within this area the low numbers of graduates of this subject has shocked me, with those with a food degree having a quick rate of employment because of their high demand.

Additionally, the amount of people that think that if you study this subject you want to be a chef is quite unbelievable, again showing how little they think of the subject. The likes of chefs such as Heston Blumathal has raised the scientific profile of cooking and has begun to show the vast knowledge that some chefs possess.

Sorry this post has turned into a little bit of a rant, but I hope that in the future these subject will get a little more credit, because without the opportunity to study this at school I don't think I would have found something that I am as passionate about. 

AS prototype- Savoury bread snack product- Inspired by turkey, stuffing and cranberry Chelsea buns.

A2 prototype- Luxury dessert product- Inspired by Gatau de L'Opera cake 

Revision playlist

Its that time of year again when exams are looming and the hearts of all students are racing with nervous energy, as well as excitement for the summer ahead. For me this year this feeling is much more intense with the great pressure of wanting to get into the university of my choice. However, with a few social sacrifices and a lot of hard work hopefully the huge amount of time and effort that has been put in will pay off! 

I thought I'd share with you a few of the songs I've been loving to get me through the long revision filled days. 

'The One' is Kodaline's latest release from their second album 'Coming up for air', originally written for a friends wedding. This song has a great feel good vibe and is quite a calming song to listen to while doing hard core revision. 

'Hold Back The River' is from James Bay's début album 'Chaos and the calm' which has become a huge hit in the UK. The soft tone of James Bay's voice provides an upbeat feeling.

'Man On A Wire' is The Script's third single from their fourth multi platinum album 'No Sound Without Silence' inspired by the film 'Man On Wire' about the French man Philippe Petit who strung a wire between the two World Trade Centres and walked across it. Now you can probably guess why I love this song..................

Currently I am loving Colton Avery's cover of 'Human Nature' originally by Michael Jackson. Colton Avery supported The Script on their 2015 UK & Europe tour and is defiantly going to be one to watch for the future with his amazing voice and humble character.

Finally, 'Youth' by Foxes is another of my favourite tracks to keep me motivated during revision. I have recently really loved listening to Foxes and you should defiantly check her out if you haven't heard any of her songs yet.

A few more favourites are.........

- Love Runs Out- One Republic 

- Superheroes- The Script 

- In The Long Run- Port Isla 

- Volcano- Port Isla 

- Goodbye Friend- David Guetta ft The Script 

- High Hopes- Kodaline 

- Maps- Marone 5 

- Take Me To Church- Hozier 

- From Eden- Hozier 

- Icarus- Bastille 

- Unclear- Kodaline 

-The One- Colton Avery 

Thank you for reading and good luck with your revision and exams!!!