A Week In Ireland

If you saw my last post you'll know that I spent a week in Ireland with my lovely friend Jenny and her family. It was the most relaxing week I've had in a very long time, I didn't think it was possible for me to sleep in until 9am but I managed it nearly every day! We were in County Wexford, out in a little cottage in the country and also very close to the sea. All of our surroundings were beautiful and I even got to go out fishing on the open sea. I couldn't recommend Ireland more highly as a destination for a break and hopefully I'll be back soon to explore some of its cities!

Here are some photos from my trip : 

See you soon with a more interesting and much longer post!

xx

Ireland: What I'm Taking

When you read this, I'll be in Ireland!

There will be no Weekly Digest this week as I'm away but I'll do this and an 'Ireland Digest' when I get home. I'm away for 7 days, and as I'm travelling on my own I wanted to keep my luggage fairly light and compact. Saying that, the cabin baggage allowance was only 7kg in a very small case, and considering we'll probably be spending a lot of time outside but also in the city, restaurants etc, that definitely wasn't enough for me! I booked a 15kg checked bag and now I can use my 7kg cabin allowance to it's full capacity.

Here's what I'm taking in my cabin and checked luggage: 

A book, notebook, pen, purse, iPod, cosmetic bag with tablets and hairbrush etc, handcream, lipgloss, lip balm and of course, my passport and boarding pass.

And here's what's in the red cosmetic bag on the left:

Vaseline roll-on deoderant (no aerosols allowed!), Clinique face wash, cleanser and moisturiser, Umberto Giannini Overnight Beauty Hair Balm, Marc Jacobs Honey body lotion and body wash, John Freida Sheer Blonde Shampoo.

I've also got boring things like a razor, hairbrush, a toothbrush, some decanted conditioner (Touch of Silver Daily Conditioner) and a very old, half-full pot of Lush's Ultrabland cleanser.

And finally, this is what I'll be wearing on the day I fly: 

Velveteen trousers - American Apparel

Shirt - American Apparel

Jumper - Hearts & Bows @ Ark

Boots - Next

Hopefully this might have been helpful for any of you that are travelling soon! There will be plenty of photos of what I wore whilst I was there so you'll get to see what I packed in my suitcase when I get back!

Lots of love!

xx

Weekly Digest

This week was a very busy one, for good reasons and pretty boring ones. I was working a lot, and the university have started emailing me pretty much daily with a long list of things I need to get sorted before I start there in just two weeks. I also have mock tutorials for next year's freshers to organise, On top of that I've had very exciting trip to Ireland to arrange and pack for; I'm spending a week with my gorgeous friend Jenny and her family near Cork, where I will do lots of walking and hopefully take lots of photos. I do have some posts planned whilst I'm away so if Blogger can manage to schedule them properly there should be one on Sunday and on Thursday too.

On the subject of photos I've also been very lucky to inherit my parents old camera as they've recently upgraded. So hopefully the photos on this blog will significantly improve very soon! 

WHAT I WORE 

Sunday BBQ

Jumper - Refectory @ TK Maxx

Shirt - River Island

Date Night

Shirt, Jeans & Belt - American Apparel

On our date night we went to see As Above, So Below and I have to say I was a bit sceptical, but I can't resist a horror film. Overall, I enjoyed it, I like the fact it wasn't just set in a creaky family home with a basement; it definitely made me want to visit the Paris catacombs. I did feel that maybe they tried to do too much and you lost out on character and especially back story/context because of that. Not my favourite film of the year so far, but definitely worth a watch if you're looking for something a bit different to the run of the mill supernatural horror.

Lots of love, see you next week! 

xx

August Digest

August was a really exciting month for me, and now it's over I finally feel like I'm about to go back to uni again - especially after spending over an hour trying to navigate a new registration system and paying my tuition fees. Yes, that is my bank account you can hear crying.

Luckily for me, August is also the month I started my new job and this week saw the end of my volunteering placement, meaning I can start looking for something else to fill my time with and finally have a bit more of a structured routine. 

Unfortunately for this month's round up I've been so busy that I've barely taken any photos or even done anything particularly exciting but having a job has made me value my 'down time' a lot more than I did when I first started uni. So, instead of doing the usual categories for the month I'm going to do some recommendations and a few disappointments of things I've bought/seen/read this month! 

RECOMMENDATIONS

If you read my last post you'll know that I'm currently reading Vive la Revolution by Mark Steel; this is the second time I've read it and I couldn't recommend it highly enough for anyone who's interesting in the French Revolution but doesn't want a thousand pages of dates and the name of every man and woman who was a little bit annoyed in 1789. 

This week was also the week all of my make up collectively ran out, which was painful for my bank balance but quite a welcome opportunity to change (see next section). I was looking for a new foundation but then I saw the Rimmel Match Perfect foundation was on sale, along with the primer, so I decided I'd go back to my old favourite - although I have a sneaking suspicion I've picked up a different shade this time around. I also picked up the Collection Pressed Powder in Transparent to dust over the top and for £1.99 I couldn't be happier with the result.

This isn't really a recommendation but I am also loving that it's getting a little bit colder - layering has returned to my wardrobe of many many jumpers and it's made me very happy indeed.

DISAPPOINTMENTS

Considering I was so excited to try it out, the Maybelline Dream BB Cream has really let me down. Not only is Light way too pale for me, even though Medium was far too dark, but also the coverage was really bad. I know, I know it's a BB Cream but it just didn't do anything for my skin at all. I got a tiny sample of the Rimmel BB Matte Cream in a goody bag from Very.com last week so I'll try that out as soon as possible and get back to you. 

Another very sad disappointment  this month was Doctor Who...sorry Peter. I wanted to love it, I really really wanted to, but after seeing this week's episode along with last week's, I'm just not feeling it. It might be because I don't like Jenna Coleman as the assistant, it might be because the story lines aren't very exciting, it might be because it feels a bit repetitive, it might just be because I'm incredibly picky when it comes to TV. Whatever it is, I'm not enjoying it.

That's my round up of this month! Next month's should be much more interesting as I've got lots of stuff going on in September, including a little trip away and starting uni again! 

Lots of love! 

xx

When I'm having a 'grumpy' day

These last two months since coming home from university have been pretty mixed overall. Despite the fact I was really looking forward to coming home and leaving some things/people behind, I've found being home and being confronted with decisions about my future to be really challenging (there will be a more in-depth post on this soon). As a result I've found myself feeling a bit like I'd rather sleep than have to get up and do anything. I've just started a new job and whilst I'm still getting to grips with everything and making many mistakes along the way I'm also having a day every so often where I feel like it would have have been easier for everyone if I'd just stayed at home and I just want to lay, face down on my bed and not get up for a very long time.

Unfortunately, these days are rarely at a convenient time. At the moment I don't really have any days off, which means that if I want down time I need to condense it down into a couple of hours into the morning or evening. So here's a few things I've found really help when I'm in a bad mood and I need to get out of it and be a normal human being.

Have a cup of tea and watch some TV

It may seem like a cliché but I really do feel better sat in bed with a hot drink in hand and some mindless TV on. This time last week I felt like everything was getting on top of me and all it took to was an hour of Great British Bake Off and a cup of tea to make me feel better.

Have a good meal

My first instinct when I have a bad day is usually to treat myself to something filled with sugar. I know this isn't any good for me though, especially if I want to keep going for the rest of the day without having a blood sugar related crash later on. A good round meal not only gives me more energy, it also means I won't crave bad stuff for the rest of the day.

Read a book

Nothing helps me forget what was bothering me faster than reading about something else. It gives my mind a well-needed rest from thinking about me and lets me block everything out for a while. At the moment I'm ready Mark Steel's Vive la Revolution which has the added bonus of reminding me why I love history and helping me feel a little more confident in my decision to study it.

Have a bath

I don't always have time to do this on a morning, but when I do I find that it really prepares me for the day, like getting ready from scratch. Having a bath also makes me feel more awake and cures any aches and pains I might have when I wake up and I've slept weirdly. Sleeping so deeply is great but I can mean that I've spent 8 hours in a very uncomfortable position, which my neck and shoulders don't appreciate come the morning.

Put away the phone

The number of articles on the internet telling us to put away our phones and look around us/talk to people, is insane. Quite honestly I think I'm pretty good with my phone, I recognise it has its uses but I also really like real-life people. Putting my phone out of sight isn't about being able to pay attention to anything else, it's about not being disturbed when I'm by myself and I just want some space. It's about just focusing on relaxing myself and not dealing with anyone else for a hour or so.

I hope you enjoyed this list and found it useful, we all have bad days and I've found the best way to deal with them is to embrace them to give some time to yourself rather than stress yourself out trying to be perpetually positive.

xx