It's strange to think a year ago today, I was preparing to go on the biggest adventure of my life with two of my favourite people. Looking back on it now it's so weird to think how stressed and upset I was getting over the thought of going away, whereas now I'd give anything to be getting on the plane tomorrow.
So much has changed a year on, I remember laughing at people when they said "travelling will change you", they weren't lying. No only did I change as a person but everything I thought I wanted changed to and if I'd know that stepping on that plane would effectively end my three year relationship and changed my whole "5 year plan", I'd still have gotten on that plane. I regret nothing.
One thing I wish I had been told is how addicted to travelling you get. Within 6 months of being home I'd booked my next trip away and I'm not mentally planning another trip just in case I don't get into PGCE, it's like a curse. I just can't stay at home for this long.
I have to say this is the best curse anyone could I have and I wouldn't change it for a minute. I do love being a home don't get me wrong and the fact I'm seeing Beyonce tomorrow instead of going on a plane is a pretty damn good substitute. It is the little things I miss, like not know what each day would bring, sitting outside in shorts for dinner and teeth cleaning time with this two lovely ladies.
Hopefully in another years time I will still have travelled and regretted nothing. Plus home isn't all bad, it's so nice to be around all my friends again, trying new things on my doorstep. Plus England is the only place you can get a decent cup of tea and who can life without that?!
Remember me saying I was going to treat myself to something...well this is what I brought. I technically only went in for the Primer but I'm such a sucker for bareMinerals that I could no especially when it was on offer....
I waiting till my birthday next week to hopefully finally get the Urban Decay Naked palette 3 but I wanted some other basic shades to cover me till then. It also comes with a blusher, illuminator and 2 lipsticks, all for the bargain of £19.50 (on sale in boots). Who can say no to that?!
I don't know what it is about Tuesday's but I always feel so sluggish and meh on them. I think it's because the fresh start that Monday brings has gone and you realise you still have 3 days left to go before the weekend.
If you feel like this....
Today, I'm going to attempt to turn my frown upside down and try to embrace this Tuesday. I've put on my Friday feeling playlist gone for a walk in the sun at lunch and later I may even buy myself a treat to make this day a bit better. I'm even going to try something new tonight, Yoga with my mum. In an attempt to get "goddess" like for Bali...this will never happen but a girl can try.
My happy song at the Moment - Move by Little Mix not even sorry
So yes, it may be Tuesday but you are on day closer to Friday and at least it's not Monday, so grab yourself a cuppa turn on your happy song, smile and enjoy.
After a long long week I had a weekend of exactly what I needed; fun and rest! I had a quite Friday night in complete with Cava,baking, nail painting and a good old chick flick. Saturday night was a slightly different. After a busy day of bonding with my Mum and Grandma in Devon, it was time for Em's birthday night out. We went to see one of our friend's band and we danced the night away. Despite not drinking (much) I feel terrible today and am sporting a sexy limp. If this is what 23 is like, I'm not excited.
Bring on the new week.
P.s. I have officially purchased a lot of Friday night's wishlist....I should not be left alone with a laptop.
It's come to the time of the month where I start planning how I'm going to spend my next pay slip. So here is a list of things I'm trying to justify to myself I NEED not just want.
I just love this, it has that hippy vibe I really like in an outfit. With a pair and jeans and a plain T, I think it will add a certain laid back attitude to any outfit..
I already have 3 necklaces from this website and I have to say I'm addicted. There are already another 2 online I need in my life. I may need to limit myself to one a month....
Yes, this is over priced and I do resent buying stuff from Jack Wills but i'm such a sucker for liberty print. I'm lucky enough that my mu kept 5 of her liberty scarves from when she worked there and I think this will be a nice addition to my collection...maybe next month.
Another necklace from Ever Ours, I did say I'm addicted. This necklace just reminds me of summer and will just give some of my spring outfits the pop of colour they need.
At £12.75 these are just a bargain and god they look comfy! After a winter of jeans, jeans, jeans I feel I need something different to wear on my bottom half and I think these trousers are just that.
7. Forever 21. Tapestry print shirt - £24.75 (on sale today for £19.90).
Ever since my faithful denim jacket died after 7 years of service I've been looking for something to replace it and I think I have found it. I love this shirt but it's a bit different from your basic denim shirt with the add print and may just be there thing I need for cooler nights in Bali. I think I may have talked myself into it....
Total: £87 (without the Jack Wills Top) £143.50 (with - maybe that one can wait a while)
I'm sold on 6 out of the 7 items....buy buy money. Can you tell what I'm doing with my Friday night?
It is my best friend's birthday, therefore I thought I dedicated a blog post to best friends and how much we need them in everyday life. Although, we might not be as glamorous as the ultimate BFF Blair and Serena they helped us bond over our love of Gossip Girl and showed us what a healthy friendship we have - I think we fallen out for the whole of 30 minutes over the course of our 7 year BBFship.
She is being a good sport and testing out being 23 for me to see what it is like, since I'm not ready to leave the world of 22 yet. Now it might sound cheesy but I genuinely don't know what I'd do without this girl. She has help me through some of my worst times and been with me to share some of my best. What I love most of all though is, if we spend the day slobbing around with a hot chicken, kettle crisps and Gossip Girl I know I will have an amazing day because she is there.
There are times when I worry we spent too much time together but we are yet to run out of stuff to talk about and are worryingly morphing more and more into an old marry couple everyday. We got big plans when we grow up, we will have a Pug and a Frenchie who will brunch with us a weekends and one day when we are old and grey we will live in an apartment with our Tortoises, Esio and Trot. What did I tell you for big plans! For now all we need is food, a milkshake by the sea, brunch on a Sunday and of course Beyonce! (our birthday present to each other this year!)
Well I could gush for ages about how awesome this girl is (one day I will write a post this this about a man) but for now this is girl is better then any man! Love you Em.
I have received some bad news this week that someone really close to be has the big C. Thinking to myself seriously?! how can this be happening? It was meant to get better in 2014. Well after an evening of a lot of crying and having a blotchy face, I seriously don't know how anyone is a pretty crier, I decided that now more than ever is the time to PIBE it.
It is time like this that PIBE come into it's full effect and I'm going to try and embrace all of life's good parts and do things I love. I'm trying my best not wallow on what could be. On Wednesday this meant forgetting what was happening and part-taking in full on ogling of hot men, in this case Zac Efron. I have a continuous text conversation with on of my friends who our top 5 men would be and I have to say Zac Efron is up there for me. Hello no.3. Once my full line up has been decided I will blog my full list.
The film itself "That Awkward Moment" was only so so, although there were some funny moments it did portray some of the characters to be the d***s we thought men were and did not make me love the characters until the last 20 minutes of the films. If we take the film as what I wanted it to be, a treat for my eyes. It did not disappoint, let's just say hello Zac's arms!
I think when life gets you down it's important to indulge in some guilty pleasure, for my ogling at famous people. I think I will bring out Crazy Stupid Love this weekend because who can say no to Ryan Gosling my no.1. If I add some wine into that evening then you've got the perfect evening in.
I believe this may be one of the best things I have recently discovered (since lounge eggs anyway). It combines two things which make me happy in this world, Pugs and Penguins. May I introduce to you the Puguin, a brilliant piece of Photoshop it might be but it have vastly improved this cold, slow and generally rubbish Monday.
As I'm sure most of you are aware today is Valentines day and this year I'm approaching this day with my more mixed emotions than usual. This is my first "single" Valentines day since I was 15, so this year is uncharted territory for me.
Don't get me wrong even when I was in a long-term relationship with S, my favourite valentines was when stayed in because I was ill and watched films. I'm not convinced by all the heart, hallmark cards or the over priced set menus. I've never been a fan of forced fun so why should force romance be any different? I did see this card which I saw in Urban Outfitter and loved it, it's the little things that make you smile!
This year I'm embracing the things I love: my bed, Maccy d's and a good film. This is what I have in store for myself on this disgusting Friday, and you know what I can't wait! One thing that has made me smile today is all the single motto's people have been posted on Twitter, I have included some of my favourite in this post, this one being a particular favourite:
I have this year discovered something worth celebrating this year - 1 billion rising for Justice. A charity which is trying to end violence against women by giving them a voice. On this day they are asking everyone to dance, even just for two minutes to create a chain to get women noticed, to make politicians realise we have a voice and this has to stop. Please have a look at their website http://www.onebillionrising.org/ or follow them on twitter https://twitter.com/VDay, just to see the amazing work the do and have a dance today not just because it's the weekend or because your having a kitchen boogie but because this is a worthwhile cause.
Definition: A very strong or irresistible impulse to travel.
This is a feeling a experience on a weekly sometimes a daily basis. When I left for Nepal just under a year a go, I thought I was making a huge mistake, Oh how wrong I was. I can honestly say those four months were the best decision I ever made and completely re-defined who I am and what I want, Unfortunately, one of the major side affects of travelling is that you never want to stop doing it - hence the wanderlust. I have now been in England solidly for 7 months and I'm itching to leave. There is so much I want to do and see and places I want to live, I don't know how I'll fit it in. Bali in 6 months seems like such a long way away, I think I may need to plan another trip just to make the time go faster....I'm thinking a like trip to New Zealand is in order soon.
Monday mornings are always one of those things I dread, like my summer cold or running out of tea bags when only a cuppa will fix everything. Well this Monday I'm taking a stand an listing ten things that are making me happy today, just to remind myself that Monday's aren't so bad after all. Now I'm not the biggest fan of the new Radio 1 breakfast presenter but he does have the right idea of having half of hour of happy tunes that he plays to cheer the nation up on a Monday morning. I urge you all to listen to happy music, mentally list ten things that make you happy or just sit there and smile with a cup of tea. Anything you can to make this Monday and happy one.
1) My morning cuppa - This little cup of basic joy gets me up and ready for the day of head. I've genuinely got to the stage where I don't think I could function without my 10 o'clock cup of tea.
2) Roll to Me by Del Amtri - For as long as I can remember this has been my happy song. I'm not sure if it is my favourite song but it does something magical to my mood whenever I listen to it. If I'm glum or in a funk I just put this song on and an instant smile come to my face. I don't know how you do it but thank you song.
3)Bali - I know I have blogged about this being my happy place before but the idea of it does get me through the working day. I know if I don't work I can't go and you have no idea how much more willing I am to file when there is sun, sea, sand and beer waiting me for in August. Hang on Bali we're a comin'.
4) Pugs - I don't know what it is about Pugs but I just love them. I have discussed this at length with my bestie and we have come to the conclusion that, we love them because they are so ugly that no one else will. I'm not ashamed to admit that I have a pug as my phone background for the pure reason that whenever I look at my phone I'm happy, whether I've got any texts or not.
5) Quiz night - My favourite thing about a Monday is definitely the evening quiz. Don't get my wrong the quiz itself is bloody hard and sometime not that enjoyable, but what I love is having a set date in my diary with some of my favourite people in one of my favourite places. Long live the quiz night!
I have to say thinking of ten genuine things that are making me happy today are proving harder than I thought, nevertheless I've managed to think of a few more...
6) Why Men Love Bitches - Don't be put off by the title, this book was recommended to me by my old university house-mate, she is in my opinion the queen of dating! Well she was certainly not wrong about this book, as long as you take some of it with a pinch of salt, this book has such a health and refreshing way of looking at yourself, telling us to be a dream girl not a doormat. This is a book I recommend for anyone who is single or in a new relationship or quite frankly if you just want a good laugh.
7) All to Well by Taylor Swift - Now I never considered myself to be a massive Taylor Swift fan and actually only went along to her gig to keep one of my best friends company in the spirit of PIBE it, but was surprised how much I loved it. Her music has been stuck in my head ever since I saw her and this one song in particular has really stuck with me. When this song came on during the concert to my surprised I found myself crying ,this song struck nerve and reminded me so much of my last break-up. However, the more I listen to it the more I found it empowering. So thank you Taylor, I found my new single song that says everything I've always want to say.
8) The Mindy Project - I've very excited because the first series of The Mindy Project should be arriving on my door step today. I know this show isn't for everyone but I watched it for the first time the other day and loved it. I felt like I was looking at myself in 8 years times, her outlook on like and opinions on thing such a weight and dating were so similar to mine. I look forward to my first evening in with Mindy tomorrow.
9) Teaching - This summer has given me time to think about what I really want to do and after going through and 25 "career plans" in my life I really think I've found one that suits me. If you had told me during my undergrad degree that I was applying to be a Religious Studies teacher, I would of laughed in your face. Though after spending three weeks in school and having immersing myself in the application process I can't wait to start (providing I get in). I have my first interview this week so I have my fingers crossed that a university will take me *cough* Exeter *cough* and we can finally get the ball rolling, to let my in hippy teacher out.
And the final one....
10) How far I've come - It literally surprises me every day how far I've come. They are not wrong about rock bottom the only way is up. I am so grateful that I now have a job I (quite) like, time to see my friends whenever I want, big plans to travel and see the world and someone new in my life. It is amazing how you only need six months to turn everything around. Sure, I do dwell on the past now and then but the more I do the more I think of it fondly and a steps who have made me who I am today. The girl trying to embrace that dreaded Monday morning feeling with a smile.
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