This has been the month of baking. The first bake was a carrot loaf cake with cream cheese frosting which ended up being under baked. Then I started creating hand embroidery designs for my art work which I think are just the most adorable things ever.
If you read my last post you'll know that I've been loving 'space buns'. I tried wearing them to college this month and just fell in love with how funky I felt and how easy they were to create. Definitely one of my fave hairstyles.
Autumn kicked in too with my autumnal bedding, hot cross buns, gingerbread hot chocolates, and crackling WoodWick candles.
I produced one of my best art works this month which I'm really happy with. It's a tonal shading of a
hand which took about 5/6 hours.
Around this time I also did another bake of chocolate orange marble loaf cake which went down well.
On 24th, my boyfriend and I took a trip to the local Rose Gardens. We had a delicious hot lunch with drinks and a halloween themed hunt in the gardens. We then took about two hours to explore the hidden parts of the estate and it was so, so exciting - I had an amazing day.
I practised doing a decorated drip cake in preparation from my christmas cake, the drips didn't go as perfect as I wanted, but I definitely learned for my final cake. With this I went for a carnival theme with pastel colours (which are a bit more vibrant in this picture).
I did some nail art on my friend's nails. After not doing nail art in so long, it was nice to re-visit it. We kind of decided on a subtle hint of halloween 'drip' nails with a gorgeous rich pink colour from Essie: 'Big spender'.
My last bake of the month was Cherry Bakewell Tartlets which are a family favourite in my house. They were gone after two days - and I even made a batch of TWELVE. As well as them, I used the left over pastry for some cute little jam tarts, which also lasted just as long as the Bakewell tarts.
Overall, I had quite a good month and I'm excited to get more baking done next week.
What have you been doing this month?
So now, after a year at college, I can share my advice on how to prepare for 1st year for any 16-year-olds heading up to the next level of education.
EQUIPMENT PREP:
Notebooks: You will probably need a notebook for every subject. Therefore, if you're doing 4 subjects, you'll need 4 notebooks. Personally, I took art as one of my subjects, so I only needed 3 notebooks as there wasn't much to write down for art.
At my college, they prefer A4 lined paper with a left margin. This paper makes things look neater and easier to mark.
Pens, pencils, ruler and other basic equipment and suitably in a pencil case. You don't need a pencil case, but they do help collect all your stationary together. Also, for exams, you can take a clear pencil case.
Folders: Again, you could need one of these for each subject. However, I wouldn't advise that you buy one of these before college. It's more sensible to keep your notes all together in their own notebooks and, as you get used to your subjects a few weeks in, re-evaluate whether you think you'll need a folder. For example, I didn't need a folder for Media Studies because we weren't given many handouts, and all notes could be made in my notebook. However, for Literature, I studied many different texts which meant my notes needed sectioning. Lastly, I got a lot of handouts for Language which needed to be collected and sectioned into a folder. This is a great way save oneself from unnecessary spends.
Bag: You will need a bag! And it will need to be a decent sized bag. I recommend a bag that will fit A4 paper in, as well as lunch and other stuff. I have a little bag inside my bag which includes a bunch of emergency 'lady goods'; from lipstick, hand cream, sanitary towels, painkillers and moisturiser. These things definitely don't come in wrong and it's handy to keep them all in a little bag/purse.
CLOTHES PREP:
I'd recommend that you look at your wardrobe and collect together a handful of staple pieces that are suitable, quick, and easy for college. For me, it was dungarees, a few pairs of shoes, jeans and casual tops, a few dresses and skirts. These items could be matched together in all different ways to form all different types of outfits.
Don't go overboard. You don't need to go out and buy tonnes of fancy clothes because, once everyone is stressing about their work, nobody actually takes notice of what you're wearing. You probably need a minimum of 7 outfits. But, it's all entirely up to you - if you want to splash out, then go ahead!
In my college hair dye, nail varnish, makeup, earrings and mobile phones are all allowed to some extent however, make sure you check on this. In the first few days of college you'll either be told or just pick up from the people around you whether these things are allowed. My advice would be to ask others and be prepared to be told what is and isn't allowed.
MENTAL/SOCIAL PREP:
Anyone like me who struggles going into new situations and places with strangers, will inevitably be apprehensive about starting 6th form. If you can mentally prepare yourself appropriately, you can make this easier.
Firstly, use all the above prep to make your life more organised and simple; this way, you won't have to worry about your equipment or appearance. Once you've done that, recognise that you'll be meeting new people and undertaking 'ice breakers' and team building exercises.
Luckily for myself, I went to college with a lot of others from my secondary school, but not everyone does. In both cases, you should prepare for making friends. For example, write down 5 things that you know about yourself. Perhaps: 'I have a cat called April', or 'The last holiday I had was Iceland'. Setting these things out helps you prepare for new conversations with new people.
And of course, you have to remember that everyone is in the same position as you. You may believe that you will be the most nervous, or struggling the most; in that case, take things slowly, listen to others and be yourself.
If you're struggling at college: TALK! There is staff there, parents/carers at home, and friends around you. Everyone is allowed to make mistakes and everyone is allowed to not know everything.
As with friends, be prepared to make and lose. My advice is to stay with positive people who make you feel secure and happy. Whether that's your current friends, or a fresh new set - let yourself flow into the right friendship group. And you can achieve this by ultimately being yourself.
Lastly, be patient. I struggled a lot in my first months of college. I didn't like the difficulty of the work, the fast pace, and sheer responsibility. But, I persevered and used a lot of patience. Eventually, after Christmas, I was fortunate enough to make a fantastic group of friends, feel more confident working around college, and easier to hold responsibility.
I'm definitely not saying that college is easier, a joy, or my favourite place - it just seems more bearable with a clear mind of feeling settled and comfy due to patience and perseverance.
I wish I was given this information when I was starting college, because it would've definitely helped me.
Let me know how you feel about college in
the comments
Guess who's back?
Random favourites are back this month! Whoop! Whoop!
I've been really enjoying watching the IT Crowd. It's something I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy but it's actually hilarious. I've decided to really pace myself, so I'm currently only just starting the third and final series. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone looking for an easy-to-watch comedy this summer.
I've been constantly wearing my Penhaligon's Elizabethan Rose perfume since Christmas and I adore it. I get plenty of compliments when I wear it and it can most definitely stay on my clothes all day. I am a sucker for a rose scent and this one is almost like wearing rose water. I'm in love with it.
My nail varnish love this month is the Rimmel 60seconds Super Shine in the colour Rose Libertine (is there a bit of a rose theme going on here?). This is a dusty coral/pink shade which I've been loving as a subtle colour just to add soft details to my hand.
In June, I was mostly using the Makeup Revolution E102 Angled Shadow brush to blend out eyeshadow pretty much all the time. It's super soft with a great handle for grip. The angled style makes blending from the crease of your eye so easy and fluent. I'd love to try out more Makeup Revolution brushes eventually.
After trying out a couple of Matte Lip Creams, I've come to decide that my favourite is the NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in the shade Stockholm. Matte and Me don't really like each other, my lips exist as dry 24/7 and Matte Lip creams desire to gather and stick to my lips. However, I seemed to find a suitable way of making this one work. I apply a thin layer of creme then cover my open lips with a split tissue and dust over a translucent powder, this does the trick and I can successfully wear the lipstick. The shade of this is also a shade that I don't already have: an orange-y nude.
I rekindled a fancy for Nutella in June and discovered that I quite like raspberries (I know, it's taken me this long).
The app 'Swing' has got me hooked recently too. It's an app made by Ketchapp who make the most amazingly simplisticly designed yet challenging games. I have the urge to just buy every one of their apps. At the moment, 'Swing' seems to be my thing; it really makes you think and there's the opportunity to collect 50 different characters.
In June, I started up my first Depop shop. I am selling clothes that I no longer want and offering personalised greeting cards. Head on over to my page and take a look at all of the cheap items that I'm selling. So far, I'm really enjoying Depop, feel free to follow me. If you follow me from here, let me know and I'll follow back.
June was a good month in general. I finished my first year of college and exams, I discovered new recipes and enjoyed multiple days out with my friends and family.
So, that's what June brought.
What did you enjoy in June?
In May, I visited Mog On The Tyne for the second time. Mog On The Tyne is a cat cafe located in Newcastle. The first time I went was in October; the cats were pretty much just leaving kittenhood then and were super adorable. Upon my revisit, I realised that the fresh, hyper kittenness may have disappeared and they might have turned into the true nature of sulky, sleepy cats. Much to my fortune, the cats had grown bigger and fluffier but still maintained that mischievous junior behaviour.
On my first visit, I didn't have the chance to try out the food in the cafe. This time, my boyfriend and I shared a chorizo and chicken panini. The food was delicious and well put together. The staff are wonderful. They come around tables to give you a handful of treats to give the cats. Also, a lovely lady brought a cat over to snuggle up between my boyfriend and I. The team at the cafe are so kind and really succeed in making the atmosphere as tranquil and friendly as possible.
The entry for the cafe is £5 for a one-hour session, quite the price, but I definitely think that there is a sense of novelty and it is definitely the kind of experience that you'll always remember.
Have you ever visited a Cat Cafe?
★★★★★
5/5 STARS
This year's birthday present came in the shape of LUSH's fairly new product: Daddy-O Shampoo. This shampoo claims to be special for blondes and grey haired specimens, and, after having my hair transformed from fair brown to pending blonde in September '15, I decided it was only righteous to give this a go.
I've been using this product regularly since the middle of March. Two months later and I've swallowed (not literally, please don't drink shampoo) just over half the bottle of my 250g serving and recently re-purchased the 500g bottle for when I run out.
So, it's already fair to say that I am thoroughly enjoying this product. When I sat down to review this product, I decided to weigh up the Pros and Cons - here's how that went:
PROS
- The metalic purple colour of this shampoo makes me want to rub it between my fingers for the entire shower. It's stays purple for long time unlike other deep coloured shampoos that quickly turn into white suds. So if you're buying this, be prepared for purple suds all around your head (and probably shower).
- Clean hair! Everyone wants a shampoo to do the obvious job of washing your hair. Luckily, this shampoo leaves my hair fresh, clean, and happy.
- The smell is divine. I have experienced multiple occasions where others have complimented me on the smell of my hair, even when I just walk past. It's a zingy parma violet smell due to the ingredients of lemons and violets leaf. My boyfriend says "It's the nicest thing I've smelt from LUSH".
- There is a perfect consistency. The shampoo isn't too thick and it also does just run away onto the floor of the shower. The time it takes to later up is just fine, no waiting around necessary.
- You also don't need to use too much of it for it to wash your hair. As I said previously, I've been using this shampoo for two months and it is about 1/4 of the way full.
- Lush remain animal cruelty free, vegan, and recyclable with their products which is always a pro.
CONS
- I started using this shampoo just after I had my hair re-bleached and I have to admit that my hair colour still deteriorated the way it would if I had used any other shampoo. Perhaps this shampoo would have a better effect on more white blondes and grey colours.
- It has a pretty hefty price tag. I personally believe it is worth the price and the 500g bottle for £18 is good value when the 250g is £11. Some people may not be prepared to branch out that much for a shampoo.
- One of the main ingredients is lemon. I'm sure lemon is supposed to have rather drying qualities on your hair/scalp and, after bleaching my hair, that's not something I want to happen. As someone who suffers with dry skin, I have previously been warned against citrus products by a Lush worker. I guess I just have to trust Lush with this one - there isn't any visible affects yet.
- Finally, my eternal turn-off with some Lush products is the parabens. The nasty little parabens creep too often in their products. They've reformulated some products which I see as wonderful but I'd love to know if they're planning a bigger future of paraben-free Lush products. However, right now, this shampoo is on my head for a few minutes and gets washed away down the plug hole, so I'm sure there's nothing to worry about.
I would recommend this shampoo to anyone. If you don't buy it, at least pop
into store and give it a good ol' sniff.
Harpa
Scenery in Grindavik
Þingvellir - Tectonic Plates Boundary
Gullfoss Waterfall
The Sun Voyager
Kerið - Volcanic Crater
Skogafoss Waterfall
Visiting Geysir
I'm still slightly in awe over the fact that I was lucky enough to visit Iceland. It was such a surreal and excellent experience - I will definitely be going back in the future.
What I did:
- We arrived pretty early so, after checking in at your apartment (Reykjavik4You Apartments - an excellent place to stay), we explored the streets of downtown Reykjavik.
- On the evening, we went to Apotek restaurant as part of the Food & Fun festival - this 6-course meal was absolutely delicious.
- The next day we visited the 'Farmer's Market' in Harpa to enjoy the celebrations of the Food & Fun Festival. We walked along the bay then hopped in the car and headed for The Blue Lagoon.
- Next, we woke up early and embarked on a 9hour self-drive journey around The Golden Circle and other locations. Upon this, we saw the tectonic plates boundary, Geysir, Gullfoss, Kerith Volcanic Crater, Skogafoss and captured a view of the infamous volcano: Eyjafjallajökull.
- Our last day was pretty chilled, we gobbled a delicious lunch in a Bistro in town then strolled the streets. I got a delicious slice of chocolate cake in a popular cafe: The Laundromat.
- Flying home. Definitely didn't say goodbye for the last time.
I would mostly recommend the Geysirs, the Waterfalls and downtown Reykjavik. Also, hiring a car is an excellent idea as locations are usually quite far apart and you get the freedom of going wherever you, whenever you want.
The people are also very pleasant and the country is very tourist friendly; most of the residents speaking extremely well English.
What would you make of an Icelandic getaway?
HAPPY NEW YEAR
I find that it's really special to look back and pin-point everything good that happened to you in the past year. It's no doubt that 2015 was the toughest and most life changing year so far but, beside the bad things, there was some amazing experiences that I shall remember.
JANUARY - My friends and I took a two night trip away to Edinburgh. It was so much fun. Blog Post
FEBRUARY - I bought my prom dress and bought the shoes to go with it, both in one day. I began a series on my blog called Catchup Sessions. We got our whole year end-of-school pictures and we were all allowed to take pictures with each other afterwards - at that point reality kicked in that we were leaving after a long 5 years.
MARCH - Birthday month - yey! Went to see McBusted for the 2nd time and met them which was surreal. Got the train to Manchester with my friends to meet David Leviathan at Waterstones.
APRIL - Finished all of my Textiles coursework which was an achievement because it was such a big weight off my shoulders.
MAY - Exams began. I began to add finishing touches to all of my art coursework. I found a fondness for the beach. Added three baby fish to the garden pond. After many years, I was told I was allowed to get a kitten.
JUNE - I met the most adorable kitten in the world and we bought her. I finished exams then the kitten came home with us: April joined the family. My friends and I made our leavers shirts. I graduated from school and our last day was celebrated by a balloon release. We then enjoyed a great, hot night at Prom.
JULY - My longest summer holidays were in full throttle including parties, food and fun.
AUGUST - The summer continued and time whizzed past. Got my exam results and was pleased. Took a trip down to London.
SEPTEMBER - I started college. Finally dyed my hair blonde.
OCTOBER - Went to see Rhodes in Manchester and met him - such an amazing highlight. Got my braces off which was such a relief.
NOVEMBER - Went back to school for an Achievements Assembly and was over the moon when I won the English Literature award.
DECEMBER - I had a wonderful Christmas with all of the family.
I've also collected a short series of goals to document and evaluate at the end of 2016:
1. Learn to drive
2. Get a Car
3. Get a (volunteering) job
4. Go to Iceland
5. Visit Scotland
6. Overcome one fear
7. Go to a concert
8. Read minimum 12 books
9. Use a planner and stick with it
10. Use my 'One Line A Day' Book every day
11. Reach 480 blog followers
12. Host a blog giveaway
13. Go on a walk every month
14. Get rid of clothes that I don't wear
15. Post at least 30 blog posts
2. Get a Car
3. Get a (volunteering) job
4. Go to Iceland
5. Visit Scotland
6. Overcome one fear
7. Go to a concert
8. Read minimum 12 books
9. Use a planner and stick with it
10. Use my 'One Line A Day' Book every day
11. Reach 480 blog followers
12. Host a blog giveaway
13. Go on a walk every month
14. Get rid of clothes that I don't wear
15. Post at least 30 blog posts
What were your best experiences from 2015?
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