Earlier in the Easter holidays I spent some time staying with family in the UK and of course took the chance to do some shopping. Although it's quite different now as I'm living the UK most of the time so I don't need to take advantage of English shops in the same way, I live in a really small city where clothes shops are limited to a Topshop, a New Look and a recently opened H&M - oh how I long for Primark! So it will come as no surprise that most of this mini haul came from the Mothership (aka Primark) where I spent a grand total of £12.

Shorts, £6 from Matalan / Top, £2 from Primark (sale item)

This top is actually a size 18 can you believe it... Or at least that's what it says on the label (I have been a victim of Primark's mislabelling before) and there was only one on the sale rack so I had nothing to compare it to. But it really doesn't matter because it fits nice and loosely and in my opinion it's just such a staple piece for anyone's wardrobe. I picked up the shorts in Matalan as I really liked the pattern - I just hope these will fit as I haven't actually tried them yet!

Bag, £4 (sale item) and Shoes, £6 (sale item) from Primark

I'm always on the lookout for another little black bag and this one is a great size and shape. The clasp looks like it could break easily so I'll have to be careful with that, but otherwise this was an excellent find, in terms of price if nothing else! I'm mildly obsessed with these shoes for two reasons: first I have always wanted a pair of T-bar heels and I think they look SO elegant, and secondly they are instrumental in an Outfit Plan for my college summer ball - I'm planning to buy a 50s rockabilly dress off Amazon and do my hair all vintage and I'm hoping these will complete the look. I know they're not 50s per se, but for me they have something very vintage about them which is exactly what I need.

Faux leather jacket, £29.99 from New Look

x

Another term has come to an end and a couple of weeks ago I had planned to sit down and write a long and rambling post about my experiences over the course of another term at university. But I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that last week my world was rocked by events that have shaken the whole of Europe too - namely the Brussels terror attacks on Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station. All thoughts of light-hearted stories about my second term at uni went completely out of my head as I spent the following couple of days glued to the news and social media, trying to process the events and feeling a stab of relief every time one of my friends were marked safe on Facebook. Although I'm back home now I was actually staying with family in the UK at the time so I was well out of the way, but my dad was at work that morning - and the building where he works is only about a hundred metres from Maelbeek metro. Luckily he was completely fine, but my brain has taken me on many a hypothetical horror story over the last week or so by imagining what could have happened had he decided to take the metro that morning.

So all in all it's been a strange week. On the one hand I followed the news stories like a detective, trying to pick up on any new detail to piece together a picture of the wider events; and on the other I've been seeing a massive outpouring of messages of solidarity and support from people around the world, and of strength and resistance from the Belgian people. And the whole thing was put into a strange sort of perspective by my being so far away from it all, yet so closely connected. These kinds of events shouldn't really have a silver lining, but if they did then for me it definitely has to be sense of coming together I've seen on social media. Belgium is a divided country in all senses - geographically, linguistically, politically - and is host to a wide range of nationalities, so it's wonderful to see so much love and friendship between strangers at places like Place de la Bourse.

But life does go on, and in my opinion the key is to not let fear take over, to not let something as terrible as this stop me living. I plan to meet up with friends this week in Brussels, which for me is a show of resistance to terror, however small and insignificant. As the hashtag goes, we are #memepaspeur.

On to my original plan for this post. This term at uni has been hard, there's no getting around it. Suddenly all my assignments counted towards my mark for the year and while I know first year doesn't count towards my degree, as someone who has a tendency to overachieve academically and is also a perfectionist to boot it meant a considerable amount of stress. On top of all that I got really quite ill in the middle of February, just before my consecutive weeks of deadlines started to hit. After a weekend of feeling horribly ill and like I was about to faint every time I got out of bed, I finally caved and got myself to a doctor which was no small feat as it involved booking an appointment, a taxi and navigating the NHS system. I hate talking on the phone and taking taxis alone, and I've never been to the doctor by myself and don't really understand the NHS, so on the whole it was kind of a challenge. But I managed it successfully, bar a minor somewhat delirious argument with the receptionist who refused to change my surname on their records to my actual name, despite not having used the one on their records since I lived in the UK 15 years ago - but anyway. I was prescribed antibiotics for a chest infection and began to feel slightly better over the next couple of days until I ended up with weird chest pains, at which point I made another appointment, booked another taxi and saw a lovely lovely doctor who was so so so nice and decided I ought to have a bunch of tests just in case the pains turned out to be something serious. So I got into another taxi and went to the hospital, where I had a blood test, ECG and a x-ray, among other checkup-type things - all in all an unexpected turn to the morning! Luckily nothing was wrong - although they did diagnose me with anaemia from the blood test which is always good to know - so I could go home. It took another week before I felt completely back to normal, during which I panicked mildly about impending deadlines until I managed to get them all extended by a few days, thank god. The rest of term was spent buried in books and cramming in reading for essays, which needless to say was not fun but my perfectionist tendencies wouldn't let me get away with anything less, ugh.

But in spite of all that there were some good points to the term. It was my birthday in February, which was a really lovely day as I had no lectures and spent the evening having a meal out with some friends, who also gave me some fabulous presents including a beautiful scrapbook from Paperchase (stationery is my weakness), a fab mug and a gorgeous mirror for my room. I also had some presents Amazoned to me by family: among other bits and pieces, I am now in possession of Urbanears headphones, the Naked 2 palette, a book on cartography, Twin Peaks DVDs (which I have yet to watch) and a new Pandora bead! All in all it was a tip-top birthday. Other good memories from this term are a bunch of college events, including two formal dinners, a St Patrick's Day ceilidh, a fashion show in aid of a mental health charity, and some lovely gestures by the college welfare team to brighten people's day like handing out free flowers and care packages. I also made new friends and became a lot closer with existing ones. Some less important notable things are my insta feed being on point for the second half of term, printing a load of photos to decorate my room with so it looks fab, and the return of warm(ish) weather. Oh and I nearly forgot, we rented a house for next year! We finally signed for it in the first couple of weeks of term after what felt like months of deliberation, and it is gorgeous! Even though it's kind of far away from lectures, I'm honestly so excited to live there next year and make it beautiful. It will come as no surprise to anyone that I have already started planning how to decorate my room and bought a new duvet cover to match.

I think I've brought you more or less up to speed - so now I have five weeks of holiday in total and about three and a half left to spend at home. Although I'm probably going to spend most of it finishing off a research project writeup and trying not to cry over impending exams, I also have some blog post ideas lined up that I'll do my best to actually write and publish. I always feel most motivated for blogging when I'm at home with lots of schoolwork to do, which is slightly annoying but I'm determined to take advantage of it.

So bye for now and hopefully see you soon!

x

Last Wednesday I took advantage of a brief lull in essay deadlines and general uni commitments to male the trip to Newcastle for an afternoon of shopping with a couple of friends. After two fieldtrips with my course since the beginning of the year it was nice to actually be able to explore the city a bit more without needing to complete any tasks or feeling guilty for stopping off in Starbucks. Although I was prepared to spend a decent amount of money (a pre-birthday treat to myself, if you will) we made the rookie mistake of going in Primark first (which has four floors!), after which everything else seemed too pricey and not worth the money.

I'm not exactly in need of clothes (I'm sure I could easily get through the rest of this term without needing to do any washing), but it seems I'm incapable of going into Primark without coming out with an armful of stuff - here's what I got:

Top, £4

I have about 5 tops like these from Primark already and I usually pick one up whenever I'm there. They're just so useful for tucking into skirts or wearing with jeans or anything else really.

T-shirt, £5

This top actually looks much nicer in real life, the border around the words is gold and it feels super soft.

Fancyish top, £8

It doesn't show up too well but this is a really nice shade of forest green. It's made of quite thick material so in my book this is a Fancy Top, which I'm thinking will create a smartish outfit when paired with jeans and a blazer. 

Top, £7

This is actually quite similar to the black one but it's much longer and has a kind of slit up the side. I wore this over black leggings the other day and it was a really nice simple casual outfit.

Pleated skirt, £8

I love this skirt a lot, I'm actually wearing it right now! It's unlined and definitely not the best quality but I can already tell it's going to be a useful little addition to my wardrobe.

Flip-flops, 90p / Necklace, £1.50 / Tights, £2.50

In a somewhat tragic incident the day before the trip my flipflops that I wear walking to and from the shower broke, so I picked up a really boring pair for 90p - they're suprisingly comfy though! The necklace is really lovely, it's rose gold and matches my watch which is always pleasing. I also picked up some relatively unexciting tights.

Shoes, £16

I very nearly didn't get these shoes but I'm glad I did because they're gorgeous. I'm sure it's all an illusion but they seem like really good quality and they're comfortable too (although I've yet to wear them properly). I'm thinking they'll be useful for those situations when you feel you ought to wear heels because the occasion calls for it, but you have to walk a bit and don't want to destroy your feet. Also I will probably just wear them on a daily basis.

And that's everything I got! I have another couple of potential hauls coming up but I feel like that's all I ever post on here so I might leave it a while ahaha.

x

Since we're now getting stuck into 2016, I thought it was about time for another 'instafaves' in which I share my current favourite instagram accounts with you. The first post I did like this was way back in March last year, and while I still follow all the people I featured then I thought it was only fair to switch it up and include a range of different accounts this time around.

I've also had to try a different method with the screenshots since the instagram website was obviously updated a while back - I hope it looks okay!

Elizabeth // @elizabethseal  

Elizabeth is someone I've known and followed for a pretty long time both through Stardoll (where she used to inspire me with her amazing interior decor ideas) and then her beautiful blog. Her instagram feed is the cutest thing ever, full of little romantic pink details, nature pics and photos of her adorable baby, Oscar.

Louisa // @louisagrogers

Louisa's feed is bright, bold and sometimes completely bizarre - something interesting and eye-catching of hers is always popping up on my follow feed! It's a weird and wonderful mixture of vibrant high-contrast shots of high fashion, abstract photography and vintage goods.

Renee // @reneenicole

I've been following Renee on tumblr for a while now and recently came across her photography instagram account. The most recent section (shown here) is pink and cutesy, but there are slightly creepy vibes that get a lot more evident the further down you scroll, where you'll find photos of graveyards and abandoned places. In a nutshell, she is basically what would happen if Melanie Martinez and Nicole Dollanganger had a daughter! 

Sonja // @vainjala

Another long time tumblr follow is Sonja. In my opinion her feed is breathtaking: it's almost colourless but full of stunning grainy shots of nature, buildings and her beautiful face. Her aesthetic game is unbelievably strong!

Lua P // @luanna90

Lua is a recent follow but someone who I now realise I've been using photos of in my Polyvore sets for years. In a way her feed is the typically fashion blogger mix of selfies, outfit photos, beauty and details but for me her photos just have a special quality to them, I can't really explain it - it probably has something to do with her gorgeous red hair and impeccable makeup.

Who have you been loving lately on instagram?

x

I think H&M may as well just hire me to promote them because I seem to be doing a pretty good job of it lately! The January sales have started now but for some reason I decided to go shopping on the 30th of December, which actually turned out to be a good idea because it wasn't too busy and some things were already on sale. I only went to H&M in the end because I didn't have that much time and by the time I'd spent over an hour in there I decided I'd spent quite enough for one morning!

Aztec dress, €14.95

This dress is ridiculously flattering, it was one of those things where I tried it on and instantly felt like a model! It's quite trying on the eyes but the orangey tones complement my hair so well and the shape is a perfect skater style. The fabric is also really nice, it's quite thick so this is definitely a winter/spring dress rather than summer.

Flawless T-shirt, €5 (sale)

I remember trying this on ages ago when it wasn't on sale and really liking it, but for some reason I didn't buy it so when I saw it was on sale I just had to get it. Again the colours suit me really well and they go with a lot of my other wintery clothes. 

Printed top, €9.95

This top is made of the softest material ever, it's so comfy and loose and stretchy! So far I've worn it tucked into my denim button-down skirt and I think it worked pretty well.

Black turtleneck, €9.99

I don't know quite what I was thinking when I bought this because I've always kind of hated the feeling of turtlenecks, but it looked really quite fab on me so I decided to get it anyway. I felt super chic and Parisian wearing it!

Spangly dress, €9.99

I still can't get over the price of this dress, it's amazing! The dress itself is quite simple in shape but I think I could end up wearing it on a multitude of occasions, including formal dinners which I'm rapidly running out of things to wear for.

Spangly top, €3

Another bargain, although I'm not quite sure where I'll wear this. But who doesn't need a glittery gold top in their life?

Suede skirt, €19.99

This skirt is a beautiful colour and quite a lot lighter than it looks in the photo. I really have far too many skirts but admittedly none in this particular shape or colour, so it will make a valuable addition to my collection.

Layered necklace (left), €3

Choker, €1 (sale)

Charm necklace, €3

As I was on my way to the till I spotted the jewellery sale and ended up bagging some utter bargains! I really loved how layered necklaces look but they always seem so expensive so I thought this one was excellent for the price, and I also really like the choker on a velvet (!!) ribbon. The charm bracelet is adorable because you can mix and match the charms to create nice combinations, which is an idea I am a fan of.

And that's everything I got!

Happy New Year! As usual I'm struggling to get my head around the fact that a whole new year has just begun and is stretching out in from of me, but I'm really hoping 2016 will be a fabulous year full of new experiences and just generally good vibes. All in all 2015 was a really big one for me - I passed the EB, graduated from school and started university abroad, which so far has been amazing in itself but it's been challenging to adapt to new things after 12 years of being at the same school and seeing the same group of people every day. It was also a great year for a lot of personal stuff, like figuring out my tastes and interests and actually pursuing them.

Anyway, rather than writing a bunch of New Year's resolutions I thought I'd just jot down a few things I'd like to do/accomplish over this coming year, from really simple little things to the bigger goals.

x

Earlier today I found myself idly scrolling through various clothing websites including New Look, Topshop, Forever 21 and finally H&M, where I found a lot of really nice and reasonably priced partywear. I've said it before and I'll say it again, H&M is so underrated - I always find amazing stuff there when I go, so I'm hoping to pick up some amazing bargains when I go in the January sales!

I love this sosososo much oh my goodness. I've been to a lot of formal college dinners this term and I never know quite what to wear over a dress when an actual coat would be too much and a blazer doesn't fit the style of my dress - this would be just the thing. Of course black would be a more practical colour, but I really like this shade of purple, it's gorgeous.

Admittedly this is quite pricey but I'm sure you could find something similar that isn't in suede. I don't know how practical it would be but I love the shape and the metallic studs and rope.

I spotted this and had a mild epiphany when I realised that a long blazer is precisely what my wardrobe is lacking. It would be ideal for making really boring outfits slightly more dressy, and just generally to get that effortlessly casual vibe down.

Would you just look at this dress, I mean what's not to love? It's full-on spangly so personally I'd probably only wear this for truly fancy events, but it's such a striking piece that is just crying out to be accessorised.

Sometimes you just need a really simple but fancy black top to wear with more exciting bottoms (such as the gold skirt). Plus this is so versatile, I would definitely wear this over shorts on the beach in summer!

Having recently purchased my first pair of non-black heels, I am feeling adventurous and I will totally buy these if I can find them in my size! I think metallic is definitely the way to go for parties, especially as it can bling up a more conservative outfit.

Merry Christmas Eve everybody! So far my day has consisted of finishing off some work for uni and playing board games with my mum and brother, and later on this evening I think we'll probably just watch some TV or something. I just wish the weather would cotton on and drop a few degrees, it doesn't feel the same when it's 12 degrees outside...

Anyway I just felt the urge to write a cheeky little blog post, so here are some outfits for the festive season for you to enjoy!

Unlike a lot of people, I really enjoy Christmas shopping - I love hunting for the perfect present for my friends and family (or if not perfect then just something suitable within my price range). This year I did all mine online through Amazon, which worked like a dream and meant I didn't have to face the long walk into town more than was entirely necessary. But when I'm out and about in the winter months I tend to plan my outfits quite carefully, as although they're probably warm I find jeans quite constricting, and thick jumpers tend to make me overheat - so something lightweight but layered like this is perfect.

In my opinion Christmas parties are a fabulous excuse to get properly dressed up - when else can you get away with dressing entirely in velvet (including a jacket), as I did the other week for a college formal dinner which is much the same thing? Obviously there are various degrees of fancy but my go-to outfit choices always consist of either something velvet or something in that gorgeous dark red, so I thought this dress summed it up quite well.

Lets not forget that it's distinctly chilly outside (unless you live in Australia, in which case g'day to you) and there is nothing better than curling up in a cosy spot with a warm drink and a book. Thick jumpers are fully required here, as are slippers and comfy clothes all round. Sadly I haven't done much of this so far this winter but no doubt I shall be making up for lost time in the new year.

I actually wish I owned this dress because I love it so much, but I think I'm going to have to content myself with something very similar in red. It's my go-to Christmas day outfit which now I think about it perhaps needs to change... I just think there's something so Christmassy about a nice plaid dress on the day itself!

After 10 weeks of busy university life I am finally back home for the holidays and already enjoying the peace and quiet! It's been a hectic couple of months trying to find my feet at uni, while also adapting to life in the UK, completing assignments, keeping up with all the reading my course requires and of course making new friends. Unlike at home where I will happily sit on the internet for hours on end and generally lounge around there is always something to do, from looking over the following day's lecture material (yes I am that student) to late night soda bread-frying sessions in the kitchen. So while I'm really enjoying myself up north, it's going to be really lovely to have a whole month off to relax and fill up on those home vibes - plus write about 4 essays and prepare for 3 tutorials, eeek!

The journey back was really quite smooth, or as smooth as taking two trains across three countries can be. I was lugging a huge suitcase, a backpack and a small holdall so I suppose I didn't make things easy for myself, but the small holdall was definitely necessary given the amount of Christmas presents I needed to bring back with me - hopefully I will be able to fill that space up with slightly more summery clothes on the way back. Also I am apparently yet to take the Eurostar without either setting the security scan off or getting shirty/into an argument with the person at the bag scan, but that's another story.

On another note, I am actually really enjoying my course, although there are parts that I really hadn't expected to be studying. Purely for your enjoyment, I've been keeping a list of weird, wonderful, interesting and unexpected things that have been touched on in my geography lectures so far, in no particular order:

Also I will be writing an essay on landscape in Austen's Mansfield Park over Christmas, which I am slightly thrilled about because it combines English, history and geography, which are my three absolute favourite things!

Anyway. Christmas is of course just a few days away and I am well and truly in the festive spirit after spending most of Sunday draped in tinsel and decorating the tree. In a way I almost feel like the big day has already happened because we had so many Christmassy events going on at college in the last few days of term, including a formal dinner, a candlelit carol service (which was lovely and definitely a potential fire hazard), carols in the bar (which was a potential hazard for one's eardrums), a Christmas jumper day and even a couple of days of proper snow! On top of that my friends and I bought cheese and crackers to be extra posh and Christmassy, and also made a gingerbread house which tragically got left in someone's room over the holidays... 

But after all that festivity I am definitely ready for a lovely family Christmas at home and a month just to enjoy the calm, see friends and prepare for next term!

x

Whoops long time no blog but uni life is turning out to be pretty crazy - I'm currently snowed under with work, not to mention trying to find the time to attend social events and just generally doing my best not to become a hermit holed up in my room reading endless papers about the spatiality of domestic violence (I'm studying geography but the department seems to have a rather loose interpretation of what constitutes geography lol). I'm loving my course so far though, for instance today one of my lecturers started off with a 'somewhat relevant pop song' which just happened to be Lana's Video Games! Unsurprising since the lecture was about landscape in video games but it was still a nice start to 4 solid hours of lectures.

Anyway. Christmas is just around the corner and I for one am looking forward to being back at home with my family and friends (especially after nearly 3 months of college food - so. much. spice!). So today to get into the materialistic spirit I thought I'd share my Christmas wishlist with you, since nothing says seasonal cheer quite like consumerism!

Michael Kors purse

 

The Journals of Sylvia Plath

Crosley Cruiser

Badlands vinyl

Rookie Yearbook Four

The final Rookie Yearbook comes out on 22 October and I really want to add it to my little collection of yearbooks. Also how adorable is the cover?? So adorable.

Pandora Silver Star Clip Charm