A day at the coast

This weekend, despite the freezing cold weather, was spent at the coast. Me and my family went for a walk along Southwold's pier and then into the town center. Southwold is a lovely place to go for a walk along the beach, visit the pier and check out the chic, little shops. It really is the perfect place to go, especially on a Sunday and especially as a family. Yes it's December and yes it was absolutely freezing however, it was lovely to get out as a family as well. We had a light lunch at the Adnam's Cafe halfway, mainly in order to warm up and it worked. It also had great food! 

The pictures above are just a few I snapped whilst walking along the sea front, using my iPhone. It would have been the perfect time to take my camera however, with 4 young nieces and nephews my hands were slightly tied. So I just quickly snapped away on my phone. I do love this time of year, and despite the temperature, I really love going for walks. It's a great way to get outside, get some air and take some photos - which I don't get to do all that often!

I hope you enjoy the photos and this quick little post :-)

My First Time Tag

It's been a busy week, this past week, so my blog unfortunately has taken a back seat. So I thought I would come back with a bit of a fun blog post, giving you a bit more of an insight into me personally. I love reading/watching these types of posts, simply because they're different to 'normal' content. Without further ado, lets get into the questions...

1. FIRST Youtube video you ever watched?
C'mon this is a tricky one, how am I supposed to remember this? I really don't know, but I'm pretty sure either a make up tutorial or a haul.

2. FIRST person you subscribed to on YouTube?
I want to say Pixiwoo.

3. Do you still talk to your FIRST love? 
Not really, no.

4. FIRST kiss?
Most definitely some dumb middle school lad, ha ha.

5. FIRST alcoholic drink? 
A Smirnoff Ice, probably given to me by my Nan.

6. FIRST car?
A Ford KA *embarrassed face*

7. FIRST job?
A hairdressers in the town I live in. I carried on working their after my high school work experience. 

8. FIRST pet?
A rabbit called Betty.

9. FIRST celebrity crush?
Usher, I had multiple posters on my wall.

10. FIRST real boyfriend?
A guy from high school, we dated for around a year.

11. Who was the FIRST person to text you today?
My sister regarding Christmas presents.

12. Who was your FIRST grade teacher? 
I think his name was Mr.Gates, he was great.

13. Where was your FIRST sleepover? 
My best friends house.

14. What was the FIRST thing you did this morning? 
Other than using the bathroom, I made myself a cup of tea.

15. FIRST concert you ever went to?
S Club 7! 

16. FIRST broken bone? 
I've never broken a bone *touches wood*

17. FIRST movie you remember seeing?
This is difficult to remember.. I believe it was the Disney film 'The Fox and the Hound'.

18. FIRST sport you were involved in?
Hockey.

19. FIRST tweet?
Is there a way to find this out? I'm not sure but I swear it was something dumb like "is now on Twitter!".

20. FIRST Facebook profile pic?
A pic of me and a friend on one of those Twister rides at a theme park.

21. FIRST piercing?
My ears. I'd really love to have my ears pierced more now though.

And there we have it, all my FIRST times! I hope you enjoy this slightly different blog post from me today and hopefully things will un-busy themselves so I can not put my blog behind me.

This is my first Facebook profile picture I was talking about!

The Devil Wears Prada | Book Review

I love a good read, especially when there's a sequel. When you think of The Devil Wears Prada, I bet your mind goes to the film, mine definitely did. I absolutely love the film and Anne Hathaway is one of my favourite actresses. But quite a while ago now, I discovered the book to this film and that the book has a sequel.

Normally I tend to prefer reading the book before watching the film however, that was not the case with this particular book. It had been a while since I had seen the film when I began reading the book, so I had to settle for that. As I mentioned, I love the film so the book actually had a lot to live up too in my eyes. I actually really enjoyed the book and yes, I still would have liked to read it first but it was very similar to the film, with not much missed out which is what I normally find. If you haven't seen the film, or read the book, then it's about a girl called Andrea who goes to work for Runway magazine but turns out to have the boss, Miranda, from hell. The second book carries on Andrea's journey as she works her way up the magazine ladder, forming new friendships and relationships, but Miranda is still making appearances.

If you love fashion, magazines and an easy read then these books are for you. Also if you were like me and had just watched the film, you won't be disappointed reading the book afterwards.

Book Review | All the Bright Places

I had heard a lot of things about this book, not in detail, just how good it was from the people who had read it. Amazon were doing an offer of 3 paperback books for £10, this one included, so I thought I would take up the offer and give it a read. So, I didn't have much of an idea of what to expect until I read the blurb which gave me a very slight insight.

The sentence, from WHSmith, which just about sums up this books is.. "This is a compelling and beautiful story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who wants to die". There are two main characters, Violet and Finch, who couldn't be more different from one another. It's a very well written and easy to read book, which tells the story from both characters point of view. Especially from the view point of Theodore Finch, who has a mental illness. This review, also from WHSmith, gives you a bit more of an insight into the story..

"Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him. Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.

When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the ‘natural wonders’ of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself – a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them.

But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink. How far will Violet go to save the boy she has come to love?"

Overall this is such a great story, easy to follow, and really gets you thinking from both perspectives. It's written in such a way that helps you to understand the mental illness which the character has, therefore this helps you really get into the book much faster and more in depth. If you haven't read this book then I would definitely recommend you do. 

MIA: Moving Out

The reason I've been practically non-existent recently is because I have finally moved into my own home. Life without certain luxuries has been different, one of those being broadband, hence the lack of posts on practically any social media. To make matters worse, I've also used up all my data on my monthly phone contract and with just moving house, spare money is non-existent also. Therefore I've just been a bit MIA and busy with both moving out and work.

Minus the slight down falls, moving out has been something I have wanted to do for quite some time now, so being able to finally do it is amazing for me. Yes, it's definitely been one of the most stressful times of my life but it has been worth it of course. I still have a to do list longer than ever but it's so satisfying ticking things off one by one, I do love a good list. As I said, although I have a long way to go, until it's fully the way I want it, it's definitely heading in the right direction and I'm loving it.

I never went away to uni, so have never lived away from my parents. I think that may have been part of the reason why I wanted to move out. I've been saving ever since I can remember, so to be able to buy my own house independently is something I'm proud of myself for. It's such a big step to do alone but I know I'm not actually alone. I haven't moved far away from my family or friends at all however, it just gives me more independence than ever. I remember when I first passed my driving test and everyone was saying "you've got your independence now". Which yes, is 100% correct but living independently is on a whole new level due to the responsibilities. I obviously haven't lived alone for very long yet, it has only been a couple of weeks now, but I'm excited for the future in my new home.

I had been collecting bits for a long time prior to moving in so when it came to it, I was pretty much set. Doing so has definitely helped me, when moving in, as I think it was a lot less hassle. Also doing it so early prior, in stages, meant I wasn't parting with so much money all in one go. This would definitely be my top tip for anyone moving out for the first time. Although I definitely forgot I even had some things and did forget a couple of essentials, lists are everything!

So this is just a little update to explain where I've been and I'm finally getting my broadband go live tomorrow, so will be back up and running very soon! Above are just a few decor photos that I have posted on Instagram since moving in. If you have recently moved out, for the first time, then I'd love to hear how your getting on? :-) I'm thinking about doing more home decor, living alone and first home posts etc in the future too, so keep your eyes peeled for those if it interests you!

It's Been a While & Exciting News

Image sourced from Google

 

 

As the title of this blog post suggests; I know it's been a really long time since I literally just sat down with my laptop and typed (since not having to write any uni work anyway). So I thought on this relatively sunny Sunday, that I would do just that. I'm not fully sure what I'm going to babble on about entirely in this post just yet but we shall see where this goes.

 

Since my last lifestyle post, I have finished university for good; which I must add is a great feeling. However the weekend after I finished I was a bit stumped; I felt like I needed uni work to be doing. The feeling of freedom, not having the stress to finish an essay just felt strange. I have however now got over that but have moved onto something else. I love my job and always want to do things to improve. Therefore now, with finishing my degree, I want to go on various courses to develop myself. I may sound nerdy here but I do love to learn new things, therefore my next step is to definitely either learn something new or develop a skill I already have to benefit my work. When you enjoy your job so much, the feeling you get when you do something to improve is amazing.

 

Moving on from finishing university, I have been out celebrating a few weekends in a row; which has been amazing. This is my first weekend, after three celebrations, that I've stayed in and am bracing myself for next weekend when there's another (final) celebration. I knew finishing university was a big thing but I didn't know how I would feel and I actually felt very emotional (please tell me this was normal!? Ha ha). Not attending weekly, seeing my friends, completing work etc felt very, very strange. So as I mentioned I'm going to fill that time with other work to improve myself, which actually makes me feel good.

 

Onto the exciting news part... I've kept this pretty much a secret, except a few hints here and there. But now it's getting closer to the date, my exciting news if that I've purchased my own house!!!! I didn't want anything to go wrong in the process, hence why I've kept it a secret, but now that it's pretty much (fingers crossed) all final I wanted to tell you guys. It's been such a big move for me, however it has been something I've wanted to do for a very long time. For at least 2 years now I've made it very clear that I cannot wait to move out and have a place of my own. Initially it was going to be a rented accommodation but with my savings, I've actually managed to buy my own property! I'm hoping you can gage my excitement through my words on this post, but I literally cannot wait. As much as I love being at home, having my own space and something to call my own is what I've always wanted. I'm quite an individual person who likes her own space so I think this is going to be perfect for me! I will definitely keep you updated and when I finally move it I will share pictures and all sorts. Hopefully it's not going to be much longer now before I have somewhere to call my own :-)





Lost in a Book Tag

Image source: Pinterest

 

I am a book lover and love in my spare time, fishing out my current book and simply just getting lost in it. However at the moment I don't have the most amount of spare time to do this, due to uni work, I cannot wait to fully get stuck into a new one once I'm finished. I got this tag from Clemloves blog, check her tag post out here.

1.  Do you have a certain place at home for reading?
I always read in my bedroom with the door shut so I hopefully don't get any interruptions.
2. Where do you like to read?
I sit on my bed to read and like to get myself nice and comfy in my pj's with the duvet on or scrunched comfily somehow.
3. Bookmark or random piece of paper?
Definitely a book mark kinda girl! Although it's kind of embarrassing, I have a super old book mark from Disneyland with Mickey and Minnie on it.
4. Can you just stop reading or do you have to stop at a chapter?
I didn't realise stopping in the middle of a chapter was a thing! I definitely make myself get to the end of a chapter before stopping.
5. Do you eat or drink whilst reading?
I do love a cup of tea or coffee whilst reading but it's not always necessary.
6. E-reader or real book?
Real book all the way!
7. Music or TV whilst reading?
It's just me and my book when I read as I can tend to get quite distracted.
8. One book at a time or several at once?
Definitely only one book at a time, I think I'd forget the plot of one or get them mixed up or something if I had more than one on the go.
9. Reading at home or everywhere?
I tend to read at home mostly but if there ever is a time I have to get on a train or bus then I will take my current book with me. Reading in the garden has been lovely recently with the nice weather in the UK.
10. Reading aloud or silently in your head?
Silent in my head definitely, again I think I'd distract myself if I started reading it aloud.
11. Fiction or non-fiction?
I do like a bit of both but I love fiction for sure. Anything crime, thriller based is my favourite.
12. Do you read ahead or skip pages?
I don't tend to do this unless I'm not enjoying the book but feel as if I have to finish it, weird I know. I just really lightly skim read over a few pages to get to the end of a chapter or a good bit.
13. Break the spine or keep a book like new?
As much as I try to keep it like new it just doesn't happen. I get sort of half way through a book and break the spine so that the pages lay the right way.
14. Do you write in your books?
No definitely not, that is one thing that really annoys me. If I find a great book in a charity shop then start reading it to find someone has done a little graffiti in it is so infuriating.
15. Your Favourite book?
This is such a tricky question! As I mentioned, I love crime, thriller books so I love The Girl on the Train, The Sisters, The Hunger Games Trilogy and I Let you Go. But I also love Lindsey Kelk books which are basically the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

I really enjoy writing up tag posts every now and then! I would love to know if you've previously written this particular tag post and I also tag you if you are yet to do it but wish too!

Fitbit

I recently purchased a Fitbit after consulting my friends who have had one for some time now. It was a belated birthday present and I was super excited to get stared using it. I picked up the Fitbit charge in slate grey from Amazon and paid £70, which seemed a good deal as it said it had £30 off. I initially wanted to get a black one but they were out of stock and I'm actually super happy with the colour to be honest. 

To be fair the initial reason I wanted one was to actually see how many steps o do a day whilst at work, as I literally had no idea. I was super shocked after wearing this for the first time at work that I did over 15,000 steps that day! Not only does this particular Fitbit track your steps but it tells you the time, distance, calories and flights of stairs; all that is just on the screen of this Fitbit. 

Fitbit then have an app you can download for free to your phone which tells you so much more! It tells you how many hours you've been active, how well you slept and you can even enter in what food you've eaten and drink you've drank. You can set yourself goals to help lose weight and set alarms so your Fibit vibrates at certain times. This little wristband honestly does so much that I didn't even realise when I first purchased it. 

I actually think having a Fitbit is definitely making me more aware of how much exercise I do, or don't do, a day. If I'm haven't a not very good day then it makes me want to be more active and do something about it. For the past month at least I've been going for a walk every evening for at least 30 minutes and have actually really been enjoying it, with or without the dog! And if I haven't gone for a walk, maybe because of the weather, then I've either done an exercise dvd or a YouTube exercise video (you should all check out Carly Rowena - she's amazing!) 

This might not be the intense summer body work out but it's definitely making me be more active, eat healthier and do more exercise which I love! There are many different variations of Fitbit, some cheaper and some more expensive than the one I personally have, so check them out :-) 

My Week in Pictures #25

It's been a while since I last wrote one of these posts (again) but it's been an odd few weeks. I've been spending a lot of time with my laptop writing my dissertation, no change there hey, and I just feel out of the loop really. I've also had some exciting news come my way, but I'm not one to jinx anything so I'll be keeping that one a secret for the time being.

One thing that I have been enjoying doing quite a bit recently is walking, it sounds lame I know. But now the nights have become lighter and the weather hasn't been too bad in the UK, it's been nice to take my dog out walking in the evenings. Not far from home are quiet country roads which are perfect to take the dog down so she can have a run off of the lead. It's also been nice to take the dog in the car and go for walks elsewhere and recently me and my mum took her to Southwold. It's such a lovely place to walk and she was able to go onto the beach which she loves. I took my camera out for a test drive which was actually quite scary, but also really good fun.

I've really been trying to limit what I spend each month recently too and my three purchases are photographed in this post. These sunglasses from Toyshades @ Asos which I am in love with, this cactus sweatshirt also from Asos and two new books from Amazon. I've not totally put myself on a "ban" as such but I really want to limit it much more than I would normally, as I can go slightly wild.

I've also been spending a bit of time with family as usual and recently it was my nephews 2nd birthday. We're waiting for a nice weekend of weather to go and celebrate it properly at the zoo. Overall it's been a random few weeks and I cannot wait to get back to some sort of normality when my dissertation is out of my life for good! I hope you're all enjoying your extended weekend, if you got one!

A Sunday in Southwold

With relatively recently purchasing a new camera and not using it all that much out and about, I wanted to take advantage on a recent trip to Southwold. My mum and I took the dog in the car and went for a lovely walk along the beach front and then through the little streets. Southwold is such a pretty, picturesque place and is located in Suffolk if you've never been before or are wondering where I'm talking about. I didn't take many pictures as was more having a good old fiddle with all the settings, I'm still such a newbie when it comes to using a big, good camera like the one I have now. So I thought I would simply just share a couple of shots I did take with you on this dreary Sunday, as looking back at these pictures I'd love the sunny weather to come back! I hope you've all had a lovely weekend :-)

Divergent Trilogy Book Review

If you love The Hunger Games then you will love these books by Veronica Roth. These books are the Divergent series which are just as good as The Hunger Games books in my opinion. There are also films alongside these books which you can get on DVD and the final one is currently in cinemas. Back to the books, my friend actually recommended these to me so I jumped on the band wagon and ordered the first one on amazon there and then.

To begin with I did find it slightly confusing, simply as there was so much going on, but it really didn't take long to catch on. When I got to about a quarter of the way through the first book, I was hooked! I honestly used any of my spare time reading these books just to get them finished quicker. The only trouble with that it, once you reach the final chapter, you want to know what's going to happen but you really don't want it to end. Unfortunately that's the trouble with all books, especially series of them.

In brief words these books revolve around a character called Tris and her family who are brought up within a "faction". When children reach a certain age they have the choice to choose a new faction, there are four to choose from, and Tris picks a different faction leaving her family behind. There are then a lot of challenges Tris goes through to stay within her new faction. I won't go into too much detail because I don't want to ruin it for you but the plot takes off from there really and that's when I became gripped to these books.

I would highly recommend these books if you are a fan of The Hunger Games or are just looking for something new to read at the moment. I cannot wait to go and watch the last film at the cinema, eeekk!

My Week In Pictures #24

I apologise for being slightly MIA this week but it's definitely been a busy one! The beginning of the week was my birthday, then it was the first lecture this year at uni that I had to attend and finally the end of the week saw me with a sickness bug which I'm currently still in bed with although the worst of it has definitely gone! So yes, it's been a pretty hectic week and I simply just haven't had time to sit down with my laptop and write a blog post; let alone write any more of my dreaded dissertation.

First thing I wanted to mention was my new found hobby of scrapbooking which I recently did a full blog post on. There wasn't anything particular which spurred me on other than having a lot of printed photographs and not knowing what to do with them all. I headed to the Paperchase website and ordered myself some supplies and got stuck in. I really enjoy doing it and it's just something I can do to relax a bit more, not that I have much time for any of that at the moment. But when I do and when I finish uni, I will have more time to spend on it which I'm looking forward too.

As mentioned it was my birthday at the beginning of the week although it really didn't feel like it. I celebrated with some friends the weekend before and was supposed to be celebrating this weekend; but unfortunately this sickness bug got in the way which is such a pain. However I am hoping to go out this coming weekend to finally celebrate again. On my actual birthday, which I share with my mum, we just went out to a local pub for some food which was nice and chilled. I always say "nothing special" but it was a really nice family meal. Oh and the Spectre DVD was a pressie, I'm soo excited to finally watch it!

I've been testing out the new L'Oreal Extraordinary Clay range recently which I picked up in a bundle from Boots. I'm still testing so I won't give away anything for certain yet, although keep your eyes peeled for a full blog post in the future. Something like this range has always appealed to me as it is exactly my hair type, oily roots and dry ends, so keep your eyes peeled for my review.

That's my week wrapped up in a snappy blog post and I'm honestly now considering bed. I haven't left my bed or pj's in 4 days, I have work tomorrow and would really like to feel better very soon! I hope you've all had a lovely week! P.s. can you believe we're in March this coming week?! Madness.

Scrapbooking

At the end of last year I ordered around 100 photographs to be printed and prior to that I had some more printed. I love keeping photographs but recently I thought, what am I actually going to do with them all? Yes I have a photo album and love the ones that are in there but then they just end up sitting there and not all of them fit in my two albums that I own. Procrastination was at it's best and somehow I ended up on the Paperchase website. There was a nice, separate section for scrapbooking and I couldn't resist having a look.

I clearly ended up purchasing quite a few bits to get my scrapbooking started and the crafty bits on the website actually inspired me. I thought this would be a great, artistic way to present my pictures and therefore something that I would enjoy looking through. To begin with I didn't want to go crazy and buy loads of things in case I didn't enjoy doing it for any reason. Although once I placed the order I was super excited for everything to arrive. A shout out to all the students out there, Paperchase also do student discount which was a nice surprise when I placed my order.

So I purchased just a few bits including this lovely scrapbook which ties with a ribbon, I knew this was the one I wanted straight away and it was only £8 which I thought was a bargain. I then purchased some photo mounts which were raved about in the reviews on the Paperchase website and I totally agree. They make sticking in your photographs super duper easy, without ruining the actual photo, a scrapbook must! Next I chose all the craft bits such as washi tape, paper string, coloured postcards, stickers, glue and a nice pen. Can you believe as well I got all of this for just over £20, which was such a bargain in my eyes.

Since receiving this parcel I've really got stuck in and I'm loving it! It's a nice and relaxing hobby to do in my spare time, when I'm not at work or writing my dissertation! I think I will definitely be on the look out for different scrapbooking crafty items. I will keep you guys updated on the inside pages of my scrapbook in the future, once I've done a few more. If you're like me and have a lot of photographs laying around, gathering dust then I would recommend doing something crafty with them if you're interested in scrapbooking. I can definitely say I'm not hooked on doing so and love looking back at all the memories whilst doing so!

All the items pictured in this blog post is purchased from Paperchase :-)

My Week in Pictures #23

A lot has gone on recently, especially since my last one of these posts. I do love writing these posts but I am aware they are becoming less frequent. I am blaming uni work at the moment, alongside personal matters, which seem to be taking over all of my time. I've still be trying to have "me" time where I aim to forget about the work on my shoulders, although it doesn't always works it's been nice to have.

Something I've been opting to do quite a bit recently is read and I've been reading the Divergent Trilogy. I'm now on the final book and I've absolutely loved them to the point where it's hard to put them down. There are also films alongside the three books; two of which are out on DVD already and I believe the third is coming to cinemas in March time. If you enjoyed the Hunger Games then I would definitely recommend these to you, they honestly are absolutely brilliant books and I will probably do a more in depth review in the future.

A few of my friends, and everyone else that I've read talk about this, have been raving about Pretty Little Liars for years! I've been wanting to get into it for so long but I don't have Netflix (shock horror) and recently as I've mentioned, just haven't had enough time to sit and watch TV. I went shopping recently with my dad (another shock horror) and saw this in HMV on sale for £30 so I grabbed it up. I haven't watched any yet but I am really hoping I will love this box set and cannot wait to get involved, albeit slightly behind everyone else.

I also recently purchased a new camera, with the help of one of my friends (I practically copied her!). I got rid of my old camera simply because I'd lost the charger and it wasn't all that great quality. I spent quite a bit of money on this camera and I've had a little fiddle with it but I haven't had a full on go with it yet. I cannot wait to use better quality pictures on my blog and also spend time taking pictures on days out, walks etc. I picked the Sony A5000 camera and it's very pretty!

That's all the updates I have for you this time around, let me know how your January has treated you! It's definitely been a long month, I'm sure you'll agree. I'm looking forward to an evening with friends and a takeaway :-)

2016

I know today and tomorrow there are going to be tonnes of this type of post posted on people's blogs, but I couldn't help but write one myself. I believe I wrote one last year and looking back I enjoyed writing it. That's what I've realised, maybe more so recently, that I do enjoy writing more lifestyle posts although this hasn't been shown all that much on my blog. With the New Year dawning and only a few hours away, I don't see a much better time to reflect on the past year.

Now I'm definitely not the type of person who tells all about myself, I'm very much a keep it to myself person which does have its ups and downs. I feel as though this year has passed way too quickly and my memory is bad enough let alone when I don't have time to let things sink in. To be fair this year has been pretty good to me and there have definitely been a few stand out memories. However hard you try though there are always going to be down moments which you simply cannot get around, so yes I have had some of those but I try not to dwell on them even though a couple of them are coming with me through to 2016.

Firstly I graduated from my Foundation Degree which for me was an achievement. Even though I still have another year to go, technically only until May, it was such a lovely day spent with family and friends I've made whilst at university. I'm lucky to be able to get to graduate again in 2016 but this time I know I'm going to feel so relieved. I can only dream of the relief right now but I know it's going to be such a weight off my shoulders and I cannot wait.

I've been lucky enough to be able to spend so much time with my nieces and nephews this year, although maybe not as much time as I would like. It is difficult working, finishing my degree and being able to spend quality time with my family. But when I do it's so worth it, watching them grow up is so, so lovely. It's crazy how fast they're growing up! I know I cannot wait for Summer as they will be on school holidays and I will have finished uni so I will definitely be spending my days off with them.

Something I would love to do more of in 2016 is travel. I've been saying this since starting uni which really was the worst time I could have said it, considering I have been stuck down for 3 years. But as I've said already, I finish uni in May and would love to be able to travel more. This year may be tricky considering I will have to take time off from work in order to complete my degree which won't leave me with much holiday time to complete this. But if I am unable to complete this in 2016 then it's definitely going to be something ongoing that I would love to pursue in the future, whenever that may be. I would love to visit more places in Europe but also LA, Canada and Australia.

Another thing I would love to be able to do in 2016 is learn to take proper photographs and also own a decent camera. I haven't owned a camera for a couple of years now and simply take every photograph on my iPhone. Although this isn't the most practical way, especially for my blog, it does do the job rather well. I admire many other bloggers photographs on their blogs and always wish mine looked like that! So I know that I need to purchase myself a decent camera in order to complete this, so please if you have any recommendations then leave them in the comments! I feel this would also help me achieve more lifestyle posts on my blog, as I would be able to take the camera out with me on days out and voila!

That is where I am going to leave this post, I would just like to wish you all a Happy New Year and I hope you see it in in the best way for you. Please let me know your camera recommendations, I'm totally now going camera shopping online before getting ready for the night ahead. I'll see you all in 2016!

My Week In Pictures #22

It's been a while.. Christmas has now been and gone which feels so quick but I swear it's like that every year. The build up is huge and then it's over before you even knew it started. I hope you all had a lovely Christmas however fast it went.

I actually finished work on the 23rd of the month this year which was so lovely. I cannot remember the last time I didn't work on Christmas Eve so this was particularly exciting for me. Not that I did anything special, I went to visit my sisters family and my grandparents, then sat on my bum watching Elf before Christmas was over. I now have until the 4th January off work which is also very, very nice. It's been so super busy recently so it's so nice to actually have a break.

This Christmas, for me personally, was very different. A couple of people missing which therefore changed the whole day in retrospect. My family and my sisters family actually went out for Christmas dinner which was again something very different for us. We have never been out for Christmas lunch before and I can say now that I don't think we will be doing it again in a hurry. I'm not criticising the food, the main course was lovely but there just wasn't really an atmosphere in the pub we were in. I know there are other places to go which may have what the pub we went to didn't, but from our experience we weren't all that impressed. On the other hand it was so nice to spend quality time with my family. We are quite a close knit family and we are lucky that we get to see each other so often anyway but as you all know Christmas just feels more special.

With Christmas now being over we have New Years to think about. I'm not fully into New Years, I can go out or I can stay in and probably end up asleep before midnight. I know some people really get into it every year but that's just not me. A glass of bubbly wouldn't go a miss though hey.

I did actually manage to get uni work out of my head for a few days over Christmas but not that's over, I really need to get my head back in the game. I have a dissertation to write and it's literally just constantly looming in my head. I'm going to allocate at least one, maybe two, days from my time off work to get stuck into it and do some reading. You never know I may even write something down on a word document!

Overall Christmas has been different but still just as lovely to spend time with my family and my nieces and nephews growing up. I swear you can't not smile when watching children unwrap presents, it's just too cute! If you are also getting a break this Christmas then I hope you are enjoying you're time off :-)

The Sisters by Claire Douglas Book Review

After reading Gone Girl, Mistress and The Girl on the Train, I was fully consumed into the mystery/thriller books which have become so popular recently. I am a full on sucker for these types of books nowadays as I love that feeling of not wanting to put the book down. Although I do hate having to put it down, then constantly thinking about it until I finally drift off to sleep - which does take me some time!

Amazon were recently doing 3 paperback books for £10 which I completely took advantage off more than once, whoops! (I'm not sure if they are still doing this or not). This book was high up in the top sellers at that point so I thought I would give it a go alongside 2 other books of the same genre. I hadn't heard anything about it before purchasing it but as I started reading it, I had friends asking me if I had read it. They were telling me it was really good which made me want to get into it quicker than normal.

It really didn't take long to get into this book, unlike some others I have read, and it was immediately making me question things within the first couple of chapters. There were so many twists and turns throughout the book making it incredibly hard to put down. I honestly read this book super quickly, for me, and I can say it didn't end how I thought it was going too. That just goes to show the amount of twists there was which made the book so gripping hence why I didn't want to put it down.

I don't want to give too much away and you can read the blurb in the second picture. If you're into this genre of book and haven't read this one, then I 100% recommend this one! It's written very well and the chapters aren't too long, although there are a couple of long ones in there but it's forgiven. Let me know what you think of this book if you've read it or leave me some recommendations of your own below :-)

A Girl's Best Friend by Lindsey Kelk Book Review

I'm always awaiting a new book release from Lindsey Kelk and this recent release was no different. I purchased this one from Amazon as soon as it was released and read it within around 3 days. Which says a lot really considering I have so much work and uni work to be doing but hey ho, priorities.

This is the perfect Christmas book to get you in the Christmas spirit and it's such an easy read. This type of book is one of my favourites as it doesn't really get you thinking too much, which is what you don't really need before you try falling asleep. It's got a bit of everything inside; comedy, romance, Christmas and best friends.

Lindsey Kelk has written previous books which you may need to get your hands on as well. Although I think you could read this one alone there is another one (maybe two) before this one so you may like to read those first to get the full story and those ones are just as good as this one.

If you're after an easy read this Christmas season then I cannot recommend this one enough. I also think this would make a great stocking filler present for any friends or family you may have who love this kind of book. Lindsey Kelk is a highly recommend author, not just from myself, so I would definitely check out all of her books and let me know if you've read any and what you're favourites are :-)

My Week In Pictures #21

I swear I always say this but it feels like a long time since my last one of these particular posts although the past couple of weeks have flown by. It's been slightly hectic and I feel like I've been constantly busy but I can't fully tell you exactly what I've been doing.

For the first time in my life last weekend I fully lost my voice! I started off squeaky and then ended up sounding like a rattily, old man. I got the piss taken out of me fully for two days until it finally came back and I must say, ordering in a restaurant with no voice was slightly embarrassing. Even more so when your brother in law claims you went out on a huge binge the night before. Yes, I was drinking the night before but I can tell you it definitely wasn't that.

It was my sisters birthday and we had a fab night out! Full of Prosecco and laughs, with new and old friends. That particular night it also snowed for the first time this Winter in the UK! Not that it lasted at all of course, but sitting outside in it with a glass of bubbles was really lovely albeit cold.

I've been inundated with uni work, no change there hey! I have one more essay to do before Christmas and I'd like to say I'll feel relieved after that but unfortunately not. The looming dissertation is just the worst feeling and as soon as this next essay is finished I will be starting it finally. At least I know my topic now which is one positive, just need to get writing which is the scary part!

So overall it's been a busy couple of weeks which will probably only increase as it gets closer to Christmas! But how exciting that it's December next week?! It's mad that it's gone so quickly. Let me know your favourite thing about Christmas in the comments :-)

James Patterson Book Reviews

I do love an easy read and if you do too then you will absolutely love these books. Ok maybe not the actual books but the author that is James Patterson. I personally love these books, they grip you right from the opening paragraph which I love. I hate having to read a load of chapters before you actually get into the story line. Both of these books have super short chapters, like I'm talking a max of probably 6 pages, yes you heard correctly. It's like a God send, it's the worst thing when your eyes are drooping and you still have 10 pages of a chapter left. Well you do not get that here Ladies and Gentlemen.

Both of these books I've featured in this post are mystery/thrillers and are incredibly gripping. Throughout both of these books there was never a moment when I physically wanted to stop reading, if I could of then I would of carried of for the whole book. Yes I do believe they were that good. They are both pretty long books but they both kept me gripped and wanting to read on continuously. It was like you never knew what was going to happen next, another plot twist came from no where in all the right places.

Mystery and thriller books have become very current recently so if they have become your "thing" then I 110% (yes I went over 100) recommend these. They are honestly now some of my favourite books and I have already been looking into my next one written by James Patterson. If you've read either of these or a different one by James Patterson then leave me a comment below and let me know your thoughts :-)