Things I wish I had done while I was at University

These points are more about the lifestyle. When I look back I can come at this subject from two different angles – Things I SHOULD have done to get a degree I will use, and a light-hearted list of things I wish I had done, mostly to have more fun.

1. Stayed Single!! - I got into a relationship while I was at Uni, and eventually we were together because it was comfortable. If I was single I would have paid more attention to my work and spend more time with my friends!

2. Focused on work more – I have always been pretty academically average, but I know I could have done better than I did do.

3. Joined a society – Some kind of creative outlet would have been nice, maybe I would have met some people that live closer to where I am now?

4. Found a part time job – This did happen for a while, but bar work meant less going out with friends. 2 years after uni I am still battling the student overdraft. Extra pennies could have helped. Also, finding a job after university was very hard with no experience.

5. Been better with money – I mentioned the overdraft above, I don't regret anything about uni but saving up is 100 times harder with debt.

6. Gone on a girls holiday – I would have loved to go on holiday with my uni friends, however I had no money and now it seems impossible.

7. Utilized the equipment – Studying journalism meant I had access to resources that may have helped me get into a writing career...3 years later and I'm only just trying this blogging thing seriously.

8. Dyed my hair an outrageous colour!!! - I want to do this so bad now, but it wouldn't look too professional in an office environment.

9. Dated – I have always jumped from serious relationship to serious relationship – I don’t regret not dating and I'm happier than I ever have been now – It's just something I never did.

10 – Lived in the moment – It was an amazing time in my life and I could have had so much more fun if I wasn't worrying!

I am aware some of these contradict each other...especially money and living in the moment….but the lifestyle I had in uni is vastly different to being an adult. This was a time I made mistakes and it didn't matter any where near as much as I thought it did. Taking chances and having fun is what the lifestyle is about.

P.S of course if I looked back from an academic point of view my list may be different

P.P.S I tried to find ridiculous pictures of me from my time at uni, but still not the worst there is out there!

Budgeting for Dummies

Yet another year has gone by and once again I have done no saving! Every month I have scraped by and I don’t even know where all the money went. I’m 24 now and I rent a house with my boyfriend. If I ever want to be able to buy a house or go on more than a cheap late deal holiday I am going to have to get my act together.

This year things have changed. Our rent went up, neither of us will have any over time, Luke had to repair his car a couple of weeks ago and I started driving lessons. We are just coming to the realisation that we need to make an effort to save money and all at once reasons that we can't have sprung up.

I entered this year expecting that we would go on holiday. Boyfriend usually gets a lot of over time in the summer and for the past few years that and the small bit I have saved goes towards a Late deal. We have time booked off for the end of August so it was time to get serious and a few simple steps have really helped us see that we could save so much more money a month.

SPREADSHEET BUDGET -
I have the next few months mapped out. How much my wage will be and all of the monthly bills that must be paid every month. I am then left with a figure to spend on Food and anything else important…I’m actually surprised at how much is this (I always expected it was more). I am awful at spending on meaningless things and having nothing to show for it. With it all mapped out I can see what I have and where it is all going. I have managed to save more in the last 2 months than I ever have just because I am aware of exactly of what is going out of my bank and where it is going.

MONEY POT -
I really need one that doesn’t open as I have dipped into it a few times, but there is always spare change laying about the house and now this is where it goes. Its slow saving but without that money in my purse I'm not tempted to but a fatty lunch while I'm at work (so it's both healthy and sensible!)

DO NOTHING - (unless it is already planned)
Like I said. The aim is to afford a holiday at the end of August. We have a few things planned this summer so there is no getting out of spending some money. But its been put in the budget. The rest of the time we are strict hermits. Nothing but nights on the sofa watching TV! Of course this isn’t good for long term saving because you want a social life but the next 3 months (other than the few things that are planned) I am locking the front door and staying in (NO TAKEAWAYS EITHER)

Obviously I am no expert. But from someone who has never been able to save up in her life I’m quite impressed with myself. So if you're as bad as me try writing it all down, so simple but it has helped me so much!

10 Disadvantages of Living with your Boyfriend

A couple of Days Ago I posted 10 advantages of living with your boyfriend. Although the good does outweigh the bad, living with a boy can be hard sometimes!(no pun intended) So just for fun I thought I would share some of the disadvantages I have found.

1 – Your periods sync up – Yep...They become raging bitches as well sometimes.
2 – They have bad days too – sometimes they cant handle your emotional ass.
3 – The smell that comes out of their ass.
4 – Sometimes they can be a bit too attached to old fashioned gender roles.
5 – They can spend weeks wanting to do nothing but play an Xbox game (I do the same but THAT'S NOT THE POINT)
6 – Bad moods are great for stupid arguments.
7 – If you have an argument, it sucks a million times more than when you didn’t live together.
8 – Too much comfort means the romance is harder to keep alive.
9 – They leave toenails everywhere and block the bathroom sink with their beard hair!
10 – You become reliant on them! - one night away is enough.


Please note: This was just for fun, living with your other half is the best!

Things I wish I knew when I was 14

I have always had a bit of trouble with anxiety, but when I was 14 I was set on a path that made the next 10 years of my life pretty hard. Of course there were some amazing moments in there, by no means has my life awful. But looking back there are some things I wish that timid little girl had known. I wanted to do a letter to my younger self post, but this proved too difficult. Hopefully one day I will have the strength to face those awkward teenage years, but for now I thought I could make a list of the things I wish I had known.

1. You should never settle.

In the last 10 years I have settled way more than I should have. Settled for what I didn’t want because it was what other people wanted. Settled in relationships when I knew I wasn’t happy but I was made to believe things were as good as they got. I have settled in many different areas of my life and the decision has always been wrong, I never knew it was OK to do what I wanted.

2. You can trust yourself.

I have a major confidence issue. If I am asked a question I know the answer to I am likely to to keep quiet or say I don’t know because I don’t trust that I am right (even though I know I am.) I have struggled to trust my own decisions, almost to the point that I didn’t know it was OK to do what I thought was right.

3. People won't understand the way you feel, but that's ok.

Through my anxiety and depression I learned that people will only understand for so long before they want you to snap out of it. Even if that person has been through the same thing they are still different to you and will never fully understand. Don't get to upset by this. Everyone will serve their purpose and eventually you will find the strength to pull yourself out.

4. It's OK that you don't know what you want to do when you grow up.

I still didn’t know when I left University after doing a journalism course!! I found any job I could get and ended up really loving it. And I still love writing in my own way. You don't need to know the direction you want to go in because you can work it out as you go.

5. You will be happy.

I'm pretty sure that every teenager goes through a time of wondering if they will ever live happily ever after. I can't know that at only 24, but what I do know is I am happy and I have been happy in the past. 24 has been a good year for me and at this point in my life that happily ever after is very possible for me.

6. You are not average.

I can't really find the words to explain this one, but I have always put myself down with the word average. Someone put this into my head and I wish I knew they were wrong. I have finally learnt to love myself (this is still hard sometimes) and I wish I knew sooner that I am what I make of myself.

7. Stand up for yourself!

This is something that over the past couple of yours I have gotten a lot better at. It may have caused some arguments, but it was worth it. Don't be pushed around! It is NOT OK!

There are so many more!! But I think these are the fundamentals. When you're a teenager and you are going through a crappy time it seems like there will never be a light at the end of the tunnel. Those years don't really matter any more, and I have only just started the years that have mattered enough to make a difference!

App-sessed

Does 'App-sessed' sound enough like obsessed for it to be a valid title...I'll worry about that later. Like every twenty-something year old I go through my fare share of apps. Games, diet aides, workout challenges etc. Every month I go through about ten (sometimes more) apps, sometimes none of them survive the month before I'm done with them. But there are always more just waiting for me to try out. During my lunch break at work, rather than reading the paper or a magazine, I will go through the various apps that I am currently obsessing over.

These are Aprils favourites:

City 2048

You might have played 2048 before. Pairing numbers to keep on adding until you reach 2048 and above. It's hard to explain in words, but I could play this strategy game over and over until it makes me angry. City 2048 has the same concept except instead of numbers there are trees, houses, apartment buildings, skyscrapers and beyond. I have been trying for weeks to better my best score but can't get anywhere near! I'm shocked I haven’t thrown a tantrum and deleted the app to be honest.

Cooking Fever

Now this is a real obsession. My boyfriends mum plays it all of the time, and last month I got my boyfriend a tablet for his birthday. I decided it would be best to play on a tablet as its a bit too detailed to manoeuvre on a phone. I love this game I have persevered and I love playing this before bed, or before work if I'm not patient enough to wait until night.

Roller coaster Tycoon

This one I stole off of my boyfriend he started playing it on the tablet and then just stopped! So as any loving girlfriend would, I took over. It's a bit slow once yo get so far, but its one of those games that is in my routine, so I keep playing. Not too sure where it is going but after a long day, I collect my coins and see if I can buy more land to fit in another roller coaster!

PEAK

This one would be best on a tablet, but I use my phone because I like to play the games during my lunch break. This free app gives you 4 different every day to help you improve on Memory, Problem solving, Language, Mental Agility, Focus and Emotion (not sure how is helps emotion to be honest.) I love seeing how I have improved every day I play. My memory can be quite bad so I have though about playing brain games for a while. Definitely my favourite app this month. You can pay for extra games, but its a monthly/yearly payment unless you want to pay £79.99 for lifetime access to all of the games/features. I don't think you need this though, there are plenty of games in the free version to keep you occupied and improving the skills you choose.

10 Advantages of Living with your Boyfriend

I've lived with my boyfriend for over two years now. If I think about this to much I realise what a grown up thing it is to share a home with your other half! Sometimes I don't quite believe it's real, it's like we are just playing house. When we first moved in together my mum thought it was a bit too soon but I jumped in head first and it was the right choice. Life is pretty good living with the old ball and chain and there are some great advantages of living together…

1. Had a bad day? - You don't have to wait days to see the person who is best at cheering you up!

2. You are in a comfortable relationship – That extra layer of fat around your hips doesn't matter to them.

3.There is a person equally as strange as you in the same house – They love your quirks!

4. Your very own nurse for when you feel sick.

5. They scare the monsters away when you turn the light off at night.

6. All of those t-shirts you can wear to bed! …also boxers...is that weird?

7. Had a bad dream? - They can be pretty understanding when you wake them up for a hug.

8. Dieting together means you can motivate each other - If you fail, you can feel bad together.

9. You are better at compromise – You know when it's not worth arguing about.

10. Nothing beats sleeping next to the person you love every single night.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Netflix: What's Worth Binge Watching...

Before Netflix (before I had it at least) I would have said I was a TV addict. I do love TV shows, but I have always been awful and remembering times and channels. So often I will see an advert for something I want to watch and I never remember. I have fallen into a comfortable routine of having a lot of choice any time I want. I use Netflix and Now TV for different shows. These players have built it into my brain that one is not enough. I love to binge watch. There are a few select shows I watch as they come out on both platforms week by week, but if I'm looking for a new show I'm looking for one with a couple of seasons and plenty of episodes to sink my teeth into. There are movies and TV shows for any occasion. In my case there are a few that I have to watch with my partner. Shows like 'How to get away with Murder' or Game of Thrones'. If Luke watched one of these without me it's likely I would throw a fit.

Having two Xboxs is amazing. Now I have even more obsessions because I can sit downstairs and binge watch all kinds of series that are a bit to girly for Luke to be interested in. There are too many to tell you them all but I thought I would share some of the series I like to watch by myself with a nice cup of coffee all on my lonesome.

Charmed

This is a go to when I have nothing new to watch. Charmed first came out in 1998, and its hard for me to believe I was only seven years old at the time. I probably didn’t start watching until I was somewhere in my teens, so I had only ever seen a few seasons and then picked up an episode or two on TV in the last few years. Finding this got me seriously excited for some binge watching. It's one of those shows that I can even watch when I'm having problems concentrating. I put this on when I'm pottering about cleaning the living room (WARNING: This will make you procrastinate when trying to do chores.)

Love

When I originally saw Netflix advertising this when it first came out I thought what a load of S**t. It didn't look appealing to me at all. Cheap and s**t. A couple of weeks ago the PMS left me in a flood of tears for no reason...the hangover didn't help much either. This is when I decided to give it a watch. When you’re feeling gross and gloomy what better than something about Love to make you more miserable, right? But it wasn’t what I expected, not mushy at all. Love is so witty and easy to watch. I finished the entire series over the weekend.

Reign

I love Period Dramas. I started watching Reign for this reason, plus there was already 2 and a half series on Netflix just waiting to be binge watched. However at first I wasn't to keen. It is clearly aimed at for a teenage audience(especially in the first season) I'm not to sure some of the costumes are 100% historically correct but I can't deny I have fallen for this show. As the seasons have gone on I no longer feel like it is aimed at such a young audience...or maybe I am still 15 at heart! The second half of the third series is currently being added week by week so the binge watching has come to an end for this one, but it seeing as it has been renewed for a fourth season it will stay as a firm favourite.

Call the Midwife

I watched the first season while I was at university and then just forgot this show existed. I go through long phases of being quite obsessed by the 50s, the hair, the fashion, everything. This is another one of those relaxing shows I can watch when I'm finding it hard to concentrate but it's also one that has you desperate to watch another episode! There are currently three seasons on Netflix although I think four may have been released. (This is probably one of my only gripes with Netflix!)

April Round Up

I can say that April has been a very good month. Not that any recent months have been particularly bad at all, but this last month I found myself content and happy. Finally certain aspects of my life are fitting into place. The weather still might be a bit crazy but these light mornings are making getting up for work a hell of a lot easier. I don't buy a great deal for myself most months so I decided this shouldn’t be a post of products, but simple things with a few products thrown in if I happened to particularly like something.

Kate Moss Sculpting Palette

I am no make-up artist, so no real life changing contouring is done. However over the past year I have been playing about with hi-lighters and the one I usually use has a bit to much shine for a normal day so I had considered finding one of these matte contour palettes for a while. There was no rhyme or reason to choosing this other than on the day I liked the look of it more that what the other brands had on offer.

My skin can be quite sensitive. Not so much with bronzer but I very often find that I get a bad reaction from blusher – I have been quite lucky with this one. I've been using this product for a little over two weeks now and it's a welcome addition to my everyday make-up routine. I really see a difference in my face when I use a highlighter and for only £6.99 it didn't break the bank.

Slow Cooker

Now this is a real grown up favourite! I bought the slow cooker over a year ago and only used it a handful of times, I always worried that it must cost a fortune leaving it on all day. But it actually works out cheaper to slow cook your meal for 8 hours than to use your cooker for just one hour (info here). I may have mentioned before that I love spending hours scrolling through Pinterest, well there is a whole wealth of recipes to try in the slow cooker, super simple and it saves spending an hour or so making dinner when you get home from work. You can find the link to my Pinterest in the sidebar, I've pinned a few recipes that I'm hoping to try, the cashew chicken recipe is cooking as I write this.

LUSH

I know it's crazy but this month I lost my LUSH virginity. The bath in my old flat was small and didn't look very appealing but I love the bath in the house I'm renting at the moment. Since I moved in almost 5 months ago I have got a lot of use out of the bath. The cost of Lush products is a bit extravagant for me to buy all of the time. But I recently found £20 tucked away in a Christmas card that I completely forgot about so I thought I would finally treat myself to some of those delicious products...I haven’t been disappointed.

Driving Lessons

I am finally learning to drive! I have been meaning to start lessons for almost a year, but nerves had gotten the better of me. Finally I had y first lesson last week. This was probably the cherry that topped off the month. It was nowhere near as scary as I expected and I'm actually excited for my next lesson. Maybe once I can drive I will be a real grown up!...NAH!