New Year ideas

Image from Pixabay

For me, last minute New Years plans are normal. It gets past Christmas and suddenly everyone is asking: "What are you doing for New Years?" and "Got any plans?" and I realise... I haven't even thought about it.

I love going out on New Years Eve but everywhere is so busy and pretty expensive and I definitely don't want to end up in Marilyns, (we're talking sticky dance floors and underage girls dancing to Nicki Minaj!), but I can never think of any alternatives!

So, for all of you in the same position as me, here's 8 ideas of how you can start 2017 with a bang...

1. Head to the Capital...

If you get the chance, head to London for a night of fun with so many events to choose from. My pick would be Kensington Roof Gardens, which host a circus themed evening; drinks, live entertainment, a huge fireworks display and plenty of surprises along the way.

https://www.designmynight.com/london/bars/kensington/the-roof-gardens/new-years-eve-at-the-roof-gardens-2016

2. Game on!

Grab all of your friends and have a night in. Lots of alcohol, drinking games and takeout food makes for the perfect New Years, with no worries about finding a taxi or spending it alone!

3. Go to the Races

Going to Cheltenham Races is one of the highlights of my year and their New Years Day event makes for the perfect excuse to go! Wrap up warm and grab yourself a few drinks while you're there... carrying on the party from NYE.

http://cheltenham.thejockeyclub.co.uk/

4. Host your own

Host your own New Years party with a fancy-dress event. Casino night, Hawaiian Luau or an 80's themed party will make the evening more fun, not that you'll be able to remember it the next morning!

5. Drink in Dublin

Dublin's New Years Festival last 3 days and has pretty much everything you can imagine; a light extravaganza, sky dance, poetry slam and not to mention their concert, which this year sees Walking on Cars headlining! All of this and plenty of drinking will make for a New Years to remember. 

http://nyfdublin.com/

6. Or head further...

NYE is the perfect time to take a holiday. Expensive, yes, but the atmosphere that you'll experience in cities such as New York, Hong Kong, Berlin or Rio will make it completely worthwhile.

7. A girly evening

If you like a more laid-back evening, grab your girlfriends and set up camp in your garden. Plenty of blankets, fairy lights, projector films and bottles of Prosecco will make your New Years unique.

8. Just enjoy it.

No matter where you're off to this New Years, make sure that you're spending it with your faves. And really, as long as plenty of food and drink is consumed, you're sure to have a good one!

24 hours in...

Bath is one of my favourite places to visit. It boasts great shopping and fun restaurants, while still being a historical and beautiful place to visit. 

This weekend, I headed to Bath to check out their famous Christmas markets and inspire myself for a the festive season (less than 2 weeks to go!). 

The spa town was just as busy as I was expecting, even in the pouring rain, but that didn't stop me! After a quick stop for lunch, we headed for cover in the usual high-street stores; Topshop, Urban Outfitters, Jack Wills and All Saints.

We were pretty unsuccessful in our Christmas shopping trip and ended up buying for ourselves but that's what sales are for right?! 

The Christmas markets in Bath certainly didn't disappoint, with mulled wine, traditional German food and hot chocolate flowing, the atmosphere was brilliant. We didn't have time to check out the ice rink but by what I'be heard, it's pretty impressive!

Bath has always been one of my favourite places to visit and certainly is beautiful, even in the rain. I can't wait to visit the markets again next year and hopefully have a spin on the ice rink! Hopefully next time the sun will shine.

My top 5 stalls:

FELT SO GOOD : such a cute stall with everything felt; stockings, Christmas decorations and Pom Pom's just to name a few! Such a unique way to decorate your home at Christmastime.

THE GREAT STONE BAKER: The perfect place to grab a bite to eat as you wonder around the wooden huts. Top tip: go for the pulled pork on a bed of chips - you won't be disappointed!

POLLYFIELDS: Get into the Christmas spirit with door wreaths, scented candles and oils and the prettiest pot pourri!

THE BATH GIN COMPANY: Sample lots of different flavours of local gin. It'll definitely get you into that Christmas spirit!

JACKDAW: This stall will definitely catch your eye among the Christmas decs and food stalls! Beautiful Moroccan design and colourful glass brings a taste of the Medina to Bath.

Winter, it's a love hate thing...

Image fom Pexels

It's that time of the year again. Leaves are falling off trees, you're trying to find the perfect winter coat and everybody is suddenly talking about Christmas!

Personally, I have a massive love/hate relationship with winter. Hopefully, you'll be able to see why I have such a dilemma...

LOVE

1. Cosy winter nights

The most appealing thing about winter is curling up in front of the fire with a hot chocolate. There's something appealing about the idea of staying in, lighting lots of candles and watching a classic Christmas film.

2. Christmas adverts

I absolutely love watching Christmas adverts and I think they get better every year. The biggest high-street stores competing for the best storyline and song makes the build-up to Christmas just that little bit more exciting. And FYI, my faves this year have to be Marks and Spencer, Heathrow and Sainsbury's.

3. Festive spirit

The build-up to Christmas may outweigh all of my winter 'hates', as nothing makes me happier than walking down the high-street and seeing all of the Christmas lights. Christmas is such a brilliant excuse for a night out, shopping dates and a trip to the races.

4. Christmas music

I'm not talking about the latest cheesy pop song that arrives every December. I mean traditional Christmas songs; The Pogues, Wham! and Mariah... just to name a few. If they don't get you in the Christmas spirit, then I don't know what will.

5. Food

Winter is the best time to indulge in all your favourite food, especially when pigs in blankets are on offer. A Sunday in winter is not complete without sleeping until you're hungry, and then eating until you're sleepy.

  HATE

1. It's freezing

I am the worst when it comes to feeling the cold; my dressing gown is my best friend. The idea of going out and having fun is brilliant and, don't get me wrong, I love Christmas dinners and late-night shopping, but I can never, ever, no matter how many layers I put on, keep warm.

2. And not just that...

THE RAIN. I'm writing this during a washout, one that has lasted around 4 days. It makes my bed seem more appealing than ever and the idea of walking into town or going on a night out in a dress seem awful.

3. Layers

I love buying a winter coat every year and always spend quite a lot on the right one. For one reason only; it's all you ever see. The 4 layers I have on underneath, however nice they may be, will never appear in daylight. Layering is such a waste of clothes!

5. Mince pies

Ewwwwwww. Stollen, mince pies and Christmas pudding. Probably my three least favourite puddings ever all come at once! Just pass me some chocolate and I'll be on my way...

Christmas gift guide

Image from Pexels

FOR HER

1. Perfume

£45.75⎜The Fragrance Counter

2. Skincare

£55⎜No7 at Boots

3. Jewellery

£1,200⎜Jenny Packham

4. Make-it-yourself album

from £25⎜Photobox

FOR HIM

1.Watch

£275⎜Vivienne Westwood

2.Wallet

£55⎜Ted Baker

3. Aftershave

£42⎜Boots

4. Chelsea Boots

£170⎜Kurt Geiger London

FOR THEM

1. Personalisation

£34.95⎜NotOnTheHighStreet.co.uk

2. Candle set

£34.99⎜Yankee Candle

3. Photo frame

£20⎜John Lewis

4. Hamper

£100⎜M&S

LITTLE ONES

1. Soft toy

from £9⎜The White Company

2. Book

from £2⎜Groupon UK

3. Music Box

£15.99⎜Born Gifted

4. Pyjamas

£16⎜JoJo Maman Bébé

The best of luxury advent calenders

Image from Pixabay

December is nearly upon us which means one thing... CHRISTMAS! And for me, the best bit about Christmas is the build-up to the 25th; the excitement, the high street atmosphere and most importantly, opening your advent calendar every morning. So, here's my pick of the 10 best luxury advent calendars 2016!

Molton Brown

Molton Brown's calendar is perfect for those who love their creams, gels and skincare products.

No7

No7 never fail to impress, with full sized products as well as miniatures worth over £150!

Hotel Chocolat

For those who love a traditional advent calender, with calender options of milk, dark, white and caramel!

NYX

My absolute fave in makeup brands, this advent calendar is definitely on my list!

Chase Spirits

You can't go wrong with vodka and gin, and this advent calendar offers so many flavours for you to try.

Lookfantastic

Skincare, makeup and brushes galore this year. The Lookfantastic calender also boasts full sized products.

Lego

Let your inner child out with a Lego calender!

Topshop

Topshop's calender is always a best seller, 24 items of jewellery... what's there to miss?!

Benefit

This calender is a must if you love Benefit's products and a great way to try products you've always wanted!

Diptyque

Twenty-four of the most beautiful candles and diffusers - a treat if you can afford it.

Top 5 lifestyle tips

After a busy few weeks house-sitting and beginning my second year of uni, I wanted to share some simple tips that once you have grasped, become second nature. They're not bold, confusing or time-wasting, just very simple but extremely effective...

1. Find the right skincare

For the last two years, my skin has been awful. Not necessarily on my face or hands, but on my legs. I developed eczema, causing itching, bleeding and scarring - and no skincare cream or moisturiser seemed to help. I recently found out about Aveeno, and their moisturising cream has been my saviour. It may not work wonders on everyone, but my legs have cleared up, smoothed and cause no irritation. It's most definitely the best cream I have ever bought.

2. Drink more water

I always thought that I drank enough water, 4 or 5 glasses a day. Until dehydration became a huge problem for me, resulting in painful migraines and poor skin. Force yourself to drink as much water as you can everyday and you'll find that not only do you snack less, but your skin will begin to glow and plump.

3. Talk to people

As much as it may seem scary and daunting at first, speak to as many people as you can. Your hairdresser, friends of friends, strangers, people in your chosen career field. I recently created a LinkedIn account, where I have spoken to many people in journalism and teaching, and found that they may put you into contact for a job, work experience or just simply give you advice on your careers and ambitions. Talk to people - you might never know where it gets you.

4. Keep organised

My final year of uni is mad already. Being thrown into searching for work experience, thinking of ideas for a dissertation and constantly being told of expectations is a pretty daunting scenario (after 4 months off!), so keeping organised is my main focus. Writing everything down, taking as much from every lecture as possible and finding a way to manage my time has been tricky - but once you know what you're doing and when you have time to do it, it makes it seem that little bit easier.

5. Think positively

Exams, dissertations, assignments, work - the list could go on. It all seems so scary, especially when you want to do as well as you can. The main thing you can do is to think positively, believe in yourself and aim high. And if it's all getting too much, remove yourself and come back to it after a couple of hours. Go and watch bake-off and order a takeaway...

A fresh start

I've been spending a lot of time reflecting recently and although I'm not one to usually regret anything or want to change anything about myself, there's been some situations and set-backs that have really got me thinking about what it is I want.

I want to be happy.

Although I believe that I am a positive person and try not to dwell on things too much, my anxiety occasionally comes to haunt me and leaves me overthinking, worrying and just generally creating thoughts that have no reason to even be there. I want to live in the moment and worry less about everything, so I've made some pretty big decisions. Here goes...

I've quit my job. It actually gives me so much pleasure in saying this as it's something that's dragged me down for quite a long time now. I started uni with a 25 hour job and it just piled on the pressure. Even after cutting my hours, with the workload I had to compete with at uni, I was worrying more and more about pleasing both my manager and my lecturers, forgetting about what actually matters. Me.

The pressure to do so much more overtime, get coursework and revision done and have a social life was something that I just about dealt with for the majority of time at uni. Now, heading into my third year with a 2:1, I want to make sure I keep my grades up and concentrate on my work, and now I get a lie in on the weekend!

I've also decided to apply for a postgraduate PGCE. This decision, if you know me, isn't that much of a shocker. I started my summer this year by volunteering in a primary school for two months, and it's made me realise what I really want. Yes, I love media and journalism has been the perfect degree for me to study. If a job comes up in the media industry or I want to do more work experience in newspapers, magazines or PR, then I might! But after being part of a primary school the final term of the year, it's really opened my eyes into what it is I want to do and made me think about what's best for me.

So, as my final year of uni approaches, I've made some big decisions that I'm hoping will reflect positively on my work and grades. I've also made smaller, everyday decisions; to be more organised, to take every chance I'm given and to think of the positive in every situation. Hopefully, this time next year, I'll be able to look back and realise that I chose the right path.

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10 random facts about me

A little insider into a few things about me. What I like, what I don't and some of my favourite things...

1. My favourite place in the world is New York. I like lots of cities and love the Cotswolds, but nothing will ever come close to the feeling you get in NYC.

2. My greatest achievement was getting into uni. I believe everything happens for a reason and since being at uni, I've seen how much my life, attitude and ambitions have changed for the better.

3. My biggest regret is not doing anything for myself, when I needed to the most.

4. If I could wish for anything, it would be for free travel. There's so many places I want to visit and I'm too impatient to save for years!

5. My most expensive purchase will be my car (once I pay it all off!).

6. When I was about 15, I was obsessed with One Direction. Completely obsessed. I've seen them 4 times.

7. I love writing lists. I write down lists for everything; packing for holiday, shopping at Christmas, things I need to do. Just generally anything I feel needs to be organised.

8. I'm actually quite shy. I seem confident, talk for England and love getting to know people but I definitely put a front up to hide my shyness and insecurities.

9. I am obsessed with chocolate, I can't get enough of it. I should probably stop...

10. I have never had a pet, but would love a dog.

Holiday Destination: Prague

I know it's long overdue, but I wanted to share my recent holiday pictures and thoughts with you, this time from Prague.

We flew to Prague at the end of May, after a stressful year at uni and to mark the beginning of summer. Here's what we got up to:

Day 1

We arrived at the Majestic Plaza in Prague to beautiful weather and an urge to explore. After getting ourselves ready, we headed around the corner to find a large shopping centre (Sephora and Topshop - hello!), had a little look around and made our way down the high street towards Wenceslass Square. We had dinner at a pizza parlour in the heart of the square and then made a slow walk towards one of the bars we'd been eyeing up - James Dean's. The bar was our favourite and we ended up back there every night - great music, cheap drinks and a 50's diner theme.

Day 2

We had a lie-in pretty much everyday in Prague - it's such a chilled city, there's no need to rush for anything. We walked down to the Old Town Square where we had ice creams and admired the incredibly detailed buildings, before heading over Charles Bridge en route to the Castle. It was a long walk uphill but it's definitely the one thing you HAVE to do if you're in Prague. The buildings and views are definitely worth it once you get up there!

We had dinner in the Old Town Square at sunset, before exploring Prague's Old Town for bars and pubs. Bugsy's was the last bar we went to and was definitely my favourite, with a 20's London vibe and a long list of cocktails to choose from.

Day 3

On the hottest day of our holiday, we headed south along the river to explore more of Prague. We walked until we got to the dancing building and chilled by the river for a bit before going to crazy golf. Everything is relatively cheap in Prague and for £8 we had unlimited golf, arcade games and 2 drinks each - pretty good! We had such a long walk back to the Old Town so it wasn't too great that we got stuck in the biggest thunderstorm just as we were wandering across Charles Bridge so we spent the rest of the afternoon running back to the hotel and ordering room service for lunch!

Our dinner reservation was at the Buddha Bar in Prague and without a doubt, it was one of the best restaurants I have ever been to. The attention to detail, from the cocktails to the dessert, was exceptional and was definitely worth every penny.

Day 4

We spent the morning wandering over the Charles Bridge to find the John Lennon wall and pub, where we listened to music and looked around the stalls. There's so much to do in the city with history behind every attraction, but it's such a relaxing and chilled place to be.

We had a reservation at Cloud 9 - the sky bar in Prague, and the views over dinner were incredible. The food was lovely, but spent most of our time there making our way down the cocktail menu. After dinner we headed back to James Dean's for the night, which I guess was pretty good, because (judging by the photos) we ended up spending all of our money and partying along with a stag-do...

Day 5

Our last day was an absolute write off. I decided to get that drunk on our last night, I could barely move on our last day. After a loooong walk into town, we sat at a restaurant where I sipped water and admired the view. I had a nap and felt a bit better, so we wandered around a few shops before heading back to the hotel to wait in the lobby. I wish I'd have done it a bit differently and maybe not drank as much, it definitely ruined our last day in such a beautiful city, but we had to spend the last bit of our money somehow!

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