Malta

Oops... it appears I haven't done a blog in a very VERY long time. Apologies for that, I either haven't been in a writing mood or I have been pretty flipping busy this holiday. I thought that after my exams had finished I would have had an awful lot of free time for blogs, blogs and even more blogs. But it just hasn't worked out that way.

I'm going to start off this blog talking about my trip to Malta which I actually set off on over a month ago, i'm just terrible at doing things on time. It was one of the most amazing holidays I have ever been on. I went with the wonderful Rob who made the trip brilliant and nearly saved my life...

I had no idea what to expect with Malta and no idea how busy/quiet the place we were staying (St Paul's Bay) would be. It actually turned out to be slap bang in the middle.. in the day it was pretty quiet and relaxing yet in the evening everything came alive and the hustle and bustle of the pubs and restaurants became evident.

The first day I was stupid.. I stayed in the sun far too long and didn't drink enough water. This resulted in me losing my vision and fainting whilst half way up a flight of stairs. Luckily though I'd warned Rob my vision was going blurry and he actually managed to catch me mid-faint so I escaped with nothing more than a little bump on my shin. Could have ended up a lot worse and resulted in the rest of the holiday not being as good!

We spent most of the holiday just relaxing in St Paul's Bay but took two day trips. One was to Valetta which is the capital city of Malta and it was good to see lots of English shops and wander round exploring. The second day trip was on a boat trip (hadn't realised I was sea-sick until that day when my stomach was bouncing all over the place) where we visited two small islands Gozo and Comino. Comino is home to a Blue Lagoon where the waters are perfectly clear and it was breathtaking. We were given enough time to go swimming in the Lagoon which for me was the holiday highlight.

After initially having no idea what to expect it became one of the best holidays of my life and I know that Rob and I will go back there one day. It was absolutely beautiful and the views were just insane. I will just leave you with a couple more pictures from our trip...

Rob and I at Gozo 

Our first night in Malta

Overlooking St Paul's Bay

Relaxing by our rooftop pool

Fulwood Academy's Prom/Leavers' Do

This last Friday night saw my time at Fulwood Academy Sixth Form come to a close, and there was only one way to celebrate - a night out in town. Firstly, I want to say a massive thank you to everyone that organised the prom night, especially the beautiful Charlotte and Jess - I know how stressful it has been but all your hard work paid off!

Our night started off in Glovers in Preston town centre. We had the place to ourself along with a DJ, bar, photographer and a buffet. It was so nice to just be able to party the night away with the people I have come some close to in the past 2 years. It was a great way to say goodbye although looking back, slightly emotional knowing it is the last time we will all be together. The night went totally according to plan and everything was just perfect. I had been quite worried that I would have been left disappointed because my expectations were so high, but the night couldn't have gone any better!

After the Leavers' party had finished I met up with Rob and his friends who were also in town celebrating his 25th birthday. It was lovely to meet up with all his friends again and join them in celebrating.

Anyway, leaving the blog post relatively short this time round because I am shattered, but I will leave you with a few photos..

Kirkham Club Day

This weekend saw the annual Kirkham Club Day, a day that brings the people of Kirkham together.

Last year I for some reason had the day off work so got to experience the whole day but this year I ended up working but only a 4 hour shift. This meant that I had to get the train to Kirkham because by 3 o'clock the lovely Rob had already had too much to drink to be able to safely come and pick me up - pfft that's how much he loves me :P

I started off Kirkham Club Day by going to the Cricket Club which is where the mighty Wesham Road Runners meet up to train. But oh my word, what a transformation. Usually on a Monday night when the runners all congregate, the outside just has a few cars and that is it. This time, the place was absolutely heaving, there was a live band providing entertainment and a lovely BBQ that smelt delicious, shame the queue for the burgers and all other yumminess was soooo long :( the place was absolutely jam packed though we struggled to find a decent place to sit down and have a drink.


After staying there listening to the music we walked through the fair but I didn't go on any rides. I'm a bit anxious of rides now because when I was younger I made myself sick on one of those teacup rides where you have a wheel to spin yourself and this was before the rid had even started. So now I refuse to go on them again!! I was such a clever 8 year old making myself ill before the ride had even started.

We made our way to meet up with all of Rob's friends then, some of whom I had met before and others who it was the first time of meeting. They are all such a lovely genuine bunch of people so it was nice to spend the day with them. We went to a number of different pubs, had a laugh, chat, listened to more live music and went on bouncy castles - like normal 19-25 year olds do on a Saturday afternoon.


And then things took a turn for the worse, I threw up - multiple times. That's what happens when a gal who can't hack their drink and usually sticks to lemonade on a night out drinks too much without having eaten any lunch or snack or any form of food since 8 o clock in the morning. Ooopsy!! :(

But, all in all it was an absolutely fantastic afternoon/evening and I can't wait to do the same again next year (but maybe I will eat some food and take it easy on the cider)

Adios xxxx

Ps: exams are nearly over, hallelujah!! In less than 48 hours they will be over for good and then I will have tons of spare time to blog blog blog!! Might do a summer writing challenge if I can find any decent ones!

Hope everyone has a lovely week ahead of them :)

Re-decorating my room

As a little something to get me through my exams, Mother Watson has said that I re-decorate my room as soon as they are over and I swear it's bringing out the interior designer in me. My mind is filled with room layouts, wallpaper and paint ideas and little home accessories that will just jazz the room a little bit. All this is not very good when I have my 3 hardest exams within the space of the next 4 days. My brain should be swimming with psychology studies, arguments for the existence of God and 101 different business equation, not colour schemes and which way I want my bed to face. (I know, revision is so much more interesting.. right?!)

Talking of beds though, there is a massive bonus with re-decorating my room and that's the fact that the double bed which is currently in the spare room will be now coming into my room. This means that I will now be able to starfish sleep all night long, hallelujah *fist bump*

So, me and Rob have got just a tad excited with all this decorating malarkey and spent almost all last Sunday going to various home shops gathering ideas. And after a trillion hours, the only thing that we had decided upon that day is which wall our feature wall was going to be and which wallpaper we were going to have.. I know, we managed a lot didn't we... -.-

If anyone has some lovely decorating tips or ideas then please let me know, want it to look fab fab fab!!! :D

8 things I'm most looking forward to regarding uni

1. Tha fact I will me moving from home, yes this is slightly daunting, but I genuinely can't wait to have more freedom and be more independent!

2. Graduating and being free from education (well aside from the fact my whole career is based on  the education of others)

3. Moving away from Preston and to Lancaster which is a very pretty place and living somewhere new

4. Having placements throughout the course each year

5. The fact that I am going to meeting a whole new bunch of people from my course and from my halls of residence and making a whole load more friends.

6. The nightlife and social life that comes with the whole university experience.

7. The feeling that my education has finally got me somewhere after 15 years #thankgoodness

8. Studying a subject I want to study with like minded people that will enable me to achieve my dream job

40 little things that make me happy

1. Family get togethers

2. Having my hair played with

3. The beach

4. Lighting candles

5. Old photos

6. Crunchy autumn leaves

7. Fireworks

8. Good morning texts

9. Strawberry and Lime cider

10. Painted nails

11. Spontaneous days out

12. Full battery on my phone

13. Staying in PJs all day 

14. Stars on a clear night

15. Fluffy puppies

16. Pizza Express Dough Balls. 

17. BBQs

18. Lazy sundays

19. Popping bubble wrap

20. Fresh bedding

21. A tidy room

22. The smell of grass when it's just been cut

23. That 11th like on Instagram

24. Dancing like no-one is watching

25. Flowers

26. Lush bath bombs

27. Costa Red Berry Coolers

28. Olly Murs

29. The sunset

30. Cuddles

31. Camping

32. Fairy lights

33. Getting a letter in the post

34. Reading a good book

35. Country music

36. The rain at night

37. Long phone calls

38. Falling asleep with Rob

39. Having holidays to look forward to

40. Writing lists (bet you couldn't guess)

17 days to go...

The end is finally getting near, it's like the light at the end of the tunnel metaphor that everyone goes on about. But thank goodness that the wait is decreasing and my exams are nearly over.

When you think about, I've been aiming at getting a good enough education to get me to uni since I was about 4 years old. That is a blooming long time, and it's going to be over in just 2 weeks and 3 days. Let's just hope the last 15 years have pay off and I get the grades that I need. 

Today was a bad day for me though. All the stress of these last couple of weeks and what lies ahead got too much. The pressure is insane for A-Levels, as with all other exams people are taking this time of year. But I started over-thinking and over-worrying more than usual about it all and couldn't really think straight and yep there was a tear or two. It felt pretty good though to just let it all out, let all the stress drain out of my body. And now I am raring to go with the next 17 days, yes I know that they will be hard and there could be more tears further down the line, but I have to keep the end in sight. Knowing that after all this working my socks off I will be free keeps me sane. I will be free from school, teachers, exams and all the worrying and negative emotions that comes with it. I will finally be able to enjoy the next few months and just relax and not have to worry myself sick with dread and fear. 

This summer is going to be best summer of my life and nothing will stop that! Just 17 days to get through first... 

PS. I notice this post was just a bit of rambling, just wanted to write it all down to be honest! 

Guild Wheel Disaster

Rob and I had planned to cycle around the Guild Wheel route yesterday. For those of you who don't live anywhere me, it's basically just a 21 mile route around my town suitable for cyclists, runners and walkers. It's almost all off road and goes past a river and in lots of countryside. However, I think someone was against us as just about everything went wrong...

To start things off, the weather yesterday afternoon and evening was horrendous, it was pouring down with rain although initially it didn't stop us wanting to get out on our bikes and have a go. But then there was a bit of a disaster, my bike had two wheels which were both completely flat. Fortunately, my mum headed out to go and get a new pump to save the day. But it looked like my bike had two punctures as they were not blowing up at all!!! Option B was to take my mum's bike instead and take the pump with us incase anything else happened so that's what we decided to do.

So we chucked the bikes into the back of Rob's van and headed off to get nearer the start of the route. By now, what motivation I had once had for the bike ride, had almost completely gone. The weather was horrible and this meant that I really couldn't be bothered - the weather always massively affects my mood. To make matters even worse, after going about a quarter of a mile, the back tyre of the bike I was on had gone completely flat. Rob tried to save the day with the pump but it snapped half way through! Rob offered to swap bikes but the one he was on had the most uncomfy saddle ever so I was stuck with a flat tyre. (You see what I mean about the whole thing being a disaster?!?!)

I was determined though to at least get somewhere with the bike ride, so we carried on until mile 3 and then turned around and came back. Overall we managed about 7 miles if you included getting to and from the van to the start of the Guild Wheel, so it wasn't a massive disaster but it wasn't what we had set out to achieve either.

We finished things off nicely with a drink at a local pub with one of Rob's friends from uni who we had bumped into when putting our bikes away and then headed off for a Chinese to round the adventure off .

We've decided we will give it another go when the weather is on our side and we've fixed my bike, I'm actually looking forward to it, yesterday didn't put me off to much!!

Top 5 Disney quotes

Now everyone loves a bit of Disney... Don't they?! As a kid I used to watch Disney films all the time just as a means of entertainment. But looking back, there are actually a lot of things you can get from just a small Disney film, and these things are all summed up in my top quotes.

1) "The past can hurt, but the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it" - The Lion King

2) "It's not until you lose everything that you can truly appreciate everything" - Beauty And The Beast

3) "You are braver than you believe, stronger than you see, and smarter than you think" - Winnie The Pooh

4) "Remember, you're the only one who can fill the world with sunshine" - Snow White

5) "If you can dream it, you can do it. Always rememeber that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse" - The Mr Walt Disney himself!

So if life is getting you down, then watch a Disney film as a massive pick up and take some inspiration and guidance from the princesses :P But seriously though, remember that no matter what, always believe in yourself, you are stronger than you think and whatever you put your mind to, I am sure you can achieve it!

Inspirational quote time

"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life"

Everyone has those quotes that mean something to them or that they can relate to in some way. And this quote by Steve Jobs is one that strikes a cord with me. A lot of people do things because they feel pushed or pressured into it. Whether it's studying certain subjects because it's the path their parents want them to take; or if you feel pressured to drink, smoke, do drugs etc by people who you think are your friends or even something on a bigger scale.

A philosopher we study in RE called Nietzsche believed that the world would be a better place if we all became more autonomous and I couldn't agree more. We should act the way we want, dress the way we want and live for ourselves without being influenced by someone/something who isn't you. It's your life so you should live it how you want to, at the end of the day you're only going to regret it if you've been pushed into it.

So live life to the full, the way you want to live it. Don't worry about what others will think. Don't let anyone stand in the way of your dreams.

The end of an era..

So today marked the start of my last official week as a student of Fulwood Academy. I have longed for the day that I finally became free from school and I never have to go back again. But honestly, right now I couldn't think of a single thing worse. I 100% do not want to leave the sixth form after the most amazing 2 years with the most wonderful people.

I'm not going to sit here and write about how brilliant the school was. Quite frankly, there were a lot of decisions made that the majority of people disagreed with. But I guess that happens whichever school, sixth form, college etc that you go to, so to be honest it's not really a big deal. When I first applied to join the sixth form, I will admit I was dubious, but it is the best decision that I have ever made and there are two things that were absolutely perfect and I couldn't fault: the teachers and my peers.

The teachers there are absolutely brilliant (especially GN and LS), well definitely GM for proving my whole RE class with donuts in our double RE lesson every Friday - definitely made learning about old blokes from thousands of years ago a little bit more interesting. I couldn't say a single thing wrong about any of my teachers, they have made the last year not only so much for, but also so worthwhile. Swapping schools and redoing the year has helped me change my original grades of CCDDU to ABBB within the space of a year. And for helping me to achieve those grades, I cannot thank the teachers enough, you are all wonderful. Ooooh and a massive cheer for BK and HG for being the best sixth form leaders ever!! And again to BK for providing the best banter in the whole of the universe... NOT!

And moving on the to the one thing that has kept me going when times have been tough.. the best group of friends that I could have ever wished for. Walking into the building on my first day not knowing a single person was probably one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life, but all you all made me feel welcome straight away and within days it was if I had been there right from the start of year 7, and not 6 years later on. You've made me smile every single day, made my cry with laughter on more than one occasion and just been the best bunch of people to spend each day with.

Knowing that in 3 months we will be spread across the country in different universities and not being together every day makes me sad :( But unfortunately for you lot.. you won't be able to get rid of me that easily.

So thank you to everyone at Fulwood for the most amazing two years and the even more amazing memories. You will always be close to my heart (wow, that's cheesy) and I will miss you lots :( :(

First exam tomorrow...

As the title of the blog post suggests, I have my first exam of the year tomorrow and it's a business studies one! Luckily for me, business studies is the subject I enjoy the most and in my opinion is the one that I am best at. It seems to be compatable with the way that I think and the way that I learn, so I am not too worried about it at the moment. I know though that when I wake up in the morning I will be a bag of nerves until I open that exam paper at 9:15

This particular exam tomorrow is actually a resit from last year. I did alright last year, but because I've found the subject a lot easier in the last 12 months, I thought I would give it another go to try and boost my result up a grade (or two).

The past few months have been building up to this moment, the start of the exam season, and I am so glad that it is finally here because that means they will all be over soon. In exactly one month from now, I will have finished my last exams and never have to go back to my sixth form for any lessons or exams, just a leavers assembly and results day. Once these exams are over I won't have any until the second year of uni and I can't even put into words how happy that makes me. These previous months I have absolutely worked my socks off because I am so determined to do well this year. I'm not going to let anyone down like I did in my first year of exams which made me feel distant from my family who are all complete brainboxes. But this year I am going to prove to everyone that I can do it and tomorrow is the start of that... I'm ready to get into that exam hall and just smash it!!!

Summer Bucket List

In just over a month I will have completed my A-Level exams and I will only have to go back into sixth form for Leavers Assembly and the dreaded results day which leaves me with 3 months to relax, kick back and just chill. However, that might sound great for some people.. but I get bored so easily and would much rather be doing something out with people rather than staying in and sleeping till 3 in the afternoon like a lot of people I know will be doing.

So to keep myself busy over summer, I have complied a list of things to act as my summer bucket list - a list of all the things I am going to try and do in my 3 months off. I will give an update at the end of August to see how many I have actually managed to complete.

1) Go on a camping trip with a bunch of friends. 

2) Maintain my running - hopefully enter into a couple of races

3) Climb Scafell Pike - the tallest mountain in England - and have a picnic at the top. 

4) Take as many beach trips as possible. I blooming love the beach 

5) Walk or cycle the 'Guild Wheel' - For those of you that don't know, it's basically a 20+ mile route around the centre of my town that lots of people cycle or run around. 

6) Have an old school "girls night" - you know the one I mean gals: facemasks, films, pizzas, sleepovers - let take it back to 2005 ey? :P

7) Have a BBQ with all my besties from sixth form going on till the early hours of the morning.

8) Explore a city I have never been before. 

9) Have a MASSIVE water fight with my best friends. 

10) Document all my summer in a scrapbook full of pictures and memories to look back on. 

Uni is getting close!

In 1 month and 6 days time I will have completely finished my time at sixth form and have completed all my A Level exams. Sixth form has taken me a year longer than it takes most people as I re-did my first year due to getting rubbish grades and absolutely hating the place that I studied! But it has 100% been worth it, the people at my sixth form are honestly the greatest and I couldn't have wished to spend the last couple of years with better people.

To know that in just over 4 months I will be on a new adventure and will have started university is absolutely nerve-wracking, but I am honestly so excited, I cannot wait. There isn't much to do now: I have applied to uni, gone to all my interviews, got my offers, confirmed University Of Cumbria as my first choice and applied for student finance. And then today I also got an email confirming that I got in place in my first choice halls of residence which was super duper exciting.

Things are getting close now and I cannot wait to start my course, start uni life and meet all my flat-mates I will be living with. Should be the best 3 years of my life, well my fingers are crossed are anyway :)

WOW! What a weekend...

It's a long one.. just warning you!!

For those that know me personally, you will have probably known that I went down to London for the weekend. London is my absolute favourite place in the whole entire world, it just holds so many memories for me that I hold so close and I will treasure forever. And this weekend, a new memory was made...

The reason I went down to London was the marathon. I myself did not run the grueling 26.2 miles (I am not that stupid) but I knew a lot of people that were - my boyfriend (Rob), Dad, cousin (Lucy) and various people I know from a local running club - the mighty Wesham Road Runners!

I firstly want to say a massive massive well done to everyone who took part, it really is something to be proud of whether you achieved the time you wanted or not. How many people can say that they have run the London Marathon?! Your efforts amaze me every time I think about it and it really is something wonderful to be able to say you have done. And especially those who run for charity (Lucy, I'm looking at you here) I mean just wow! Doing it for such a good cause is so phenomenal, knowing that running the marathon will help so many people in the future - I salute you.

Rob in top picture, dad in bottom picture

Completely the 26.2 miles in London with a fantastic crowd and atmosphere is going to be something you never forget. However, this time round even more so for Rob. Now yes, Rob is a blooming quick runner and he achieved an astonishingly good time and gained a massive personal best. But somehow I don't think that is the memory that will stay with him this year round - instead, crossing the line hand in hand with the one and only... *drum roll * PAULA BLOOMIN RADCLIFFE! I mean what the heck?!?! How did that even happen?! Getting to run alongside the female world record holder and one of the most inspirational runners even!

Shout out to the guy running as an ostrich - you amused me

When Rob was about 19 and a half miles around the course, he heard that Paula had just passed 20 miles over the speaker system and then made the effort to catch up to her and run with her for a bit. All week there had been talk of the marathon and telling those who were running to finish 'hand in hand' with those you're running with - just like the first two winners of the London Marathon did. Rob saw this as an opportunity to ask Paula if she wanted to finish hand in hand with him when they were near the end, and she said yes (much to Rob's disbelief)! And they continued to run down the final stretch holding hands with each other and finishing the marathon together in 2 hours 36 minutes! PROUD GIRLFRIEND RIGHT HERE!

At this moment, I wasn't at the finish line as I was still watching other runners at around the 14 mile mark and all of a sudden my phone was going crazy with friends texting me/tweeting me that Rob had finished holding hands with Paula, and to be honest I didn't believe any of them at first. Just thinking they just meant they had finished at the same time. And then people started taking pictures of the TV screens and sending them to me and I was in shock. This is like the stuff of dreams, I'm still not over it to be honest.

The next few days were crazy crazy for Rob, the media went crazy, interview after interview and even appearing on TV. People were going crazy about it and I couldn't be prouder of my wonderful man.

This is going to go down in history and is something to tell the kids and the grandkids! Wow!

My Champion 

Who knows... maybe one day I will be stupid enough to run it myself... just maybe!

Adios xx

The week ahead..

This is going to be one insane week and I cannot wait!! :D

Ok.. to be honest, the first part of the week (up until Wednesday) will be just the same as usual - going to sixth form, revision and other really dull stuff. But then, it gets better... MUCH better.

Thursday night I will be reunited with the love of my life, the one and only Olly Murs. It will be my 4th time of going to see him at concert - 2 of his own concerts and then 1 hosted by a radio station with various other acts too such as Ella Henderson, The Script, Union J and others. I just love love love him and I genuinely cannot wait till Thursday night to see/him at Manchester Arena. Let's just hope Rob doesn't take the wrong turn to Manchester like he has done every single other time we've been to Manchester!! (No pressure Rob)

And then Friday I am off down to London with Rob for the London Marathon. I am obviously daft enough to be running this myself, but I seem to be associated with a bunch of weirdos who are all going to run/jog/walk the 26.2 miles around the city centre. So good luck to Rob, my dad and my wonderful cousin. You've all worked so so hard for it and I will be there with you all in spirit every step of the way and cheering you on at some point around the course. 

London is possibly one of my favourite places around the world, definitely here in the UK at least. It just feels pretty special to me and I have 101 memories of happy family holidays and trips with Rob, it just makes me happy and I love the busy atmosphere and buzz around the city. Obviously there will be a blog post up about my weekend in London and all about the marathon too nearer to the time. A massive GOOD LUCK to all of you and everyone else running the marathon this Sunday so you can look like this crossing that finish line... 

Next week's post might be very photo-heavy as I plan on taking a trillion pictures down in London, just a warning :P 

Adios guys xx

Pressures of blogging

There are a lot of people who I know who think that blogging is just a walk in the park, is just a little thing on the side and doesn't take much time and thought.. think again people! Now this post is more for those who aren't bloggers themselves to get a bit of an insight...

Now I am not a massive blog, I'm relatively new to the whole thing and only have a small group of followers but believe me, it's a lot more frustrating (don't get me wrong it's also rewarding at the same time) than I first thought it was going to be.

1) Blogging takes up a lot of time, and I mean.. a LOT! It is very time consuming and in my free time I am just constantly going over blog ideas in my head. The amount of pieces of paper I have lying around my room with different ideas that I have gone over time and time again is unbelievable.

2) You're always going to have your critics. Not everyone likes what you write about, you can't please everyone and never will be able to. You just sort of have to shake off *insert Taylor Swift lyrics here* the criticisms.

3) Suffering with writers block. One of the main things with blogging is that you have to update your blog quite often to maintain interest but there are so many moments where I get write writers block and can't think of anything worthwhile so just end up rambling (like today) which is equally as rubbish.

4) You're always comparing yourself to other bigger better bloggers. Now whether this is about the content of the blog, their writing style, the way their site looks etc I always find myself getting down when I compare my sites to other people's who are so so successful in what they do. But in the grand scheme of things, I am a very recent blog and there is no way I am going to be anywhere near as good as those who have been doing it for years so mehhhh.


Overall, I love blogging and I am pretty proud of how far my little blog has come considering I started doing it as just a way to express myself, but knowing how many countries around the world my blog has reached makes my heart all warm and tingly :D So thank you to all my readers, especially those who are regulars. I love you all so much and thank you for making me a happy little blogger



xxx

My summer wishlist

Something a bit different with this blog post - turned it into a fashion blog for the day with a summer wishlist whoop whoop

I can't wait for payday to come around, there are so many summery items that I want to purchase now that this weather is getting a lot warmer. There are four things that I am definitely going to be buying when the next payday comes around and a few examples and where to get them.

A floppy or fedora hat
-  These past few years I've not really worn a hat and then regretted it days afterwards when I'm bright red. So this year, we're heading back into hat-land. I'm loving some of the floppy hats and fedora hats I've seen this year.

Flowery bobbles
- I really don't suit headbands or the crowns of flowers people are obsessed with in festival seasons. I want to be a bit more subtle and settle with a bobble or two with the odd flower on and not go OTT.

Jeweled sandals
- Rob got me some jeweled sandals last summer and I fell in love with them last year. So another pair or two will be needed for around the pool on holiday this year. They just add a bit more glam that just ordinary flip-flops and they can be used in both the day time and night time which is a bonus.

Fringed detail dresses
- Judging by the recent fashion shows, fringing is going to be massive this year and just in festivals. I've not really been a fan of fringing in previous years, but the way it has been worked into a lot of fashion this year is perfect and I definitely approve.

1 - Stone wide brim fedora - New Look - £14.99

2 - Felt feather floppy hat - Topshop - £32

3 - 3 pack hair elastics - Claires - £3

4 - Gem embellished sandals - River Island - £35

5 - Jeweled cross strap sandals - Missguided - £20

6 - Fringed shift dress - Boohoo - £18

7 - Shift dress with fringing - ASOS - £35

Making the most of the sun

The sun is finally popping out to say hello *cheers* and fingers crossed it is here to stay - well at least through my Easter holidays.

I decided that today I would make the most of the sun and take my little cutie of a dog on a much longer walk than usual. Normally I hate taking Charlie out on walks, that's probably due to it always being rainy and windy at the same time, making an umbrella impossible to manage without it blowing inside out every blooming second. But today was different, I actually thoroughly enjoyed the walk, just strolling through the woods and letting Charlie going swimming and judging by how tired out Charlie was afterwards, I think he enjoyed it too.

For once it was warm enough to not have to wear joggers, hoodie and coat. So I just took him in my lovely new ripped skinny jeans and one of Rob's jumpers, because guys jumpers are much more comfortable. I've been after some ripped jeans for a while now, but everywhere I have tried them on the rip has been in the wrong place due to my abnormally proportioned legs it seems. But THANK YOU New Look jeans for having jeans for weird people that actually happened to be in the sale too - win!

 

  

I'm just praying now that the sun stays so walks are much more bearable, I can do revision outside, have lots of BBQs and spend a lot more time outside. The sun makes me so happy :D Maybe this year I will get a tan - wishful thinking, I'm one of those unlucky people who just goes a beetroot colour :( Let's hope this summer is different!!

A weekend in Hartpury...

Well this weekend has been fantastic - family get-togethers are just perfect!

My auntie, uncle and cousin all moved to a place called Hartpury in South West England a few years back and this weekend was the FIRST time that I had been down to see them in their new house. Things have just seemed to get in the way (such as working weekends) that have prevented me from going down to see everyone.

But this weekend, Rob and I headed down after I had finished my shift at Primark on Saturday and made the 3 hour journey *yawn* down to Hartpury for my cousin Pop's birthday. Lots of my extended family were there and it was lovely us all being there in one place to just eat pizza, drink, play games and just have a catch up after several months of not seeing each other.

 

Rob and I spent the night in a lovely cottage with my mum, sister and gran. It was lovely to have all the family together, especially over the Easter holidays and to celebrate Pop's birthday. The cottage was in such a beautiful place - just country lanes and fields everywhere, completely different to city life in Preston.

It was such a lovely weekend being a part of my cousin's birthday celebrations and I definitely will try and visit a lot more often. It's only when I'm with everyone when I realise just how much I miss being away from my extended family. I'm definitely looking forward to the next family meet-up: only 28 more days to go *cheesey grin*

Swallow Barn - Hartpury

Wow.. April already?!

It doesn't seem that long ago since everybody was putting their Christmas trees up and getting ready for the festive period... So how the heck is it April already?! Don't get me wrong I absolutely love this time of the year, it's just 2015 is just going so quickly and it's scaring me.

2015 is going to be such a big year for me, I will FINALLY finish my A-Levels and will start uni on the way to achieving my dream job. It's a big year, but also a really exciting one. I just want it to slow down though. Knowing that in another 2 months I won't be attending the same sixth form and all my friends will be venturing off to different parts of the country makes me cherish every moment at collage with us all being together every day.

Best friends for life

April is one of my favourite months every year and this year it will be no different. Although it symbolises crunch-point for revision and exams it has many added bonuses too:

1. The first half of April I am off school for the Easter holidays meaning I can sleep for days, lounge about in hoodies and joggers, eat as much junk as I like and hibernate for two weeks .. WIN!
2. Two of my favourite people ever have their 18th birthdays. My beautiful cousin Poppy and best friend Jess. Hope you have lots and lots of fun, enjoy it, you only turn 18 once.
3. I get reunited with loads of my extended family at Easter time who I wish I could see more often. I still remember my cousins as little 4 years (Hey Romy and Isla :P) and they grow up so blooming quickly every single time I see them! 
4. I'm heading off to London for a long weekend to watch some of my faves (Rob, my Dad and my cousin Luce... oh and some folks from Rob's running club) run the London Marathon! Good luck to all of you! I know how much time and effort goes into this sort of stuff. You will all ace it, I promise you! (Standing in the same spot for hours watching sweaty men and women who look like they are dying, is actually more fun than it sounds I promise you)

   

   Rob at last year's marathon

So I am 100% going to cherish this April, knowing that the next two months will probably be the worst two years of my whole entire life, I blooming hate exams and revision! .. I know coursework takes a lot of time but why the heck didn't I take BTEC coursework subjects? :( :( Poor Moll

Anyway, I have rambled enough for today. Hope everyone else's April is a good one xxxx

First time for everything.. mock results

You may have remembered that I spoke previously about bricking it for my mock exams and how I really wasn't looking forward to them at all. Yesterday was the day that the results came out and thank goodness I didn't end up getting shot by my mum because for once in my life they were fine - much better than anticipated actually. 

The only downside of the results day was that the results were given out at parent's evening which actually meant that my mum got to see my results before I did and she gave me one of those 'looks' (you know the ones I mean, the 'what the heck' looks)! She didn't say anything, just shoved the paper in my hand! 

I have never been so shocked in my life with some of those results though! 

The main shock was Religious Studies which is the worst subject in the whole entire world, I hate it and my whole soul just drains out of me when I am in this lesson. I honestly have no idea why I need to know about all these dead people's ideas about God but hey ho, I took the subject so I guess I'm stuck with it. In all the tests we had done in class before the main mock exam, I'd be getting E and D grades, but I somehow ended up with an A grade in my mock - I nearly fainted!! Still in shock now. 

I got an A* in Business, yes I find Business relatively easy and was pretty sure I had done alright it - but not THAT well!! And then I got a C in Psychology which is the subject that I enjoy the most, but there is also the most to remember. And I'm happy with a C grade in Psychology, obviously I will strive to get higher in my actual exams this year but overall I was thrilled with my results. 

So, it beats last years mocks where I got a B, 2 D's and a U!

AND... the main thing is it might (just might) get my mum off my back for a little bit who keeps complaining that I am not doing enough work for sixth form and A-Levels. And also to top it all off, if those mock results had been my actual exam results in the summer then I would have got into Uni. So now I know that it is achievable I am even more determined to do well this year!! 

General chit-chat post

Only one more school week to go and then we have finished for Easter and get two weeks off and I cannot wait. However, after that I only have a month and 5 days until my first exam. It's scary how quickly my time at sixth form has gone by and that in September I will be starting a new adventure in the form of university.

But for now, I am absolutely loving the spring weather that we have had here in the North of England recently. My mood is instantly lifted when it gets to summer and the sun is shining. I might even brave some shorts and dresses without tights soon if the good weather continues. Don't get me wrong I love living in England but the weather is absolutely rubbish and it's the first thing I would change. I just want more sun!!!

Talking of sun, me and Rob have decided to book another trip away, we're planning on going to Majorca in October so that Rob can run a half marathon over there. It means we get a nice long weekend together in sun sun sun!! Cannot believe though that Rob is wanted to go alllllllllll the way to another country just to run 13 miles though. :P It should be really good though, we're going with a bunch of people from his running club who are some of the nicest people I have met  I cannot wait though, I love holidays.. got my countdowns all set and everything :D

Today I tried something different with my running and actually went off road and through the woods that I live near. Recently the woods have been really wet and muddy so now that the sun has been shining and the mud has dried up a bit I thought I would give it a go and I found it so much better than just a normal road run, it made for a nice change of scenery even if I did get chased by 2 dogs half the way there. Anyone go running much and got any tips for not getting bored half way through? I get quite bored just running around the same roads each time I go out, and I've only just really started. Anyone get any tips they will be greatly appreciated! Also, do you prefer running by yourself or with a buddy?

Adios guys, will speak soon :D

Getting back into running...

I guess having a boyfriend who is a pretty damn good runner and a dad as a runner should mean that I'd have taken up running a LOT earlier.. but nope, not me.

I used to run (a little bit) a couple of years ago and was part of a running club which is how I met the wonderful Rob, but then it started getting colder, my work load at sixth form built up and I had exams to cope with and I quite frankly couldn't be bothered at all so I stopped it.

But within the past couple of weeks I've started to pick it up again and I'm going to be honest.. I love getting back into the swing of things. I always feel so much better after a run, I can be in a horrible mood before hand but once I've sweated it all out then I feel fab!

This past week I have gone for 4 runs, all just over 2 miles each. I'm gradually going to start building up the mileage and document my progress. I think one of the problems I had previously was trying to do too many miles straight away which made me hate pretty much every single run because I nearly died at the end of each one. So this time round I'm starting off slowly to make sure I stay in the habit and don't just give up after a month. I'm determined to do a 10K at some point; my ideal aim would be to have a run a marathon by the time I die but right now that is a tad ambitious.

Let's just hope the weather stays nice for now so I can be more motivated to go for my nice little runs :D

Also, shout out to this wonderful fella for getting a Personal Best in his Wilmslow Half Marathon today, words can't express how proud I am of you, even if you did throw up multiple times after you'd finish (...lovely)

My boy <3

I'm not ready to grow up

Growing up is one of those things that is inevitable, it happens to everyone and I freakin hate that!!

I wish I could have stayed 8 years old forever, life was brilliant back them. When you're 8 all that matters is having trainers that flash when you stamp your foot and the hardest thing is finding Wally! Those were the good old days ey?

I am one of the most childish immature people in the world and I am just not ready to move on with life. I don't want to have to finish sixth form, or go to uni and move away from Preston. I'm just not ready to be independent with no one to rely on - I can't even remember to feed my fish every day for God's sake, how am I going to cope by myself every day at uni?!

I'm not ready to do all the 'adult things'. Having to work full time, do everything myself and pay for boring things like water and electricity and not just clothes and holidays. I know it will obviously get much much easier when it's actually happening but right now I still feel very much a child at heart and it feels like I'm growing up too quickly and I didn't appreciate my childhood enough, it was the best ever.

I'm happy with the way things are at the minute and I don't like not knowing what the future will look like. What if I don't like what happens? I wish there was a magic pill you could take that kept you like Peter Pan and you never grow up

Revision revision revision

Mock exam week results come out next week at my school and even before I them out I know one thing.. I have to get my bum into gear and get some work done (and quick!!!!)

I have actually been pretty good these last couple of weeks using my free periods at school to do work whereas I always used to just mess around on my iPad browsing the Daily Mail and shopping online! I've also been doing a bit of work in the evenings but not much and I always try to leave my weekends free if possible to just relax. But I think that needs to change. 

I worked out today that it is only 63 days until my first exam, so just over 2 months away, yikes. And my last exam is 93 days away. Meaning just 3 months of hard work to go and then I can relax. I will be able to have a much better summer if I know for a fact that I did my very best and there is nothing more I could have done. 

Revision has always been a complete bore to me and I just used to read the textbook the night before and hope for the best, which never happened, hence why I had to redo year of sixth form. I wouldn't recommend that revision technique to anyone, I've been there, done that, and it worked horrendously. 

Last year though I tried something new, I actually revised months ahead of my exams and surprise surprise it worked and I was happy with my results. So obviously I am doing this again this year. Revision is going well and I have already made loads of revision cards for the 54 different case studies I need to know in full in psychology and I have made revision sheets for my other subjects too. I've made them all look nice and pretty because I know if it's just in plain black and white I will never look at them again. I've been surprised with how effective they have been to be perfectly honest with you. Who knew just adding a bit of colour would help?!

Revision sheets so far

Revision cards

So yeah, a few things are going to have to take a bit of backseat for now as revision is my number 1 priority and blogging may be one of the things that I stop for a little bit, but we will see how things go ey? 

Adios 

Molly xxx

Is anyone ever happy with the way they look?

When I hear people talk about how they hate their body, especially girls, it genuinely makes me feel sad. I'm not saying I love my body at all, but I don't think it's horrendous either. But getting extremely upset when you look in a mirror is something that happens to many people out there and I think that this needs to change. If Gok Wan had anything to do with us then he would be getting us all naked telling us to love ourselves... maybe I wouldn't go that far! 

 

Self-confidence is something that a lot of people lack, especially when it comes to their appearance. We are always so keen to compliment others on how nice their hair looks, what they are wearing, how nice their figure is etc. Yet when it happens to us we're like "erm... pardon? what? .... nice joke!!" Not many people actually accept a compliment and can look in the mirror and be happy with they see in the reflection. I know definitely want lots of things improving with the way I look.

Yet everyone has different ideals: I know people who want to be thinner, whilst others want to be more toned, others want to bulk up massively and others want to gain weight. Often short people want to be taller and tall people want to be shorter, people with straight hair wish they had naturally curly wavy hair and vice versa. I could look at every single one of my friends and say they looked perfect and nothing should be changed but they are determined that they are not happy with themselves even though no-one else sees anything wrong. 

It got me thinking, is any one ever 100% completely happy with the way that they look or does everyone want to change something about themselves? 

I think we all need to start being positive and accepting ourselves as who we are more often and try to make a change. I know that I've started back at the gym after a couple of months off to try to be happier with my body but I know that I will never be 100% happy, there will always be something I want to improve. 

Lets try and stay positive guys!! xxx

Age is just a number...

Today in psychology we had a cover teacher and as with every time your normal teacher is away, you do anything but the work you're supposed to do. The discussion this lesson led to talking about age gaps in a relationship and I thought I had a bit of experience on this topic so well here goes :P

When you're a teenager age gaps in a relationship are seen as such a big deal but as you get older and older the gap seems much smaller. Age gaps are actually more common than people think. I know a lot of my friends have been or are currently with someone who is more than a couple of years older than them. 

Now I met Rob when I was 16 and he was 22. As soon we went public I was questioned about it by a lot of people I know. A 5 and a bit year gap when I was just  16 was seen as a big deal and wrong in many people's eyes. But I honestly never thought anything of it and I'm pretty sure that Rob didn't either. I don't see Rob as someone who is much older than me, I see us as equal and he's the guy I love regardless of his age. Age isn't even a factor anymore. The only time I have ever really seen the age gap is when I was under 18 and couldn't get alcohol, go clubbing and watch '18' rated films at the cinema and he could, but now I'm over 18 I forget about the age gap as it is totally irrelevant. Yet although it doesn't bother me or Rob, I used to constantly find myself justifying our relationship to others and reassuring people, my parents especially. 

Age gaps are totally fine in the media and celebrity couples, so why not in 'real life'? Just look at these couples with major age gaps:

• Beyonce and Jay Z = 12 years
• Bradley Cooper and Suki Waterhouse = 17 years
• Adam Levine and Behati Prinsloo = 10 years gap
• Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas = 25 years
• Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds = 11 years

I was wondering whether it was just me with this idea as there are a fair few people who think age gaps shouldn't happen so I got a couple of other people's suggestions on the topic:

"I think that age gaps should never be an issue. Each individual falls in love with someone for a reason. Just like people shouldn't be judged on gender preferences, they shouldn't be judged on age gaps" - Jess

"When you really love someone, age, distance, height and weight are just god damn numbers. Who cares if one is older than the other? God was like 100,000 years older than Mary when he got her knocked up" - Harriet (always known for her highly sensible thoughts :P

And of course I asked Rob on his thoughts on our age gap - "Age isn't really something that has concerned me about our relationship at all throughout the entire time that we have been going out. Our gap is about 5.5 years(?) but I wouldn't say that the difference makes me any maturer (is that even a word!!?), in fact half the time you are still maturerer than me (ok that one definitely isn't a word). I have been around people older than myself all my life, from a young age, so I suppose for me it has alwasy been the norm to ignore it as an issue. And of course, I fell in love with you and for that reason nothing else matters" - aww he's cute

So it looks as if I am not alone with my thoughts on age gaps, would love to hear everyone else's views on this or if you yourself have a relatively big age gap and if it's even given you problems.

xx

Appreciate the small things

This morning I watched a clip of Emma Watson's HeForShe campaign speech and it got me thinking about equality but not just between males and females. Why is that some people on earth have much better access to things in life than others? How is this fair? Why aren't the more powerful countries (USA/UK etc.) doing more about this to eradicate inequality around the world?

Our society is one which takes the majority of things for granted yet we still complain:

We complain that our mum or dad hasn't cooked us our favourite meal whilst at the same time the UN estimates over 800 million people are currently starving and suffering from chronic undernourishment.

We complain about the weather and that it's rained all day. Yet many countries are so hot that they can't even grow crops. Or its raining so much that everything they have worked for is flooded.

We complain about school, how much work we have, how we dislike our teachers. But just think of all those children who would die to be able to go to a school like ours. Think of all those children who don't have the education or qualifications to set them up for life.

We complain about having a cold, or there being a long wait at the doctors. But what about all those children currently dying of AIDS, malnutrition, malaria etc. Their chances of survival are tiny and everything would have been different if they had just been brought up in a different area of the world.

I know that is it an absolutely mammoth goal to abolish world hunger and poverty but if I had just one wish it would be for equality across the world. I know everyone is guilty of taking things for granted but if everyone just started to appreciate what they had more then the world would become a much better place.

Would absolutely love to hear your views on this so please get in touch!

7 places I want to visit before I die

Travelling has always been a major interest of mine, whether just locally, around the country or abroad. I have been lucky to have visited a lot of countries but they have all been in Europe. By the time I die I want to have visited so many more places and see what the other corners of the world have to offer. 

So here goes, places I want to visit:

1) Kenya (I really really really want to go on a safari, only problem is I'd need injections to go and they scare me *cries*)

2) Sydney, Australia

3) Skiathos, Greek Island (where Mamma Mia was filmed)

4) New York

5) Bora Bora 

6) The Phi Phi Islands (pretty much because Rob's cat is called Fifi and they sound the same haha ... oh and it looks like paradise)

So yeah if anyone has a bucket load of money that they don't know what to do with then please donate kindly for the 'Molly travels the world' fund! ... no?... hmm worth a try!

*none of the above photos are my own - obviously, as I haven't visited them yet*