Instagram round up January 2015

I'm fully back into the swing of uni life, and have officially handed my dissertation in! January's treated me pretty well, so I'm looking forward to what the rest of the year will bring.

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1. My friend Bee's first time making a coffee at the union cafe, 2. I bought a black turtleneck and drank red wine and judged you really hard for your choices like a true wine mum, 3. New Years' Eve selfie, 4. Handing in my dissertation and on my way to the pub, 5. Trying on my new lipstick - L'Oreal True Reds Blake Lively edition, 6. First Aid Kit playing at UEA LCR - they were so good!

OOTD: I'm a turtleneck girl now

I woke up this morning feeling well rested and happy, so naturally I look like the grumpiest person ever in these photos.

I'm not sure what it was. Maybe sleep just gives me serious attitude, who knows.

Top - New Look, Skirt - Primark, Shoes - Dorothy Perkins

Anyway, I bought this top a few weeks ago after following Jenny Slate on Instagram (Mona Lisa Saperstien, for any Parks and Recreation fans out there). Anyway, she rocks a turtleneck like no other so I immediately bought three. I really liked the checked/dogtooth combination print on this one, and it looks great with a simple black skirt. 

The skirt's a little big for me, but I was going out for lunch and knew I'd end up stuffing myself, so I wanted a little room.

The lipstick is new, a L'Oreal colour riche one. It's part of the 'exclusive reds' collection done with a handful of celebrities. I grabbed the Blake Lively one because I've been watching a load of Gossip Girl since I finished my dissertation, plus it was probably the one that suited me most. The formula's great, It doesn't feel drying but I didn't actually have to top up after eating. 

Speaking of eating, I went to Frank's Bar, a really lovely cafe/bar in Norwich. I spent ages deciding what I wanted, but ended up picking the spinach pancake, which was actually both vegan and gluten free! 

I also grabbed a slice of chocolate and guinness cake, which was so amazing that I forgot to photograph it in my eagerness. I went to go and pick a cake and the waiter just ran up and said 'that one.' He chose right!

My friend Emily went for the Quinoa Porridge, and as you can tell from the second photo she loved it.

And Vicki had a beef brisket ciabatta with mustard mayo. It sounded incredible! You can follow her blog (and admire that amazing jumper) here.

It's been quite a packed few weeks since I handed my dissertation in, but I have lots of plans for this blog coming up. I might even try my hand at making a Youtube video, so watch this space!

Resolutions 2015

It's December 30th, and 2014 is almost over. A year ago if anyone had suggested making new year's resolutions I'd have laughed in their face. But here we are a year later, and a lot has changed. I've pretty much had to question every aspect of myself this year, and I've got to be honest, I'm glad it's over! 

I'm looking forward to 2015 starting, and the chance to make some changes. I need to do more things that are good for me and that make me happy, and these are some of those:

Do more yoga and get back into running

Drink more water

Don't beat myself up for focusing on my mental well being over my achievements - I should always come first

Read more

Blog more

Seek out positive and healthy connections and relationships

Pass my degree

Get a job after graduating

Work on being as body positive as I can be

Live in the moment more - enjoy the little things

End the year in a good place as much as I can.

Work on being my own best friend, not my own worst enemy.

What about you? What do you want to change in 2015? Let me know in the comments below!

Have a happy new year, and enjoy whatever you do to celebrate it. 

  

Boxing Day at Forty Hall

 This morning my mum came into my room with a bacon sandwich and a cup of tea and announced 'we're going for a walk.'

My family love to soften the blow of bad news with food, it's how we operate.

Anyway, I groaned and complained, as did my brother, but we were dragged along on this walk. We decided to make the most of it and have a mini photoshoot.

We went to Forty Hall, a local house and gardens near my home. I spent lots of childhood walks there, and going there always makes me feel a little nostalgic.

I took the opportunity to wear one of my Christmas presents - this lovely jumper from Joy. It's wintery but not Christmassy, so I can wear it for January and February too.

Jumper - Joy, Jeans - Topshop, Boots - Doc Marten, Coat - Primark. Belly bulge - Christmas food!

Glasses - Gok Wan for Specsavers, Lipstick - GOSH in Yours Forever

I'll probably do a post soon about all the new lipsticks I've bought recently. I'm really liking this one from GOSH - it's in a lovely colour and the formula's really moisturising.

I've barely ever actually been inside the hall itself, they hardly ever used to open it. Nowadays they have lots of events going on inside it, which is nice because it's a really beautiful house.

This and the following photos are all taken in the Rose Gardens. There aren't many roses there this time of year, but during the summer it looks beautiful. It's the perfect place for a game of hide and seek too!

I've had this Primark coat a few weeks now and I really love it. It's huge and shapeless and I feel like an overgrown bat, so it's exactly my kind of thing. The boots I've had since September, and I bought them in the softest leather they have so they barely took any time to wear in at all.

After our walk we had lunch and then me and my mum went to see the new Hobbit film. I cried, a lot!

I'm going back to Norwich on Monday, because I've got to finish my dissertation and I can't have any more distraction. It's due on the 13th of January and I've probably done nowhere near enough of it, so the next few weeks will be work, work, work. Christmas always goes too quickly and I can't wait to hand the damn thing in.

That being said, I'll probably write a post before or on the new year. Resolutions will be made!

Happy Holidays!

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Happy Holidays everyone! Outfit photos are pretty hard to take when I'm at home, but I thought I'd put together my Instagram photos from the last month. See you again before the new year!

1. Showing off my lovely new Primark christmas jumper, 2. My uni house's adorable christmas tree, complete with little crochet squares made by yours truly, 3. The feminist society christmas meal, wearing my adorable little present earrings from Accessorize, 4. Taken before the Alumni LCR at uni, 5. Before Alumni with my lovely friend Sophie, 6. Grabbed the new Bourjois Happy Nude Year velvet matte lipstick before they all disappeared, 7. London Christmas shopping with Bee and Sophie, 8. Wetherspoons selfies with my gals from home, 9. Cute notebook from my secret santa.

OOTD: 'It was my mom's in the 80's'

I just found this old drafted post that I seem to have forgotten about from back in August, so here's a little throwback for you all. Look at my hair!

Denim Shirt: Wrangler, vintage, Blouse: Vintage, Skirt: Oasis, Shoes: Clark's, Glasses: Gok Wan/Specsavers

A few weeks ago I went back home to London for a long weekend to celebrate my brother, Harry's 15th birthday. It wasn't the best weekend due to family problems, but we both spend one of the days in Central London together. It was a really lovely day, we don't tend to spend a huge amount of time just us when I'm home, so it was great to bond and know that we can both rely on each other in tough times to come. 

Outfit poses in public are hard!

I love this old shirt that used to be my mum's back in the day, it's cream silk and I've managed to go a while without spilling anything down it, which is a personal achievement (white is the enemy of clumsy foodies). The skirt I bought the day before in the Oasis sale, and had been discounted down to £5, which I was extremely happy about. The shoes I bought last year when I was working at Wetherspoons, I needed some sturdy shoes that were black, but I actually like to wear them for everyday too. 

I'm overdue for an eye appointment, so I decided it was high time I started actually wearing my glasses. I'm getting a test soon, so I'll probably discover I need to wear them all the time, so I need to get used to doing so. 

Aren't we a beautiful pair of siblings?

OOTD: Feeling Christmassy

There's something about this red and blue plaid button down dress that really says 'Christmas':

Dress: Primark, Boots (if you can see them!): New Look

It's actually really warm and sturdy too, which is something I don't tend to expect from Primark. I bought it a little big, assuming it was supposed to be one of those big waist dresses (my favourite kind) but I'm not sure it was actually meant to be. I really like the fit though, and it's a really cute, comfy dress that I can probably get away with wearing all year round.

I'm still figuring out how to pose, it's a little bit of a learning process  

Every year I go on a bit of a hunt for a really good christmas dress, and it seems this year the hunt was over a bit quicker than normal.

Also this is a rare ponytail appearance from me - I hardly ever wear my hair up unless I'm doing sports. This morning though, my hair was gross and I couldn't be bothered to wash it, so I decided to throw it up, and then proceeded to flick it around/pose a lot:

I've been keeping makeup a little more minimal of late, partly because I'm lazy, partly because it gets me a cheaper bus ticket. I still break out the lipstick a lot though, of course!