Back to uni

So I am finally back at uni and it feels pretty good to be back, the buzz of new and returning students is refreshing compared to the slower pace of life at home. Fresher's week is such a weird week, it can be super crazy or super quiet and is actually when I tend to sit and think. Or overthink.

This is when I realised the social pressure that was actually on students to go out often, get drunk and actually enjoy such nights on a regular basis. Don't get me wrong, I love a good night out with my friends and boyfriend. But, I equally enjoy a night in with a movie and some snacks. Yet, during freshers week my housemates and I almost felt pressured to go out drinking, when in reality all we fancied doing was settling down for the night. 

This is what I love and hate about uni. There are so many different opportunities that it  means there is literally something for everyone. For example, last night I went to a Welcome Talk for Enactus and have just returned from taking my housemate to a horseriding lesson.

I guess the point of this post was to say, don't just do what you think everyone expects you to do. Do what makes you happy. On the other hand, it is good to push outside of your comfort zone every once in a while too.

Are you back at uni, school or work? Have you tried anything new?

Katie .xx

I did it.

Before and After

Perhaps this is an over exaggeration. I didn't completely do it and I should probably tell you I am referring to my hair cut that I was considering in an earlier post. There was talk of dying it, which I have not done. But, I did have quite a lot cut off and it feels 100% better for it. Though I would still like to ombre it some day, I need to get richer first and I am pretty impressed with the amount I had cut off. I now just have to wait for my fringe to grow a little to achieve the look I was aiming for, thanks to my previous full fringe! 

Might sound extreme but it felt like a risk and with it paying off I am certainly going to consider taking more in the future!

Perhaps you should consider what risks you can take in life? Because most of the time they pay off, especially when in the grand scheme of things they really aren't that massive!

Katie .xx

Choosing the right foundation

I honestly feel as though this is an area in which I fail as a girl. Is it just my incompetence or is finding a foundation that is the right colour, consistency and coverage actually as hard as I make it seem?

Just when I think I have found the perfect colour for me I discover that in actual fact I hate the coverage, it is too thick or just doesn't have the lasting power I expect from a foundation. Perhaps I simply expect too much from a high street foundation, but on my student budget it is hard to justify spending upwards of £25 on my foundation.

I feel as though I have tried all the brands available on the high street market, even trying the colour match scheme in Boots, didn't work to my expectations as it appeared I was actually between two different shades they had on offer.
I am going onto the high street today to try to find a new foundation with the perfect colour and consistency.
Does anyone have any tips? Should I just splash the money on a high end foundation?
Katie .xx

Book Review: Gone Girl

Source: google.co.uk/images (www.kimscravings.com)

Ok, so I'm guessing I'm a little late to the 'Gone Girl' party but truth be known I have seriously struggled to get back into reading since I finished my English A Level last year. Who knew being told exactly what to read and when would actually make me fall out of love with reading (something that I actually really enjoyed when I was younger). Having just been away on a beautifully relaxing, two week holiday, I had the perfect opportunity to get back on the reading bandwagon and this book did not disappoint.

Whilst, I will admit it did take me a good 4/5 chapters to get into it, once I did, I could not put it down. The story is based on married couple, Nick and Amy, who are just about to celebrate their 5th wedding Anniversary, when Amy goes missing. All eyes point at Nick as the husband and the story goes on to discover if it was really him.

The novel is written in such a clever way that it really did take me a while to realise what was going on and who was responsible, which is what kept me hooked for so long. I would say that the ending was a little disappointing in that it almost just fizzled out, which seemed a shame for such a dramatic storyline.

I would however, still give the book 4 out of 5 stars and would be really interested in reading other books written by Gillian Flynn, her style of writing really captured my interest and was pretty unique from anything else I have previously read. I also, cannot wait to now watch the film to discover their understanding of it.

I would definitely recommend this book if you love a good mystery/crime novels, I kept relating it to CSI type programs when telling others about it, which I love!

Have you read Gone Girl? Or can you recommend anything similar?

Katie .xx

The End of Summer

I guess with the return of everyone to school, university and work, it is safe to say that is the end of Summer in the UK (though can we argue we didn't actually have one?!). At the start of Summer, I wrote a list of plans, which I claimed to update you on. Clearly, I failed as I was so busy enjoying myself, that this blog did quite frankly get slightly abandoned... Sorry! As a result I thought it best to look back across my entire Summer to see quite how well I had done.

1. I planned to learn Portuguese for my holiday. Yes, I went away to Portugal with my family for 2 weeks on a much deserved, relaxing holiday away. Like I said in my previous post I had a little Spanish under my belt and from a quick look I saw that they were in fact pretty similar. This was no excuse however, for the fact that I actually started learning Portuguese on the plane journey out there. Luckily, it turned out that the area we were in was full of English speakers and often they were happy enough to help us out and get us around.

2. Learn how to use my SLR camera... Ok, so I ended up selling my SLR for a smaller compact camera due to the size of my SLR I found I rarely used it as I could not often be bothered to carry it around with me... However, my new camera does still have the option of going manual and so I perhaps will have to have this as a plan for next Summer (yet again!) hehe.

3. Travel in the UK more. I tried at this one I really did. With all my plans I visited my boyfriend near his camp in Camberley, went to Portsmouth to visit family. I even planned and started the journey to Oxford to see my flatmate... but then my poor little bug of a car broke down halfway through the journey and I have not had time to make it up there since :( I do have plans to visit York in October, which is supposed to be beautiful and perhaps will have more plans during the Winter, eventually I will visit some truly beautiful places!

4. Get back into reading. Finally, one think I can say I actually achieved as you will see with my book review of Gone Girl. Now to just keep it up when semester restarts.

5. Watch more of the classic films. So, yet again I have not seen many more of the classics, but I have watched a lot more films this year. My boyfriend is a big film nerd and loves them a lot so I guess this comes with girlfriend role for him haha.

6. Make macarons. Ok, I still haven't managed that one, mainly because I forgot about it. But I did make this awesome Minion cake instead! (not quite the same Katie...)

Looking back on my list it doesn't seem as though I have achieved much (oops!), but I have really enjoyed this Summer! It will soon be back to uni for year 2, which I am excited for but it will mean the hard work has to start again, so it was nice to have a couple months relaxation, despite the number of hours I have done at work too.  

Did you have good summers?

Katie .xx 

Making a change

The title sounds pretty dramatic when I am in fact referring to my hair. For a number of years now I have had the same hair cut. My standard, hair below my shoulders, full fringe kept the same colour, my natural brunette. 

It has gotten to the point where I simply want a change. Though I am struggling to decide what. I know I need to keep my fringe, previous early teen hair cuts with my fringe grown out have taught me for a lifetime that I do not need to get rid of that! I've considered changing it to a lesser statement, more of a side fringe for example.

I've considered cutting a lot off, a bob for example. Or even going as far as to colour it. I simply cannot decide.

Hopefully by the end of the summer a change will have been made that I have not regretted.

Do any of you have a similar problem? What did you do?
Katie .xxx

The Criterion

Oh dear.. how is that we have made it to the middle of July already?! I knew Summer was going to fly by but it seems crazy that I have been home nearly a month already. Being back at home also means being back to work, and I have been working quite a few hours recently. I want to make sure that it doesn't mean I miss out on doing some great things with my summer and I guess this is why time is flying by. Its good to be busy really.

Having said that I thought I would blog about a special trip to London that I had at the end of June to celebrate my Nan's 70th birthday. The day was mainly focused around a beautiful 3 course lunch at the Criterion. 

This was a beautiful restaurant and offered us all the opportunity to dress up. The restaurant is located in the heart of Piccadilly Circus. Walking in there felt as though we had been transported back in time- this restaurant is used in some scenes of Downton Abbey- and seemed completely calm and tranquil compared to the busting London streets (especially as it was PRIDE weekend). 

We were welcomed with a champagne cocktail by some wonderful staff who seemed intent on providing the best service possible. I chose the ham hock and black pudding terrine, celeriac remoulade watercress and croutons to start and it was beautiful. The ham hock was so soft and the celeriac creamy to contrast the saltiness of the ham hock.

For my main, I chose pan fried ‘Loch Duart’ salmon, beetroot & horseradish purée and sautéed vegetables. Whilst eating it I described it as a 'posh stir fry' but it too was stunning. The salmon was cooked perfectly and the vegetables too. By this time I was already stuffed full but decided it would be rude not to eat some dessert.  

For dessert I chose their eton mess, which looked as beautiful as it tasted. 

All in all, it was a beautiful meal with amazing service throughout. Not forgetting the special treatment the birthday girl got to celebrate her special day.

Katie .xx