Finishing School... Forever!

On Friday 22nd May I finished school. Some people were really upset it was over, others couldn't wait so they could start the new chapter in their lives. Whilst I will miss not seeing my friends everyday I fall into the category of being very happy to leave. School is so incredibly stressful, and whilst I'm sure Uni and actually working will come with a LOT of stress, the environment of school is not one I particularly enjoyed. It was a very weird experience, finishing at a school I've been at for 7 years (up to GCSE's and then Sixth Form) and something I'm not really sure has sunk in yet. Aside from the exams I still have to do, I am looking forward to the future a hell of a lot more, GAP YEAR HERE I COME! 

Here are some photos from the final two days of school:

My favourite photo of me and Izz

I love this photo, our last lunch together

My two best friends!

A Fresh Start...

Wooow, so yeah, haven't written on here for a while. whoops!

LOTS of stuff has been happening, school, friends, family, exams(!) and so I haven't really found the time to post on here. I do really enjoy writing this blog though, I love writing whatever I feel like and want to, regardless of who is reading this- probably no one but me! It helps me re-evaluate aspects of my life, and enables me to see things more clearly- particularly when I'm stressed. As a list maker it makes sense that writing would help me chill out and help me decided the best method forward.

One of my New Years Resolutions was to eat more healthily and lose weight. So far, (excuse my French) it has gone to shit. If anything I'm eating worse than ever and have gained weight through my diet of crisps and chocolate. Food is something really difficult for me, if I am struggling with something I tend to seek solace in food, while if something positive has happened I 'reward' myself with sweet treats. I'm unhappy at the weight I am, I feel extremely self conscious and not attractive, but because of this I eat to cheer myself up- its a vicious cycle! I know it seems to an outsider a very simple concept, if you are unhappy and overweight then just LOSE WEIGHT AND STOP EATING. Although it is a more of a psychological thing it does have a chemical element to it, As my body is so used to receiving so much sugar and salt if I try and reduce that intake I suffer physical effects, headaches, stomach aches, more irritable etc.

Therefore I've gone for a new approach.

I'm going to write (in a diary) what I eat each day, in attempt to moderate myself and actually improve. I could always lie, but I've promised myself I'm going to be honest, however shameful it may be. I am incredibly picky about food, I don't like many foods - which as it annoys me I can't imagine what other people think! However I'm going to try to expand my food limitations as this new 'healthy eating' begins.

Here's to a fresh start!!

Best Bits of 2014

In my opinion, January is about reflecting on the past year and planning, prepping and looking forward to the new year! So as January is now over, these were the 'best bits' I reflected on.

Some of my favourite parts of 2014 were:

Brighton

For my friend Ellen's birthday we went to Brighton for the day, it was a beautiful sunny day and we just spent the whole day laughing and chilling out on the beach. What made this day brilliant is the fact it was such a unexpected triumph, whilst everyone was looking forward to this day we didn't expect it to be one of the best days of the year which it definitely was! I think this shows that some of the best days are the ones you don't particularly expect :)

Duke of Edinburgh (Silver)

I loved both of these trips, (practice and qualifying trip for each). Although it was hard work and extreme sweating, back pain and horrendous blisters weren't fun the fact I was surrounded by my best friends made it a brilliant trip! We had a brilliant time and it was so satisfying to accomplish something that people were surprised I participated and succeeded in! 

Halloween Sleepover

Each year me and my best friend Izzy have our annual 'Halloween sleepover'. It started off us vowing to watch a scary, horror film each year but as someone who hates all things horror and gore it quickly changed to us just chatting and watching chick flicks. All our sleepovers are always brilliant, we always have a laugh, we tell each other everything and enjoy each other's company. This sleepover was defintely one of our best though, we didn't do anything we planned to do (watch Sound of Music and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) but had SUCH laugh about the stupidest things! Again, it was unexpected but one of my favourite parts of the year by far!


We didn't actually take any photos on this sleepover but this was taken at a Halloween party the day after:

Birthday Meal

It was one of my friend's birthdays so we decided to go out for a meal. I was on a high because I had my braces taken off after 5 years(!) and just had one of the nicest evenings talking and laughing with my friends. A consistent theme is how unexpectedly great this night was and I just remember feeling very, very happy!

Journey back from psychology lecture

Okay this sounds very very weird! Lots of my friends, including me take psychology and so we went on a school trip to this conference where lots of psychology related people were speaking. The actual experience of the event was good, it was interesting but nothing special. However me and Izzy sat on the coach together there and back (the conference was about an hour away) and gossiped, planned my birthday Paris trip and sang along to Cher! We just had the best time laughing together and singing our hearts out on the coach, one brilliant bit is when Izzy attempted to quote this very 'tumblr, deep' quote she had found and completely butchered it until we were in tears!

Paris

For my 18th birthday my mum and dad took me, my brother and my two friends (Ellen and Izzy) to Paris for the weekend. As this was somewhere I was very eager to visit I was so so so excited, we did lots of tourist-y things such as the Eiffel Tower, visiting the Louvre and seeing Notre Dame lit up at night. It was such a brilliant weekend, and the best birthday present!

Hope you enjoyed reading my highlights of 2014, I'm excited about the new projects and upcoming events of 2015 :)

Love, Laura x

DOFE Silver Makeup Challenge

As part of my DOFE Silver award last year I had to do a 'skill' for 6 months, and due to my interest and passion for makeup I obviously chose to experiment and create a different makeup look each week for 6 months. I really enjoyed the process, I discovered makeup looks that I wouldn't usually wear and grew more confident in my skills in makeup application. 

Here are some of my favourite looks:

As someone who doesn't usually go for lipstick I really
liked this look! Simple makeup, eyeliner and mascara
and the emphasis on the glossy red lips.

I attempted to master winged eyeliner, still got a bit to go but I think
I've got a pretty good idea now

My idea for this makeup was 'sunset eyes', I used
orange-y, yellow shades- something very different for me!

I love this makeup look, I think it really suits me.
Soft eye makeup and rosy cheeks and lips!

Love, Laura x

New Year Resolutions

I know I'm already pretty late to the party, the idea of making New Year Resolutions is that you make them on the 1st of Jan and continue them throughout the year but as I was very busy with work, aka Gossip Girl, I didn't really even think about it until now. Every year I make a few half-hearted resolutions and successfully break them within a week, as do the majority of the population. I was going to write a blog post about WHY we feel the need to write resolutions, maybe I will- haven't fully decided yet. However this year I am determined to really put some effort into making these resolutions a success- none of mine are unreachable, although some will really test me at times so a lot more willpower and energy will be needed!

Here listed below are some of my Resolutions for 2015:

- Get into a proper eating routine and lose some weight.

I have the most awful diet, for the majority of 2014 I didn't really have 'meals' as such, I just snacked on crappy, junk food when I was hungry which did me absolutely no favours and as a result I gained a bit more weight. I'm never going to be a size 6 but I am slightly overweight now which makes me feel uncomfortable and unconfident at social events, surrounded by my much slimmer friends. Losing weight will help my confidence and self esteem as well as having a more healthy lifestyle.

-Have more faith in myself and don't allow others to put me down.

I'm a pretty open person so if someone upsets me then they will most likely know about it. However, I feel like some of 2014 I felt really, really crappy as I allowed other people to undermine me and insult me which they justified because we were 'friends'. I know who my real friends are and they would never knowingly make me upset and having people in my life who don't add anything, just make me doubt myself is pointless. 

- Try and keep my room tidy.

It sounds simple but as I naturally messy person my room is usually a tip. Having it so messy makes me even more disorganised and stresses me out, but I am either too lazy or seemingly incapable of keeping a tidy room. I'm going to make a real effort to make my room a tidy, calm place- it will definitely help me in the hectic exam period to come!

- Concentrate on my studies more and stop procrastinating as much

I am literally the procrastination queen- I will do anything to avoid doing work which inevitably ends up with me having to do LOADS very last minute, resulting in panic, tears and less than perfect work, a nightmare for a perfectionist. A lazy perfectionist- the most frustrating thing you can be, aka me! Instead of focusing on school dramas and TV shows I need to put some real effort into my studies, I'm only going to be at school a couple of months more and then hello gap year! I will be disappointed if I don't get the grades I want so this resolution is crucial.

- Make more effort with my blog.

As someone who epically failed at attempting to write my blog last year, I am going to put a lot more time and effort into writing blog posts- beauty, lifestyle, whatever! I enjoy writing on here and I think its a good place to express my thoughts and feelings.

I'm also going to make some more effort to spend as much time as I can with friends & family and to try and be more positive. 2014 had some really good parts but a lot of that year was very difficult for me, so I'm hoping 2015 will be happier and hopefully more of a success! At the end of 2015 I'm going to review this post and hopefully I will have achieved, some, if not all, of my resolutions :)

Love, Laura x