STYLE | STYLING A DENIM SKIRT FOR WINTER

With winter upon us, it's time to get out the jumpers (or like me go out and buy loads more) and find the winter boots you shoved to the the bottom of your wardrobe. For me, the worst part about winter is that it means you can't leave the house without having to wear a coat that 9 times out of 10 makes an outfit go from a 10/10 to a solid 3/10. Nonetheless, layering and styling summer staples into more winter friendly pieces I am a fan of.

Take one of my favourite skirts from the summer, now perfectly acceptable on a more mild winter day with tights, and not forgetting a good old pair of boots. This combo is one of my favourites. This khaki jumper (one of the many many I own) I recently purchased from Primark for just £10. I bought it oversized to have the baggy look when tucked in to a skirt/pair of jeans. 

The finishing touches of this outfit are definitely what makes it. The brown leather belt, and the leather tassel bag, makes the look all the more autumnal/wintery. 

So there we have it how I love to style my denim skirt for a winter look!
xx

UNI | THE 3 THINGS I'LL MISS THE MOST

With my third year being in almost full swing now, and the word dissertation looming just that little bit more also comes the thoughts of what the heck I'm going to do when it's all over. Which lead me to thinking about what I'll miss most when it's all done and dusted.

1. So, first things first, I'll miss my best friends. Katherine and Monique aka my little chickens. I didn't come to uni expecting to meet two better people. Firstly Kat whose put up with me from day dot and then Mon who was the best friend we didn't know we needed till she ended up moving in with us in second year. Even the thought of us this time next year not living together makes me want to cry. So yes, seeing my favourite lil chickens everyday will be one of the things I miss most.
2. The freedom. Moving away from home is weird, you're just one day fully independent - no having to do the dishwasher or be forced into walking the dogs. So yeah freedom to do whatever I want whenever is up there.
3. The spontaneity. I'm going to miss the random nights that myself, Kat and Mon share in the kitchen. With us trying to be nice to each other for 5 minutes and not lasting 5 seconds, to the random dancing and singing and all those girly chats. I'll also miss the spontaneous trips to the pub, and the random last minute decision to get drunk playing card games in Harry's room on any day of the week (come back Harry). 

So there we have it. The three things I'm not quite sure how I'm going to live without when uni is officially done.

STYLE | MY MUST HAVE WINTER COAT

Hello loves!

So I finally had time to go do the autumn cliche of visiting a 'pumpkin patch'. However, the so called pumpkin patch I went to in Norfolk had more squished up ones than they did whole ones so that wasn't great. Anyway, to the post...

Alas with cooler weather coming to play I could finally wear my all time favourite coat (I never thought in my life I'd be wearing a pink teddy bear coat but here I am and loving it). Since I'd bought it from Topshop a month ago (it's already no longer available?!) I've wanted it to be cold enough so I didn't melt to death whilst wearing it so thank god it's finally feeling like autumn as I'm quite literally obsessed. 

I decided to keep it simple with the rest of the outfit as the coat really does the talking lets be honest. So I went for another favourite Topshop item of mine, the gingham top which ties at the waist and just some black Joni jeans.

What other styles of coats have you guys been obsessing over so far this autumn?

LIFE | WHY AUTUMN REALLY IS THE BEST

Hello again my lovelies!

First of all, lets acknowledge the fact that I haven't posted in a few months...the ironic part being the last blog post I posted focused on the topic of disconnecting from the internet. Seems as though I definitely heeded my own advice on that one. However, I'm back. A few things being different, one being my hair is a lot shorter than it was, and my life being very very different. But anyway, let's get to why we're all here.

AUTUMN

It's officially here, with all of our Instagram feeds being filled with pumpkin patches, the mentioning of the word Christmas, pumpkin spice lattes and the must have photo of feet in leaves that have fallen there's simply no denying it.

So why is autumn the best?

1. Firstly, the clothes. It's the perfect excuse to 'have' to go shopping to pick up those must have chunky knits, scarves, hats and buy those amazing new boots you just 'need'. There's no better time to have a wardrobe refresh than a change in season. Whilst putting the strappy tops and shorts away and getting out the trusted winter coat at first is a tad depressing. Once we accept the fact that you can't be wearing sandals outside anymore it's actually not half bad.

2. HALLOWEEN! need I say more? 

3. Cosy nights in are now back to being 'acceptable'. There's no guilt in not going out and enjoying the longer warm nights, with it now getting cold and dark at 6pm everyone can agree the best thing to do is get tucked up with a cuppa and binge watch crappy TV. 

So there we have it, three reason why I really think autumn might just be the best season.

Do you guys agree?

xxx

LIFE | THE STRUGGLES OF DISCONNECTING FROM THE INTERNET

It's 2017 and if we're being real everyone struggles to disconnect from the internet. For it's our lives and it's what we do with our time. How on earth do we fill the void of looking at our phones? Can we?

I think with checking social media being a very routine thing to do, which we do all day long, it now seems strange and slightly impossible to disconnnect from it. When I say that, I mean have a day, a week, a month, with none of it, don't have a peep at Instagram, don't refresh that Twitter feed (a hundred times waiting for something new) and don't bother watching the never-ending reel of snapchat and insta stories. 

UNI | HOW TO SURVIVE MOVING TO UNI

University. A word that either feels people with dread, or excitement, or maybe even a bit of both.

If you've applied to go to Uni and have just received your results you're probably feeling a definite mix of emotions. For me I always knew I wanted to go so didn't think a single thing about it until moving day. Moving day? I was filled with dread, nerves beyond belief and a sudden desire to never leave home. However, fast forward two years and it's the best decision I've made in my 20 years.

So how did I survive? For those who aren't like me and actually want to read something that might just help ease the nerves or get you more excited. This ones for you.

TOP TIP NO. 1 

BE PREPARED 

Go with pretty much everything you need so once you get there you can just move in and relax, and focus on socialising rather than getting that last minute duvet cover from Dunelm before they close. To help with this I made a long long list of everything I need, looking back there was a lot of things on that list I don't think I've used in my two years but hey at least I've got third year to try. You can easily find really helpful ones online everywhere, some uni accommodation actually supply them too!

Another way to prepare is to get on Facebook and join your accommodation Facebook page and put the most cringey post which everyone does of 'Hey I'm Sophie, I'm going to be studying Marketing and I live in room...'. Trust me I did not want too by far one of the most cringey things but it works and for me I found my best friend who lived 3 doors down from me (yes, it's you Katherine). 

TOP TIP NO. 2 

BE SOCIAL

This applies for before you go and when you get there. Me and Kat spoke a little before we moved in on Facebook which made moving that little bit less scary.

Another tip to learn here is not to worry about if how the people come across on their Facebook doesn't seem like ya cuppa t cus in my case, Kat was worrying we weren't gunna get along and two years later we're the bestest of friends and I actually wouldn't know what I'd do without her. As well as accommodation, you can find people on your course from going on your uni's freshers page and finding or writing another cringe post.

Naturally that type of socialising is a tad easier, with not actually being in the same room as them but I think whether your the most confident person or not when you initially move in there is nerves coming from everyone, cus really until you find someone you click with it can be lonely. For me it didn't take long with Kat making friends before I got there I tagged along, the rest being history. Important note to remember here every single one of you are in the same boat.

TOP TIP NO. 3 

RELAX

Although the first two weeks are undoubtedly the hardest, with home sickness not ever seeming to go and tears also being a common thing. It's very important to remember that because for most of us the first 18 years of our lives everything has been the same, the same kids at school, the same group of friends, your best friends living 5 minutes away. Suddenly, your best friend has moved away themselves, or still at home and your mum isn't there to cook you dinner and it's all a lil' strange.

What you're facing is change and personally it's one of the best changes I've had, with Cambridge now feeling like home to me, with having found some of the best humans about from moving there (and yes, Harry, you're on the top of that list, cus if it weren't for you who else would make me laugh so much??)

So I think the biggest tip I can give is to relax, so the people you thought you would get a long with at first really turn out to not be your type of people, or you make a mistake, after time you'll find your feet and naturally find your type of people but in the meantime it's important to relax and enjoy yourself however you do, whether it's going to every event or hanging out in your kitchen with flatmates till late hours nothing at uni is scarier than the first two weeks. So just make the most of it.

I just wanna say obviously this post is very much based on my own experience, for me two weeks is all it took me to settle but I know for others it can take longer or even shorter. Regardless of the time factor I wanted to make this post for those going to uni and petrified or even those who aren't going and wanna read how others survive moving away. 

Soooo, to round this post that's ended up lengthy I'll probably be doing more of these sort of posts creating a lil' 'uni' series. So keep an eye out and if there's any specific uni related topics you want me to discuss feel free to comment.

Till next time x 

STYLE | MAKING A CASUAL DAY LOOK READY FOR THE BIG CITY

Hello lovelies!

This style post was one of my favourite to shoot I think the city location was partly to do with it as well as a newly found love for this specific outfit.

Soooooo, it was another hot day (which are now a thing of the past) and I wanted to keep it casual to go about Cambridge in yet sometimes I do like dressing up an outfit a little. I also knew I wanted to wear this incredible frilly cropped, Topshop jacket which can be found here and costs £45. Since pairing this with a pair of light denim mom jeans in the past I knew that for Summer days pairing the jacket with light denim is lush but it was a tad hot for jeans so went for this Forever 21 denim skirt (which isn't available online anymore).

Still wanting to keep the jacket as the statement of the outfit I decided to pair it with a simple white jersey vest which is also from Topshop and can be found here. Wanting to keep it simple and casual so the whole outfit isn't too dressy and just let the jacket do all the work!

 I think this outfit is perfect for strolling round a city shopping etc and it's fast become one of my favourite summer day outfits!

Thanks for reading xx 

LIFE | THE HARSH REALTIES OF LIVING ON A STUDENT BUDGET

Hello all you lovely gals and guys. 

Today's post is a ramble on my personal experience of coping on a student budget (prepare for a large amount of complaining)

For those who haven't gone to uni or are about to, you might think that I must of known I'd be living on a student budget for 3 years so why complain? but trust me when you're initially setting off to uni whilst money is somewhere in your head it's certainly not a priority. Personally my brain was more focused that I was about to go move to a city, and into a building with hundreds of people I'd never met.

So first year...a word that sums up how I survived is overdraft. Boy oh boy was that a good friend of mine by the end.

I'd decided seeing as I needed to settle into a new city the last thing I also want to be stressing about is also settling into a new job so I decided not to get a job this year. I figured I could survive off of my student loan and savings...fast forward to Christmas and I'm deep deep in my overdraft. Semester two certianly called for some sort of budgeting (which of course didn't last...).

I've never been good with money really, for some reason it burns a hole in my pocket and I think my obsession with shopping is something to do with that. So from being comfortable with a part time job at home, and having money to buy some of the clothes I wanted,  to be able to go for a meal if I wanted, to suddenly have the reality check I can no longer do that hit hard. 

If I had advice for any first year it's to not blow all your money in freshers and actually attempt to budget. For me personally, the summer between first and second year the amount of hours I worked to get myself financially stable again wasn't all that fun!

Fast forward to second year...it was time I got a job. Which I did, I worked at my local Topshop in Cambridge. Getting a job there was one of the best parts of second year because I got to meet some of the best babes ever, two of which blog themselves go peep Charlotte at iamcharrloteolivia and Sophie over at sophiefoskett.

Anyhow, so yeah not only the people were fab but payday was also. But me being me now worked in Topshop which meant most of my wage went there...but without having a job in my second year I wouldn't of survived! So whilst being finically stable and not having to become friends with my overdraft again I still to this day have a spending problem...

So to finish of this post here's a list of the top 5 harsh realties every student faces when living on a student budget...

• Not being able to order takeaways whenever you please. The worst is when you're hungover and all you want is a dominos but your bank account just won't let you.

• The guilt. To a degree shopping isn't as enjoyable as it used to be for now every single time I buy anything (even a weekly shop) I'm filled with guilt and dread that £15 is about to leave my bank account and I'm left feeling guilty for picking up an expensive pack of grapes.

• A lack of luxuries in your life. The holidays, the massive spending sprees are a thing of the past for a while. Which is very depressing. 

• Not being able to give back. For me I LOVE buying presents for people for no reason at all, and this becomes a rare occurrence when surviving on a student budget. As a weekly shop is probably a little more crucial than that top for your mum.

• The trade off. For many students I think we've all at one point or another had to do a trade off. For example, I buy that dress I really don't need instead of doing a weekly shop, and end up eating pasta for a week...When this starts to happen it's when you know times are tough.

So there we have it, the harsh realities of living on a student budget. Although at times it's very testing. I love uni and whilst would love a lot more money wouldn't change it for anything.

Here's to hoping I survive my final year!

Thanks for reading xx

P.s I reached 900 followers Monday and I want to thank all 916 (current following when typing this) of you for following me and reading my blog! It's very much appreciated xx 

LIFE | TIPS ON FINDING YOUR CONFIDENCE

Hello all! 

So today's post is all about confidence (if you hadn't figured by the title...). For me confidence was never a thing that I had, I knew that and accepted it. I think it wasn't till just before I went to uni that I actually began to feel 'confident' - thank god.  

Confidence for different people can mean different things and therefore defined by different things. For me confidence is positive feelings towards myself, my body and mainly a belief within yourself, which in turn makes me more 'able' to do more things.

STYLE | DARE TO DOUBLE DENIM

Double Denim. Otherwise previously known as a fashion DON'T. 

However it's 2017 now and the days where myself and probably many others wouldn't dream of 'double deniming' are gone. Alas, it's socially acceptable (not that that would stop me anyway...).

TOP PICKS | DRUGSTORE MASCARAS

Hello all,

Welcome to my new series 'TOP PICKS'. I've been wanting to start this for a while seeing as I seem to have a lot of top picks, ranging from fashion to beauty products.

To start off with is my two top mascara picks. I'm quite fussy on mascara, so for me to find a good one is quite impressive and recently I've managed to find another one! 

My first holy grail is Maybelline 'The Falsies' which to be honest I've been on and off using since I was like 13. It's one I love but it somehow always seems to fade from my make up bag eventually then when I buy it again I just love it all over again. I love it as it doesn't crumble under my eyes, and actually gives good volume to my not so impressive natural eyelashes. As well as this it isn't expensive at £7.99.

A new edition to my mascara must haves is L'Oreal's 'Volume Million Lashes'. Similar to Falsies, the volume I can build up with it is pretty good. The lasting time is also impressive as with some mascara I find mid day I look in the mirror and I look as though I have none on...but luckily with this one that's not the case.It cos's £10.99 and I don't think that's out the way at all! 

So there we have it my top mascara picks! 

xx