TIPS FOR GETTING THROUGH THAT THIRD AND FINAL UNI YEAR OF UNIVERSITY

September is here yet again, and for the first time in three years, it's the first time I won't be going back to any sort of education and most importantly, university. 

I know this post is titled 'tips for getting through that third and final year' but this is also relatable to those few hard working freshers or the people who have suddenly realised year two actually partly counts towards your final grade.

Whilst university really wasn't the hardest time of my life. With year one and two being filled with drinking, having fun and socialising. The workload side of it really can be daunting and not so fun. Naturally though...drinking your weight in beer is going to be a lot more fun than drinking your weight in tea at the library.

Now that I'm some sort of survivor of uni and soon to be graduating I feel have a few little tips to share.

TIP ONE - JUST DO IT. No, I'm not talking about Nike, but they do have a point, just do it. Just open up your laptop and a word document and type. I spent far too long worrying that what I first put onto a page had to perfection, which just made me not type at all. SO, just do it, type away and get into the assignment and communicate with your tutor. This is the only way your word count is going to go down. *I know this sounds ridiculous*. But honestly, getting started is the hardest part so JUST DO IT.

TIP TWO - FIND YOUR PLACE. The best way to get some serious work done is to find your place, the place that you work the best and most. You learn the hard way with this one and with experience you will know if working in your room with a TV, iPad etc. surrounding you is the best or if going to the library away from so many distractions is for you. For me it was the library, so I went pretty much everyday and I am so thankful for it (reality check: at the time I hated it).

TIP THREE - PRIORITISE AND PLAN. I'm a bit of an organiser, I like to know what I'm doing when so when the workload was a little bit full on I would simply prioritise and plan. My priorities in my third year was learning from past mistakes when it came to my work (*COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR TUTORS ALL. THE. TIME. EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT*) and working hard to get a First Class. With this, my social life pretty much died I will admit but I look back and my first and second year were incredible so I had my share of fun *no regrets*. The library was my second home. When it came to planning, I think it's so important to figure out your word count and get organised so you have goals and targets to reach every day and week. E.G. write 600 words today. Simple as that. In every notebook of mine scribbles of goals and word counts would be all over the place and that is really what motivated me.

So there we have it, my top three tips for getting through that third and final year. A little bonus tip for you all is to also remember to have FUN. Although for me uni work was my upmost priority it's still so important to let off steam once in a while, have a few days of when needed etc and to not feel guilty for doing that as trust me, you deserve it.

Sophie xx

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

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. 

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 

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...).

STYLE | A MUST HAVE SUMMERS DAY OUTFIT

Hello lovelies! 

Today's style post is an outfit fit for a summer day/evening doing whatever! As the temperature was reaching 30 degrees I opted for this amazing skirt from Topshop, as it's floaty and a very lightweight material it managed to keep me cool, so is definitely an essential for hot summer days. And yes I wore a skirt on a bike ride but the fit of it makes it so when you're on the bike it doesn't move, so all good. This skirt is fast becoming a summer favourite with it being so effortless with it making any outfit look great even when paired with the simplest jersey top.

As for the Brandy Melville top I have on, unfortunately it isn't on sale anymore as I got it last summer but once again it managed to keep me cool so I didn't melt in the heat and it also went perfectly. Seeing as the skirt's bright print is a statement itself keeping it simple on top is probably for the best.

As for my sandals, they're the best bargain ever, they cost only £3 from Primark and are one of the comfiest pair of sandals I own, they sell them in white, brown, denim and black so I'd recommend heading down to your local Primark to grab a pair!

TOP - BRANDY MELVILLE
SKIRT - TOPSHOP
SANDALS - PRIMARK

So there we have it a must have outfit for a hot summer day!

Thanks for reading xx