New Years Resolution & Goals

Making New Year’s resolutions is a tradition that I like to try and uphold. This year i'm going to pick out a few things to work on and keep the list either on my phone or on my bedside table as a constant reminder and to stay motivated. I never seem to fulfil my new year's resolutions due to forgetting about them or just not feeling the motivation to do them. But this year, I WILL stick by them tough challenges that I set myself! I found a little list of things to give me set goals to do as well as a main one just to spice it up a bit so...

A bad habit I’m going to break:
Leaving myself too little time to get ready & to wake up earlier for breakfast! (I never have breakfast)

I’m going to work harder at:
Making time for exercise, uni work & saving money!

A class I’d like to take:
Spin class +/ Zumba +/ Yoga

I’d like to spend more time doing:
Outdoor activities, gym & uni work

A food I want to eat more of:
Fruits and veggies

Main Goal:                                                                                                                                                               As for my main goal, I would LOVE to lose some weight and also tone up for the summer. It's also due to the fact that I want to just feel better in myself and generally a lot healthier. My aim to do this has been planned out which is a good start - i'll be detoxing / juice dieting to start with as well as attending the gym, and then continuing the gym for atleast 6 hours a week and watching what I eat. If that doesn't work, then I have no idea what i'll do, but i'm hoping something good will happen! 

If you are interested in my journey or want to see what types of things I do to help progress, then keep an eye out for new posts! I'm hoping to keep you all updated in what I do to achieve this goal. Feel free to keep me motivated too or if you have a similar goal, i'd love to see your progress too! 

There you have it!

Write in the comment section what your New Years Resolutions are!? I'd love to know!

I hope you all have a lovely new years eve and have prepared yourselves for an amazing 2016!

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Starting University - Tips for Freshers!

Any day now, most cities are going to be absolutely jam packed by fresh-faced and wide eyed freshers, taking their first independent steps into adult life as a university student. I was a fresher 2 years ago! I can't believe I'm about to start my 3rd and final year! Being a fresher and attending uni is a GREAT experience and is something that every student should look forward to. As nerve-racking as it may sound, meeting new people, starting something new and possibly being away from home, you need to go prepared. Below are some top tips for freshers to make sure you have the best start to university!

GET INVOLVED
Most people always say how you make "friends for life" at University. Freshers week is the perfect opportunity to build friendship groups so make sure you don’t hide away in your room and ignore the world. Try and come out of your shell. Get to know your new flatmates / class mates as you will be seeing them a lot and also try and take part in the countless fresher activities your university provides.

BUDGET
As boring as this may sound - BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET! Getting your first student loan / grant feels amazing! It automatically makes you think that you have all this money to spend on anything you like. You might want to go out and enjoy freshers which you can, but make sure to spend your money very wisely. I sound like a nagging parent BUT it's true! As much as we would like to go out every night or grab a takeaway, maybe try and limit yourself to a few times a month compared to everyday. Trust me, it will help you out in the long run! If not, then make the most of your Pot Noodles and beans on toast. It might help you budget if you work out the general weekly spends for things you need and then give yourself some extra money for treats. That way, you wont starve and you'll have extra money for nights out or takeaways. Best of Both! Another way of saving up more would be to set up an ISA account with your bank!

GET A JOB
A job will help you get a bit of extra money for those takeaways and nights out! But don't forget to prioritise university! Work might be fun, but at the end of the day, that job isn't your life long job and uni work needs to get done, so don't over work! You need to find the right balance to manage uni and work. 

BE A CLEVER SHOPPER
Try and be smart when you do your food / toiletry shop. Look around for different prices. It will get you familiar with the types of things you can get else wear for a fraction of the price! For things like your fruit and veg, try and look for local market stools as they tend to sell stuff really cheap. What I've noticed throughout the past 2 years is that the small savings add up very quickly if you do it right!

MAKE THE MOST OF STUDENT DISCOUNT
This will become your best friend! Make sure that before you start university you purchase an NUS card and sign up with Unidays! These will get you discounts in tons of clothing shops / restaurants. You even get Spotify for half the price and also a discount in places like Apple, MissGuided, boohoo, Pizza Express, Cinemas! You will realise that student discount will save you a fortune! Make the most of it and grab yourself some loyalty cards in large supermarkets or shops such as Tesco, Morrisons, Boots etc.

DO THE WORK
At first you might think that as a fresher you want to party make the most of loving life, but that shouldn't be the way of thinking about it. You'll realise that the first year of uni is going to be your easiest year and my gosh it flies by! If you spend a majority of your first year messing around and not taking things seriously then you will have a big shock when you have to tackle 2nd year. Take the work seriously and do things on time! The worst thing that I done was ask for an extension over summer and I left it till last minute which felt awful and stressed me out so much.

TURN UP TO CLASS
This is a must! Make sure you are on time and go to every class / lecture. Even if you think it's not that important... GO! Or if you are ill, email your teachers and let them know before hand and ask them what you have / will be missing. You never know whether the topic might pop up surprisingly... and attendance means a lot! Some lecturers might not help you when you need the help if you missed a lesson. The attention will be on someone who did turn up and make the effort. Also, try and go to as many guest lectures as possible. As geeky as that may sound, some of them can be really eye opening and inspire you to do well.

CUSTOMISE YOUR ROOM
Your bedroom at uni is going to be the only space in which you can actually call your own, so make sure it feels homely! Make it somewhere that you are happy to spend time in. Fill it with photographs of people you love / miss, posters, accessories, and in my case, FAIRY LIGHTS! Whatever you decide to do though, make sure you meet your tenancy agreement as you don't want to be drilling holes in the wall or painting etc when you aren't aloud! That would be a HUGE charge. Just make your room a very positive place and fill it with things that you love.

ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE
You really need to make sure that you enjoy yourself at university. Even though the tips above are important, enjoying yourself is most important. University years fly!

I hope you have a great freshers and first year at university! Good luck with your studies! Have you got any tips you’d like to share? Or anything you wish you knew when you were a fresher?

♥♥♥♥♥

Back to School Hair & Make up

It's that time of year again where people go back to school, or even back to college and university. It's very scary preparing for that first day! It's probably the only day that I would get up early to make sure I look my best, but after a week or so, I get bored of making all the effort and time. Luckily I have found a routine for myself to do in the morning which is quick and easy. If you are anything like me and you like to get as much of a lay in as possible, then you might find this post beneficial due to a makeup routine and a few quick and easy hairstyles. My everyday kind of look is very simple especially for school / college / uni. I like to not go over the top with makeup and I try to keep things as straight forward as possible so it all looks effortless and natural. Here is a list of the makeup items that I use on a day to day basis:

Smashbox Makeup Primer

No7 BB Cream - Fair

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder - 02

Rimmel Bronzer - Medium

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara - Black

Benefit Gimme Brow - Dark Blonde

Lancome Blusher - 021 Rose Paradis

No7 Shimmer Palette - Rose

Smashbox Lipstick - Posy Pink

As for my hair, I again like to keep things as easy and as quick to do. I try and avoid using heat as much as I can due to time and also because I want to keep my hair as healthy as it can be. My three favourite hairstyles are shown below. One being the classic pony tail, another being a french braid and then the third (when my hair has been freshly washed) hair down. With my braid or pony tail, I like to pull on the top tied section to make it a little bit looser and also pull some small bits out for a more effortless finish and so my hair doesn't look slick back. 

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