Catch Up!

Hello!

Okay, so it's been almost a year since I last posted on here and I honestly have no excuse. I mean, I've had by first year at college and althought the work load is much more than what it was at GCSE level, I have enjoyed every moment of it. I have made lots of new friends, and though daunting at first, I really feel like I made the right choice. I am a firm believer that change is a good thing, however when it comes down to it I'm sure nobody actually likes the thought of it. If you're just starting college this Septemeber then there really is nothing to worry about (easy for me to say, I know.) Okay, so I'll admit that the first few days are slightly awkward and you will look forward to lunch when you can meet up with your friends. But seriously, just be yourself and by this time next year you'll come away knowing that you have made life-long friends. Also, you really need to work hard. I am very aware that everyone says this. Your teacher, your parents, your grandparents (and maybe even your friends???) will all be on at you to get all of your work done and to keep on top of things. But, really I can't stress enough, how much you'll regret it if you don't. You need to revise your work weekly and when it comes to exams, chances are that everyone else will be revising, so you should be too! This past year has honestly flown by and I can't quite comprehend that I am going into my last year at college, It only feels like I've been there for 2 minutes! 

Also, in the past year, I passed my driving test, eeeeek! I passed in February so have been on the road for almost 5 months now, but it really only feels like a week. I'm much more confident now though and enjoy going out in my car so much. I've got a little silver Ford KA, and I love it. She's called Lola (yes I did name my car) and she's a great little run around. I drive to work and back at least twice a week and it makes going out to the shops or to friends houses etc, so much easier as I don't have to rely on my parents!! I mostly don't drive to college as it's right in the centre of town so parking is extremely costly, and if I'm honest, I'd rather walk with my friends and save the petrol! I'm with an insurance company called 'Ingenie' and it costs just £97 a month to insure my car. Obviously it all depends on where you live, what type of car you have and what litre engine you have, but I'd say that they provide a pretty good price! I have a black box fitted, but unlike other black boxes, there are no curfews! It just measures if I am keeping in the speed limits, how harshly I brake and how tight I go around corners. The worst that could happen is that it goes up by £10 a month and the best that could happen is it goes down by £15 a month, so there really are no cons, not when I had quotes from other companies at almost £2,000 for a year!!

Lola!!

As you might have noticed, I metioned that I drive to work and back a lot. Yes, I have got a new job!! I left my Christmas job at The Entertainer back in December and got a job at The Bridgewater Arms as a waitress, in March. I'll admit, I found it really hard and stressful at the start, as there was a lot to learn. Finding things on the till, knowing the table numbers, settling in with all the other staff and prioritising what to do with the tables (for example which table I should see first) was hard. However, I've been there for 4 months now (time has flown by!!) and I feel completely settled and happy with everything. We've had lots of change recently and some shifts (e.g. Saturday nights) will always be more challenging and tiring than others. The wage I'm on is great and on average I get about £6 tips a night (however I have had as much as £33!). It pays to run my car and for me to spend money on myself which is all I want from a part time job. It fits in with my college work as well and it's only a 10 minute drive away, so I really couldn't have been luckier!

Where I work!

Anyway, I've rambled on enough now! I'll be sure to keep this up and keep in touch with you all more often than once a year! I hope I've provided you all with a bit of a catch-up and that I've got you all up to date on what's been going on in my life recently!

Speak soon, (and I mean that!!!)

Cornwall Camping

In case you hadn't guessed by the title, this post is going to be about my fairly recent camping trip to Cornwall. We went on the first two weeks of the summer holidays, which is what we do every year. This time, we went back to the same campsite as we did last year which meant that we already knew people down there.

We spent many days at the beach in the first week as the weather was lovely (around 28 degrees celcius!) Most days I'd get my wetsuit on and go in the sea which was always fun, but I also enjoyed just sitting and relaxing on the sand, some of the time! On the days which weren't as sunny, we would visit towns like Padstow, and Truro. I enjoyed these days too as it gave us a break from the beach and it was nice for a change. Plus, who doesn't like shopping!? 

Overall, it was a lovely holiday and I can't wait for next year! It's always horrible to leave especially when we had made such good friends there aswell! We stayed at a campsite called 'Music Water' which is in Wadebridge, Padstow. So, if any of you are looking for a good campsite in Cornwall surrounded by lovely beaches and towns, then this will be the one for you! I shall leave the link to the website here, I hope you all had a good summer and enjoyed any holidays you went on, weather they were in this country or abroad! 

Speak soon!xx

                                        

Constatine Beach

                                      

From left; Ben (my brother), Simon, Laura, myself and Matty before going in the sea!

                                      

                                              

In the beautiful town on Fowey! We shopped and went crabbing here.

                                                  

My Henna tattoo!

                                     

Laura and I when we were out for a meal one night.

                                              

The boats in Fowey.

                                      

The view of Treyarnon beach from up on the cliff on a not-so-nice day!

                                      

Turning 17!

Firstly, I should probably apologise for the extremely long break from this blog that I've had. There's no excuse really, other than the fact that I was never in the mood or just didn't have the time. My summer was lovely though and I'm sure I can think of lots of blog posts to update you with what I've been doing! Thanks for not unfollowing me and I hope you've all had a good summer break!

As you've probably guessed, I turned 17 recently! Yes my birthday was, in fact, on the 3rd of September. Time has honestly flown by and I can't believe I'm 17 already. I remember being about 13 and thinking 17 was oh so grown up, but I certainly don't feel that way now! I'm actually one of the oldest in my school year as if I was born 3 days earlier I would actually be in my second year at college now, rather than my first. (Interesting fact there for you!!)

My day wasn't all that exciting if I'm honest with you. It was my first day at sixth form so I had to walk all the way there and endure meeting lots of new people by myself! I'm not going to lie, it was extremely nerve racking but it has to be done. Thankfully I was only in for about 2 hours so I was home by midday. I then sat at home for a few hours on my own watching TV and having some lunch (fun, right!?) Afterwards, my two best friends came round to give me my present and give me some company which was lovely! They wanted me to wait till later to open my present but when I did I was an extremely happy girl! They gave me things for a movie night in, things for a pamper evening and other items such as a nail varnish, a make-up brush and a Yankee candle! I was so happy and it's scary how well they know me! You may well see some of the items in future posts! 

Later, they went home and I was off out to a job interview! I can honestly say I have never been that nervous in my life. It was my first ever job interview and I felt like I would throw up at any minute! Thankfully I didn't and when I made it there I managed to make quite a few friends. Also, I saw my friend Maddie was sat around the table and so that helped me feel much more at ease! The interview was surprisingly quite fun and when I finally got out at 6:30 I felt satisfied. Unfortunately, I didn't get the job, but the experience  was useful, nevertheless! 

When I finally got home, my tea was waiting for me! I had decided to have BBQ chicken and chips, which was lovely (Thanks Mum!) Finally I was able to open my presents and cards. I mostly received money-some of which I put towards driving lessons (eeeep!) Other than that, I got a few bits and bobs like a Starbucks gift card, photo frame, mug, nail varnish etc, etc! All of which I was very thankful for! By that point I was shattered and decided to watch a bit of TV then go to bed, ready for my full day at college! I did have a good birthday though, even if I did do some nerve racking things. Lets hope that next year is a bit more stress-free!

Thanks for reading and still being here after all this time! I guess I'll see you next time!xx

Black Country Museum!

Myself and Ben in the old School

Me, Ben and my Grandad stood outside the vintage Tram.

On the Trolley Bus!

Me having a well earned rest by the canal!

On Sunday 30th June, myself, my brother (Ben), my Nan and my Grandad all went down to a place called 'Dudley' to visit the Black Country Living Museum. Me and my brother were both staying at my Nan and Grandad's house for the weekend, whilst our Mum and Dad went off on holiday (to Wales), to celebrate their 20th Wedding Anniversary! It took around an hour to get there which wasn't too long and the journey was definitely worth it! Whenever we stay with my Nan and Grandad we always get to do things and go to places which we wouldn't normally go to! For example, the day before (Saturday) they took us to the golf course to play 'Pitch and Putt' which I should probably admit, I am extremely bad at!! Nevertheless, I really did enjoy it and learnt a lot (maybe that golfing isn't a sport I should be taking up any time soon!) 

Anyway, as we got to the Museum, we paid and then the cashier gave us all purple stickers (which you can see me wearing in some of the pictures.) This meant that we were able to go in and out of the museum as much a we liked. As we walked in, we could see there was lots to do! It's basically a large (26 acres) village full of old fashioned shops, houses, schools and methods of transport. Everything was set back in time meaning it was interesting for all ages. Some of the things there, my Nan and Grandad were able to recognise and on the whole it was lovely to experience and widen our knowledge of what life was like back then. 

There are many things to do at the Museum. There are many houses to look around, many shops to explore (e.g. Chemist, Tobacconist, Clothing shop etc), Cafés, Churches, Vintage Fairground and transport like the Tram, Vintage Bus and Trolley Bus! 

We managed to travel on the Tram, which unfortunately couldn't go very far as part of the track had broken, however was a nice experience and got us to the place we needed to get to, quicker. We also went on the Trolley Bus which interested me as it made no sound whatsoever! I think if they were still running nowadays we would be much more cautious when crossing roads! The fact that there was no engine (it was electrically powered by wires overhead) meant you only knew it was driving past you, if you looked up and saw it! The houses were also interesting a there was so little back then and things had to be done with so much more effort. In one of the houses, there was a lovely old lady who told us all about the way of life back then and how much people had to do to eat and keep warm! The Fairground was equally as interesting as most things were done by hand and were much more simpler! However, all the rides seemed just as much fun!! The school was lovely as boards has been put up around the school, which told us about it's history and the way in which it was run. Lastly, the shops intrigued me as the prices and way of life was so different. For example, the clothing being sold was much smarter and everything looked the same! Also, the chemist was interesting as some tablets or medicines seemed to fit every purpose. So, if you had a cold, muscle ache or every day stress, you could receive the same prescription for every one! Also, chemists used to mix up their own medicines and treatments in the shop so god knows what medicines people received back then. It was all down to the chemist who was serving you, I suppose! 

Overall, we had a great, great day and it is definitely an experience that I shall treasure! It has helped me to learn a lot about the past and has made me experience lots of new things. Thanks to my Nan and Grandad for taking us out and I really hope to see some of you visiting new places alike the museum and learning new things!

I'll leave the link to the Black Country Living Museum, here

Thanks for reading, speak soon xx

Make-Up Mini Haul

Today, I thought I would do a post on some make-up. Now, my prom is coming up (Wednesday 26^th June) and as I’m doing my own make-up for it, I wanted to buy some new items. A while back, Superdrug had a ‘3 for 2’ offer on and so I took advantage of this and popped into one of their stores in my town with my friends. I knew I wanted to get a new foundation and eyeliner, so all I had to do was pick out a brand I wanted, easy right!? Well, not if you’re me! I don’t think I took too long choosing, but I love getting new make-up so wanted it to be right. 

 

First, I picked up this Maybelline ‘FITme!’ foundation. I particularly liked it as when I tested it on my wrist, it had a smooth yet almost matte texture. It wasn’t too silky or shiny which I liked as my skin can be quite oily. Obviously, I couldn’t wait until prom to try it, so on the odd important (ish) occasion, I pop a bit on. It’s so so smooth and has such a high coverage. It makes your skin feel soft and for the first time I actually don’t think you need to wear a powder with it, although I will be! I bought it in shade 115, Ivory (the lightest shade I could find) and this matched me perfectly, thankfully. My skin isn’t extremely pale, so if you are extremely pale, I suppose this foundation probably wouldn’t be for you. I bought this for just £7.99. Click here to view the product on the Superdrug website.

Next, I picked up the one powder that is raved over by many beauty bloggers. This is the Rimmel ‘Stay Matte’ pressed powder. I got it in the shade 001, which is ‘transparent.’ I’ve also tried this one on and it is defiantly just as amazing as people say, trust me! I don’t think I will be able to buy a different powder now! It gives such a matte coverage and stays put for hours on end. This is great as it means you don’t have to keep touching it up. I’m unsure as to how long it will last, but you don’t need to use too much at a time- a light dusting over the face is plenty. The description of this product given my Rimmel, is ‘Up to 5 hours natural control with natural minerals. Helps minimise the appearance of pores.’ This again, proves just how much of a great coverage this gives. This product cost me a small amount of £3.99 and for such a good product, it’s a bargain! Click here to view the product on the Superdrug website.

Lastly, the ‘free’ item I decided to get on the offer was this Collection ‘Extreme 24 hour felt tip liner..’ I’d already heard quite a few people say that this eyeliner was a great one and I couldn’t agree more. It’s super easy to reply as it just feels like your drawing it on and using a pen. Also, it stays put and doesn’t move out of place all day (unless you rub your eyes or go in water etc, obviously!!) It does the job for me and although I don’t wear eyeliner that much, it is the best one I’ve used! At only £2.99, it’s definitely worth a buy, even if you only wear eyeliner on the odd occasion! Click here to view the product on the Superdrug website.

Speak soon lovelies!xx

Holiday to Wales

This is a picture of my view outside the tent on the sunniest day

This is all of us outside having our tea one night! The campsite owner actually took thsi as he thought it was 'cute'!

Myself and Matty posing with the manequin!

My delicious milkshake bought in the cafe on the beach.

So, I recently went on a holiday to Pwithelli which is in Wales with my friends. My family and two other families all went camping to a lovely campsite called ‘Llwyn Ffynnon’ and really enjoyed our stay, especially as the owners of the campsite were lovely and friendly! We stayed there for 5 nights from Friday to Wednesday. It was lovely to relax however I wasn’t quite able to get away from revision as at that point; I still had about 7 exams to go!  

On Friday night, we drove down to the campsite which took us about 2 and a half hours! We the put up the tent and eventually got our tea at about 11:00pm! At about 10:00pm we decided we needed some tea and we knew there was a chip van on the site. However, when we got there no one was there! My dad then decided to see if the owner would make us some chip and although this isn’t what they would usually do, they apparently ‘felt bad’ for us and kindly made us some chips. This was the first night of the owners using the chippy van so it took them about an hour to make our enormous order of 9 portions! We all felt extremely bad for them but in the end we did get out chips ate them up like there was no tomorrow.

The next day was Saturday, and we decided to go to the beach as it was a lovely, sunny day! We sat on the beach for ages and listened to music etc. I even got too hot (I can’t believe I’m saying this) and myself and my friend had to take a walk down to the shoreline to ‘cool off’! Most of us got sunburnt that day as we were pretty silly and didn’t put on enough sun cream! I really do advise you put lots of sun cream on, even in the UK as sunburn really is not nice! We then made the drive back and had a BBQ for tea! 

Sunday, wasn’t such a nice day, however was nice enough for us to be out and about. We went down to Pwithelli town and went around a few seaside shops which was lovely! The sun then came out in the afternoon so we went down to the beach for a while. Myself and my friend played ‘bat and ball’ for ages which was really fun and I am proud to say that I came out as the winner (Sorry Matty!). It was my Dad’s birthday on the Sunday so we stopped off at a pub on the way back for a drink out in the beer gardens. 

Monday, it was a horrible, horrible day! It constantly poured with rain from the start of the day until about 2:30pm and then gently eased off to a drizzle afterwards. We went into Porthmadog and found a lovely restaurant to have lunch in. I had a tuna, mayo roll, salad and chips (Mmmmm!) We then went onto the drive on beach which was just down the road, and guess what? Yes, I drove on the beach! I am currently 16 however will turn 17 on 3^rd September and so wanted to have a little practice. I really loved it and I managed to drive forwards and even reverse (badly!) I am soo looking forward to learning to drive now!

Tuesday was our last full day and we went down to the beach! There was an enormous hill to go down and back up again if you wanted to go to and from the beach, however the beach in itself was lovely. Me and my friend made the daring decision to go in the sea. We stayed in the sea for all of about 5-10 minutes as it was absolutely FREEZING! However, we wanted to be able to say that we had been in the sea at least once on the holiday! We then dried off and went to the cafe to get a milkshake. I had a delicious chocolate one with whipped cream and marshmallows! As it was our last day, we then had a Chinese take-away for tea. If you know me well enough they you’d know that I almost always choose to have chicken chow mein, and of course, the night I had chicken chow mein!

Wednesday was the last day *sad face* We packed up our stuff and went home. We really did enjoy our holiday and now I can’t wait for the summer! I hope you all had a lovely half term whatever you did!

Speak soon!xx

Last Day of School!

                                       

                                              

                                              

                                    

Recently I had my last day at school ever. I honestly can't explain to you, how quick those five years went. I remember when GCSE exams seemed oh so far away, and now they're almost over! It was such a lovely, yet sad day and I genuinely am going to miss everyone so much. It's so weird knowing that you may never see some of the people you spent five years of your life with. I've enjoyed my time at Wakeman so much but part of me is looking forward to going to college! 

I will particularly miss our friend group. We've grown so strong over the five years and I can't imagine what it will be like without them. I have to stay positive though and we will all move on-that's life I suppose! I've promised myself that if I see them on the street it will not be awkward I will definately be having a long catch up with them. Obviously I do hope to stay in contact with them one way or another but I know it gets harder once you start making new friends. 

At our school, we only have about 60 people in our year and about 80 pupils in the whole school! Our school will be shutting after we leave which is very sad however it will be used by the sixth form which I'm attending. We still have our end of year trip-Alton Towers, and Prom to go so it hasn't truly hit me that we are leaving yet, however I will never forget my time at the school.

Anyway, I'll speak soon, have a good day!xx