2016 In A Pretty Large Nutshell.

This is where i'd usually put a lovely header with '2016' on with some nice pictures from this year, however I found it impossible to choose 4 or 5 of my favourites so I gave up.

I'm just going to start this one off by saying WHERE THE HECK HAS THIS YEAR GONE?!

I think we can all agree that for the world, this year was an absolute disaster. Whilst some people argue that bad things happen every year and there's worse things happening around the world than a few celebrities dying, i'd just like to politely shut you down by saying they weren't "just celebrities". Many of them were role models, icons that many people looked up to. Alan Rickman was a phenomenal actor, and I was genuinely upset when he left us. Victoria Wood, a comedian showing us that girls can be hilarious too. Prince and Bowie, 2 artists proving that being quirky and different isn't something you should shy away from. Gene Wilder! I must have watched Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory a billion times when I was younger. And of course, champ himself, Muhammed Ali, one of the most celebrated sports figures of the 20th Century. Then, when all things seemed calm, the past week seemed like the grand finale after we lost even more legends; Rick Parfitt, George Michael, Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds all left us within a few days. For some reason, I think Harambe's death will be the most remembered. Don't even get me started on the politics. Brexit and Trump? I'm just going to leave it at that or i'll be here for hours. So yeah, that sucked big time.
This year has also brought us the Mannequin Challenge, the Rio Olympics, another wonderful series of Sir David Attenborough's Planet Earth and the short-lived craze that was Pokemon Go. 2016 for the world has just been the most bizarre year yet.

But selfishly, for me, this has been one of the most exciting years yet.

It was the year that I finally moved out of my family home...to Australia. It was there that I met the most amazing people from all around the world and will hopefully have a bond with them for a long long time. I cuddled koalas, swam in the Great Barrier Reef, I got drunk (a lot), fed kangaroos, held a snake, climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, gained an appreciation for Crocodiles, learnt to surf, went to the Grand Prix..blah blah blah.  I wouldn't change anything about my 5 months in that wonderful country. I miss it every single day, but I know i'll be back at some point in the future.

Australia.

Come home was honestly amazing. I was so excited to see my family and friends I nearly knocked a kid out with my suitcase pulling it off the conveyor belt. My sister, Emma had been telling me that she wouldn't be at the airport to pick me up as she'd be doing some sort of Duke of Edinburgh thing in Scotland, and that she'd be home that night. So coming out of departures, I saw Mum and Dad and got the biggest hugs, feeling emotional but holding it together. That was when Emma stepped out from behind some strangers, and I wasn't holding it together anymore. I burst into tears at the sight of my best friend whom i'd missed a hell of a lot. So yeah, thanks for making me cry you little shit.
I got home and had a bath (sitting in a seat for 24 hours makes you v v stinky), and I just remember sitting there thinking, 'what do I do now?' it was such a weird feeling and to be honest, I felt a little lost for a few days.
A week later we had a BBQ at the house and invited everyone round. It was so great to see everyone again and everyone kept asking me how it was, but how do you put something like that into words?
About a month later, I went to Spain with my family, where I actually got a proper tan for the first time in my life. After settling back into work and having a busy few weeks seeing everyone, it was nice to have a week of just relaxing, however I did get to knock another thing of my bucket list that i've been wanting to do for years; parasailing!

Back with all my friends & fam.

Is it me or did the second half of this year just slip by us? I'm honestly finding this part difficult to write because it all just feels like some big massive blur.
September saw me move up to University and experience real student living for the first time (in the UK). My housemates, Sian, Ellie, Erin and Sophie are luckily very easy to live with (i've heard a lot of horror stories about housemates from hell, and these girls are nothing like it). Most night's we'll get snug in the living room and watch a good film or TV Show. But we also have our nights out, where some overdo it more than others!
I also ventured to London with Viv to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It was amazing. Watch it now. We also made some good use of our free Merlin Passes and went on the London Eye (another ticked off my list), Sealife Centre and London Dungeons.
For Halloween my Dad (a zombie), Emma (a mash up of the characters from Stranger things) and I (Harry Potter post-war of Hogwarts), went to my cousins for a mini-party.
Then in November I finally got to take Emma to her 16th birthday present (almost a year later). The Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour. A few days earlier we'd been to see the midnight showing of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, so when we walked in and saw they had props and costumes from those films too, we were in our element. Of course, every student gets a wand, so as a "little" extra, she picked out Newt Scamanders wand for me to buy her.

Such Potterness.

Then came the panics of Uni assignments and present buying for Christmas which took up a lot of time. Then finally, myself, Jagger, Danny and Em went to Disneyland on the 18th December. And guess what? I ticked another off my list. We went to the top of the Eiffel Tower and I absolutely shit myself. The 3 days following we spent in the parks going to the parades and on the rides. We've been on Space Mountain 6 times now, and every time we've either been right at the front, or right at the back. Em had a massive birthday badge on the whole time and was wished Happy Birthday by Ariel, Eric, the Soldiers from Toy Story, Peter Pan, the Fairies from Sleeping Beauty (who argued about whether they should make her a green or pink dress) and Jessie - who got a queue of strangers to sing her Happy Birthday. My only claim to fame was a snog from Tigger. All in all we had a brilliant time and didn't seem to stop laughing for the entire 4 days. It was a great ending to the year.

I miss it already!

Throughout the year I got to knock 13 things off my Bucket List in total. I conquered fears, travelled to 3 different countries, met new lifelong friends of many nationalities, learnt a lot about myself and gained so much independence.
So just like Kylie Jenner, this year I realised a lot of things.

If you're feeling bored and want more reading, here's what i've been up to all year in more detail;
January/February/March/April/May/June/July&August/September/October/November

2016, you've been an absolute rollercoaster ride. Here's to a more positive year for the world and to seeing what 2017 will bring.

Annabel

November.

November had the perfect start - I went to see Bastille in Leeds First Direct Arena. Last time I saw them was when they supported Two Door Cinema Club in 2013 (and I bumped into Dan in Baa Bar next door, feeling pretty smug). The gig was awesome. For the encore, Dan miraculously appeared right next to us on the tier 2 balcony and sang Two Evils and we pretty much just died right then.

Dan & Will on the balcony during the encore.

The night after I went out with my housemates for a few drinks. As i'm sure a lot of students understand, a few drinks never usually stays "just a few drinks". I went into town around midnight to meet up with a few friends from school, and we went to Key Club for a few hours. I ended up bumping into my cousin who I spent the rest of the night with. We then wandered down to Stone Roses where we danced until around 6am (I was wearing heeled boots and my feet started to hurt so I took them off at this point. My feet were soaked with what I can only assume was a cocktail of drugs, alcohol and piss. Bit of advice: don't do that). Needless to say those socks went in the bin and it took me over a day to recover from that night.

Me and my cousin Harriet stumbling home at 6:30am, lipstick half gone.

I had also been editing the annual backstage video for Showgroup. I think it's a great way to showcase all of the hard work that goes into the shows and it's a nice way to thank all of the helpers for everything they do. If you want to give it a watch, here it is!

We also started rehearsals for our annual Christmas Show, in which i'm going to sing The Power Of Love (not technically a Christmas song but it was on a Christmas advert) and my sister is going to dance to it. I'm also choreographing a routine to 'Carol Of The Bells' by Metallica (bet you weren't expecting that), so i'm hoping it will be an excellent start to the holiday period.

Towards the end of November, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them was finally released, and of course, myself, Emma, Viv and Nathan went to see the midnight showing - we weren't going to wait any longer! The film was awesome and Eddie Redmayne was the perfect choice. 

Then on the Sunday, Emma finally got her 16th birthday present from me (11 months later), we went to the Harry Potter Warner Brothers Studio Tour in London. Although we had to get the Megabus at 6am, we had an amazing day and even got to squeeze in a quick visit to Madame Tussauds. I promised Emma i'd buy her a wand, so she chose Newt Scamander's from Fantastic Beasts, then we made the long journey back to Leeds.

Chilling on the Hogwarts bridge.

And of course, to finish the month off, there was lots of alcohol. I went out with my cousins for lots of shots and cocktails, then on the last night of November I went out for my housemates birthday, we had a great night but in true Annabel style I crashed and burned way too early.

Me and the cousins; Josh, Jordan, Sam, Chaz, Haz and Me.

Sian, Ellie and I in Canal Mills. I really need to get a longer lasting lipstick.

I wasn't going to write about this, but I always try to be honest when i'm writing my posts and one of the reasons I write this blog in the first place is for me to look back on everything in the years to come. Last week, I joined Slimming World, and to be honest, i've found it a lot easier than I thought it would be. it's a fantastic way to lose weight but still have little treats to enjoy! So after my first week weigh in, i've lost 4 and a half pounds and i'm on cloud 9 right now. Next month I may start a little weight loss counter on my round ups!

On a final note, it's Christmas in 24 days!

Annabel

Small Business Saturday.

It's November! Christmas is around the corner and i'm sure the majority of us all are well on with our Christmas shopping (for once i'm not lying, i'm actually very prepared this year).
We've all no doubt seen the huge festive adverts from the likes of John Lewis, Sainsbury's and M&S which annually compete for the most heart-wrenching advert. Whether this actually works in improving their sales I don't know. But what I do know, is they're not the companies that need it.

On Saturday 26th November, it is 'Small Business Saturday'. It's a way for everyone to appreciate the small, local businesses around them and equally give them the well needed support. These big corporations make enough money, but what about that small business trying to get on their feet? This is why it's so important that we give them support.

In this day and age it's so much easier to support all of those little businesses trying to hit the ground running. Websites I use are Etsy and Not On The High Street. These websites enable small business owners to post their products online for you to buy. A lot of the products on offer are quirky little gadgets or personalised gifts for someone special. Products from small businesses are usually cheaper than products from large shops too, so it will also save you some pennies!

It's also Christmas, which as all the movies say "it's the time for giving" (cheesy as heck, I know), but it's true. Let's kill two birds with one stone, by buying wonderful gifts for our friends and family, and supporting some amazing local businesses.

This blog post has been written by me in collaboration with Fundera, a company that helps small businesses get the funding they need to get off the ground. Go check out their website!

For the Christmas period, my blog will proudly be wearing this badge in support of Small Business Saturday, as I will be trying not to do the majority of my Christmas shopping from large corporations. Let's help them all get on their feet!

Annabel

October.

So for the majority of October i've been doing Uni work (yes, i've only been back 3 weeks and have shed loads to do) and organising for my dance show.

As i'm in 3rd year, this was my last Varsity (as a student), and unfortunately, Leeds Beckett lost the rugby final for the first time in 12 years. It was a little annoying, the Leeds Uni students got a bit cocky but i'll let them enjoy this one. Despite our defeat, we all went out and got smashed anyway. On the way out, our Uber driver, Ali, was telling us his life story and our drunken selves were giving him some advice (oh dear).

Yeah, we also got a selfie.

October half term. Every year since I was 5 years old, this has meant it's time for the annual Showgroup show. 17 years and still going strong. It stresses me out to the max but I just love teaching the kids and bringing together a show with the teachers, trying out different things every year. Every weekend of October is pretty much taken up with rehearsals and I honestly wouldn't have it any other way.

Us Showgroup teachers! Harriet, Me, Emma, Sarah and Jess.

The show went amazingly and we all recieved such good feedback. It really does make all the stress worth it in the end to see the kids enjoying themselves.

A quick snapshot from our backstage video which will be going up next month!

I also finally uploaded my video from my Aussie adventures to YouTube! It was difficult squeezing 5 months of my life into 15 minutes, which is probably why it's taken me over 4 months to finish it. But here it is if you want to give it a watch!

Annabel

Rambling Post #11: Thoughts On Starting 3rd Year.

Well. It's finally here. Out of my entire 17 years of education, this is the one most likely to give me a mental breakdown. The way I look at it is, i've never really properly worked my ass off at Uni, 6th Form or school, so I kinda feel like I owe it to myself (and future Annabel) to just for once put everything into my education. I mean i'd like to come out with a First, but looking at my track record that's doubtful, but that's still what i'll be aiming for.
It's only been 2 weeks and I already feel like i'm drowning a bit with all of the work and the extra reading and researching for my dissertation and writing my proposal, then on top of that I need to go to all of my classes and get a good nights sleep (and fit in catching up on my favourite TV series') and make sure I eat healthy and go to work and socialise (get drunk) and revise for exams and do some exercise and for some reason someone somewhere believes that this isn't at all too much to do.
I know my first semester is probably going to be the hardest, so i've just got to smash out these next few months and after a few meltdowns I should be able to get through it. Then once my dissertation's handed in in March I only have 2 exams to study for.
Whoever said 6th Form is more difficult than University was a filthy liar.
Rant over!
Annabel

September.

Here it is! 3rd year! I can't believe that i've only got 1 year of education left. Thank god for that. After 17 years of non-stop learning (apart from my "Gap Yah"), it's finally the beginning of the end.

Maybe the biggest thing that happened for me in September was moving into my new house for 3rd year into Headingley. This will make it so much easier to make those early lectures and i'm just excited to live in a house with all girls. Unfortunately because none of us really thought to arrange it earlier, we need to go the first 2 and a half weeks without WIFI or a working TV. I'll be doing a room tour just like the one I did in Aus soon.

A benefit of working for LEGO means you get a free Merlin pass for yourself and another, which means free entry to anything Merlin (Alton Towers, Sealife, Thorpe Park, Legoland...). So my sister and I went for a day out in Manchester where we collected our passes from the LEGO Discovery Centre in Trafford, then went through the attraction and decided to visit Sealife next door too. We then went for a bit of a shop (I actually started my Christmas shopping), which was when Em spotted Michelle Keegan and Mark Wright in Selfridges. Which is really depressing because she had no make up on and she still looked stunning.

Walking around Trafford.

We also had another work get together which went the usual way: getting completely smashed. I don't remember falling asleep, but apparently I crashed pretty early and just wouldn't wake up. Oops.

I decided to get a group picture before the alcohol began to flow...

Towards the end of September I went to London with Viv from work, and we went to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in the Palace Theatre (which coincidentally is on Shaftesbury Avenue, where Harry, Ron & Hermione apparate to in the Deathly Hallows Pt1). No spoilers here, but what I will say is that it was quite possibly the best live experience of my life. I loved it. The way they do the magic on stage is so so clever. We stayed overnight in an AirBNB near Kings Cross and on the day after we wanted to put our Merlin Passes to good use. We went on the London Eye which is something i've been wanting to do for ages - that's now ticked off my Bucket List!. We also visited the London Dungeons and went for a quick walk around London Sealife. Total ticket prices for that day: £0. Winner winner chicken dinner. We then made our way to the coach for our 4 hour journey home.

INSANE. Go see it. NOW.

And of course, i'm now officially in 3rd year. The stress is real, and I already want to pull my hair out. Graduation can not come quick enough!

September was actually a great month as far as gig tickets go. I managed to score Green Day, Russell Howard, Two Door Cinema Club and one more that I can't tell you about yet... They're all in the beginning of next year and i'm so so so excited.
Annabel

FOMO or GOMO?

Eventbrite is the largest self-service ticketing platform in the world that helps people plan, find and sign up online for events. With me studying Events Management, i've used this a few times.

They are currently running a project in an attempt to squash FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), and to promote GOMO (Going Out More Often).

I'm going to share with you my plans for Autumn in the hope that it encourages anyone (including myself) to try stay away from being a Netflix potato and to go out and do something interesting instead.

Going for a walk or picnics with friends is an easy and purse-friendly idea!

With me starting 3rd year in just a few weeks, I want to try and keep a clear head and stay pretty inspired for the duration of the year. There are a few things that I have in mind that i'd like to do over the next few months in an attempt at this.

• Jump Arena: So many of my friends have been here and it looks so fun! My sister's obsessed with these kind of things so I know for a fact she'll come with me.
• Leeds City Museum: This is somewhere a lot of people I know have been, and for some reason i've just never got round to it. I find museums interesting, and this one is free, so I can imagine it being a nice cheap day out into the city.
• Warner Bro's Studio Tour: For my sister's birthday I bought us both tickets to go to the Warner Bro's Studio Tour in London because we're both massive Potterheads. We've still to pick a date but hopefully we'll be going in the next few months!
• Walks in the park: My student house is pretty close to a park, so whenever i'm feeling writers block, either on my blog or with my Uni work, i'm hoping a walk through the park will help clear my mind.
• Trips to the cinema: Okay granted, this may not be as cheap as my other ideas, but I do love going to the cinema. And instead of watching a movie on your laptop in bed, why not go out with a few friends and see something new?
• Kirkstall Laser Tag: Now i've been to the one in Castleford's X-Scape a few times, but whilst I was in Australia a new one has been built in Kirkstall, and i'm very eager to give it a go!
• The German Market: Anyone in Leeds knows that Christmas is finally here when the German Market comes to town. I just love looking at all the little stalls. You don't really need to spend anything, so here's another cheap day out.
• The Otley Run: Okay. I'll say it. I've never done the Otley Run. I KNOW. How can a student in Leeds admit this? However it is on my bucket list for 3rd year, and my housemates have already agreed to assist with this one.
• Shopping: Internet shopping is pretty dangerous for me. I could go online with the intention of buying a Christmas present, and end up buying 3 candles, 2 t-shirts, a new camera and some shoes. With this in mind, I want to do the majority of my Christmas shopping in actual stores, getting me out of the house more often but also cutting down on the frivolous spending.

Hopefully i'll end up sticking to this and will achieve at least half of these. If anyone else has other ideas on how they're going to try get out of the house more this Autumn/Winter period then comment below!

Annabel

July & August.

Well first of all, apologies for going a bit AWOL for 2 months. After getting back to England I wanted to take a little break from my blog and make the most of being back at home with my family and friends and in all honesty, I kind of forgot for most of it! I'm just going to bring you quickly up to speed with what i've been up to before I start my 3rd year of University.

July was pretty much just a lot of homecomings, a lot of alcohol but also a lot of staying at home because I was hella poor.  It was so great to get to see all my friends again, i'd missed them so much!
There was a couple of surprises, one being me surprising my class at dancing;

And my sister also surprised me at the airport. I'm not going to show you that video because 1. it's too long, 2. I look minging because i've just gone 24 hours sat in the same seat without a shower and 3. I cried.
The big one was an afternoon at my house where various family members and friends came over for the day and my Mum put on a glorious buffet. There was a lot of alcohol and a big game of Cards Against Humanity so i'm just going to leave that one there. Then the next few days included a few sleepovers and days out with friends.

So August!
It was pretty much mostly me settling back in at work and earning some dolla again. However August is host to the best day of the year; my birthday. It was a pretty quiet one compared to my previous birthdays. 22 sort of marks the beginning of no more exciting birthdays. It literally is downhill after 21. Through the day we just chilled out at home and I got to Skype Priya and Tarrena which was awesome. In the evening my cousin was having her hen do (3 years belated, because she couldn't stop having babies), so we all went for drinks at the usual spots, Wetherspoons, Revolution, Yates'. Later on, me and Harriet wandered up to Propaganda, where I used to work, to finish the night off.

On the 20th I went to join my family in Spain, where they had already been for a week. The weather was gorgeous, it was in the low 30's for the majority of the week. One day we went to the beach and me, my sister, my three cousins and my auntie went Parasailing, which is something we have all been wanting to do for a while.

Just hanging around off the Costa del Sol.

So September should start to pick up with me actually having money to do stuff now and with University starting. I'll be moving into my new student house soon so there will be posts about that and Freshers Week so i'll be posting more frequently in a few weeks!
𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕝

Rambling Post #10: Australia In A Nutshell.

This is probably going to be my last (intentional) blog post about Australia, to avoid completely running it into the ground (if I haven't already).
Sometimes when it's late and I can't sleep it helps to write a blog post about whatever is on my mind, hence the Rambling Posts I sometimes have on here.
I really can't believe that my Aussie adventure has come to an end. It has been the best decision i've ever made and i've honestly enjoyed every single second of it.
I've made friends from so many different countries; Canada, Sri Lanka, Australia, France, Germany, USA, Malaysia, China...I could go on and on.
Fortunately i'm going to be living pretty close to one of my closest friends that I met in Aus, as we go to the same University in Leeds, so i'm very happy that i'll still be seeing her a lot. On the other hand, there are a lot of people that i'm going to miss like crazy, and even though we'll still Skype each other and write letters, it's never going to be the same.
I feel very lucky to have been able to have this experience. I got to see Melbourne, Sydney, Phillip Island, Lorne and Cairns. There's still more of Australia that i'd like to see, but for now, this was definitely good enough.
I strongly urge anyone debating doing a semester or a year abroad to just go for it. Think about the reasons that are making you think "hmm maybe it might not be a good idea". Then take those reasons and think of a solution. If it's money, get sponsors or work hard and save up, if it's worrying about not making friends; trust me, you will. Just take a leap and do it because it's been the best thing I have ever done (I mean I got to tick 13 things off my bucket list!).
Settling back at home has been strange, especially when no one here knows what it was like over there. When I first got to Aus I said I felt like Samwise Gamgee and Bilbo Baggins;

Now i'm feeling a little like Frodo.

How do I go back to how things were before after the most life changing months of my life? It's going to take some adjusting.
So for now I need to say goodbye to my home away from home and enjoy the summer before I start my final year of University.

All that keeps going through my head is,

"don't be sad it's over, just be glad it happened".

ᗩᑎᑎᗩᗷEᒪ♥

June.

Well. Here I am, back in England. After the craziest 5 months of my life. Now all the surprises have been done and dusted, I can post this about my last month in Australia.

June started with me coming home from 4 days away in Cairns (the highlight of my Aussie adventure, which you can read here), with exactly 4 weeks left.

Priya, Tarrena and I got free tickets to an event in the city; a Jungle party, where we got some free Leis. There was also a baby crocodile and a python for you to hold and get pictures with. The snake I had no problem with, it was so interesting, and they don't feel at all how you imagine they would. The baby croc on the other hand was a little different. Whilst I knew that if I didn't hold one, i'd regret it, I was still a little nervous! The scary thing was that they prefer to be held against your body where it's warm - which also means bringing it's jaws closer to your face! We were assured that she wouldn't bite but you never know.

Loving the snake - not so loving the crocodile!

One day I actually made it into the city for the first time in ages. I went to some souvenir shops and then met up with Priya and Dillon to go to the Immigration Museum. I'm not a massive museum person so this wasn't of massive interest to me, but it was free and it beats sitting in my flat all day. After that we went to Hosier Lane, where the walls and street floor are covered in graffiti. It looks awesome.

Hosier Lane (apologies for the terrible quality - I've had to cellotape my phone together...)

With it being the end of the semester, a lot of people started to leave after the second week of June, so there were many opportunities to get well and truly smashed. These were the last opportunities i'd have to finish off my liver here so I gave it a good go.

We also went for a day trip to the Grampians National Park. We got a bit lost as it's pretty big, but once we found a spot we went for a walk, took some pictures and then sat down for a barbie. It was absolutely freezing so after a few trips to sit in the car to warm up, the chicken was ready. After the feast we headed back to the car and drove back to Melbourne.

Me being a starfish with the amazing view of the Grampians.

Kiri and I went for a day out in the city. First we went for a wander round the winter market and I tried and failed with my haggling skills. After some food we then went to Hosier Lane (it was nice to see it in daylight this time) and got a lot of pictures of the street art. The next stop was St Paul's Cathedral where we lit some candles. It then started throwing it down outside so we called it a day and made our way home.

Hosier Lane street art.

On my last full day Tarrena and I went to the Melbourne Sea Life aquarium and I went into some souvenir shops to get the last of my gifts for people back home.

For my last meal before making my way to the airport, me and my friends all went to 8 Bit for a burger. Tarrena and Priya started to get a little upset but I didn't start to tear up until it was time to go to the airport.

After what is quite possibly the best 5 months of my life, I made my way to the airport to be reunited with everyone I left behind in February. I'm not going to go into some massive soppy paragraph about how much I will miss my Melbourne friends (1. because I could go on for hours and 2. because I will most likely start crying again and 3. because I already kind of went on a rant about it). All i'm going to say is I really really hope it isn't goodbye, and it's just see you later.

After a gruelling 24+ hours of travelling back to the other side of the world, I walked out of security and saw Mum and Dad waiting for me. After a few hugs, I turned around and saw my sister, who I wasn't supposed to see until that night. I'll just let you see for yourself in the video:

ᗩᑎᑎᗩᗷEᒪ♥

GoT Season 6.

*Spoiler alert*
Well. If you've seen the finale, then i'm pretty sure you're feeling the same emotions as me; shocked, confused, happy, lost, sad, angry... It certainly was the most rollercoaster-ish episode.
A season that started off pretty slow and had a very gradual build up through 8 episodes ended with 2 epic installments.

First was Battle of the Bastards. Finally seeing justice come to Ramsey through no other than Sansa Stark was exactly what we all needed. But the question still remains - does Sansa have his bun in the oven? There have been plenty of theories to suggest this, however it looks like season 7 (April 2017) will either confirm or dispute this one. Upon finishing this episode, i'm sure a lot of us were left thinking "how on earth can they top that next week?".

"You're going to die tomorrow, Lord Bolton. Sleep well."

Well, they did. They absolutely did.

The Winds of Winter, ie, best episode ever. It answered a lot of our questions, but also left a few out to keep us guessing for next season (this is brilliant yet also extremely infuriating). The many theories about Jon Snow's true parentage finally came to light, thanks to Bran Stark, and looks like the theories were true. Although we don't hear the name 'Rhaegar Targaeryen', we didn't really need to. So what does this mean if Jon is a Targaeryen? Danaerys is his Aunt? So much for that romance we were all hoping for. There's also the theory that Tyrion is also Targaeryen, which i'm not going into detail about because we could be here forever, here's a link to the theory of the '3 heads of the dragon'.

Let's not forget possibly Cersei's bitchiest moment in GoT history; blowing up the Sept with the High Sparrow, Queen Margaery and Loras inside. I think we were all glad to be shot of the High Sparrow, but slightly gutted the Tyrell siblings are gone. Everyone loves to hate Cersei. And the smirk on her face as she watches the Sept burn says it all; she is pure evil. Especially after what she did next. Poor King Tommen, upon witnessing the death of his wife, decides to take his life. After learning about her son's death, I felt Cersei didn't look too upset to see her last child die. Maybe she's just used to it now, we all know she doesn't have a heart anyway. But then she takes the throne. And is crowned Queen. As Jaime watches looking pretty disgusted with his sister/lover's actions. Finally he sees the light.

Now the real MVP of this episode has to go to Arya Stark getting her revenge on Walder Frey for the Red Wedding. I don't think i've ever cheered so loud at my TV before. She completely owned that scene. Plus, if she's at The Twins, then she isn't too far from Winterfell and being re-united with her brother and sister.

Speaking of Winterfell, Jon Snow being declared King in the North was finally a good turn for him, but what happens if everyone finds out who his parents are? He's still Stark blood, but sadly isn't Ned's.
Finally, like a lot of finales, we end with Danaerys looking boss as hell. FINALLY making her way to Westeros in a fleet of ships with her dragons by her side (I mean it's only taken her 6 seasons?!). This perfectly sets up season 7 for Dany's long anticipated take over.
Down point of the episode: does Varys have a teleporter that no one knows about?

All in all it took a while for this season to get going, but the final 2 episodes definitely did not disappoint. With everything set to kick off in season 7, i'm just gutted we have to wait 10 months. However i'm sure it will be worth the wait.

ᗩᑎᑎᗩᗷEᒪ♥

What i'll miss & what i'm looking forward to: Part 2.

A while ago I did a post like this before I came to Australia which you can read here, so I thought I would do another one about when I go back home to Leeds, which sadly now isn't far away!

What I will miss
1. My friends: I've met so many wonderful people from all around the world during my time here and I really don't know how i'm going to say goodbye to them all. Hopefully most of them will be 'see you later' rather than 'goodbye'!
2. Tim Tams: If you ever come to Australia, just try a Tim Tam. That's all.
3. The weather: I use this one lightly as it's bloody freezing here now, but in the summer it reached 40*. This was just a little over the line of what I can handle and was like walking around an oven, but i'm going to miss wandering about in a vest and shorts in March.
4. Hearing the Aussie accent: Even before I came this was one of my favourite accents and i'm definitely going to miss hearing it all the time, however my sister and I try to imitate it quite a lot.
5. My flat: When I eventually moved into my second room, I fell in love with it. I liked to be around a lot of people which is why I hung out at my friend's building quite a lot as it was always busy, but it was always nice to come back to my own little space for some peace and quiet!
6. Having a balcony: I didn't even use it much, I just loved having one and admiring the view.
7. The city: Back home I live in Leeds, which is considered a big city in England. After living in Melbourne, Leeds seems tiny to me. It's so busy here but everyone is so chilled out at the same time.
8. Going out every week: Until I came here I probably went on a night out maybe once every couple of months, I just didn't enjoy it that much. But for some reason when I moved here I was averaging 2/3 nights a week here. This did calm down after the first couple of months though - my bank account and liver needed it!

What i'm looking forward to
1. The first one is definitely my sister: Yes we're siblings and there are times when I want to kill her but she is literally my favourite person in the world and i've missed her the most.
2. And my parents: That moment in the airport where I walk out of the arrivals lounge and they run up and give me a big hug just like they do in the films. I can't wait for that.
3. Aaaand everyone else in my family: My extended family of Aunts, Uncles and Cousins is pretty large so I can't wait for all of the mini reunions!
3. My friends: Even though we've been Skyping and writing letters to each other i've missed them all like crazy and can't wait to see them.
4. My cat: I've missed this guy so fricking much. I can't wait to give him a cuddle!
5. My car: I've liked being healthier here and walking places, my pedometer app is going strong, but i've definitely missed having my car and just being able to jump in and drive anywhere. I'm not even sure i'll be insured on it for the summer but i'm looking forward to just having it there (and maybe going on a sneaky drive around the block).
6. Moving into my 3rd year house: I'm so so so excited to do this and i'm moving in with the loveliest bunch of girls that i've missed loads so this is v v exciting.
7. A BATH: Sometimes I love nothing more than a good bubble bath and I just love how relaxing they are, sometimes i'm in there for hours! I only have a shower in my room in Aus so i'm very excited for this.
8. My bed: At home I have a double bed with a lovely thick duvet, here it's too hot for a duvet so I have a sheet and a blanket, and it's a single bed.

In my first few weeks here I was feeling a tiny bit homesick still because there was a lot of people that I missed. I was enjoying myself here but just kind of saw it as a way of getting through the next 5 months to see all my family and friends again. But then I started to make friends from all around the world and started to realise that when I leave here, it's going to be so so sad. Going from living with all these lovely exciting people every day and learning so much about them to leaving and maybe never seeing them again isn't a nice thought. Hopefully we will all eventually meet up again.
But at the same time I am so so excited to see everyone back home.

ᗩᑎᑎᗩᗷEᒪ♥

Rambling Post #9: The part of study abroad that sucks.

Doing study abroad has without a doubt been the best thing that I have ever done, and i've loved every second of it. But then there's the one part of it that absolutely sucks, and no matter how much you prepare yourself for it, it's still pretty shit.

After spending the past 5 months with the same people and becoming such good friends with them all, it's now time to start saying goodbye as everyone leaves to go back home. I've always had this in the back of my head, I knew everything was temporary and we would all eventually go our separate ways, but it doesn't make it any easier.
I'm lucky that i've met a few friends who also go to Leeds Beckett back home and i'll still hopefully see them when I get back, but there's a few that i'll be leaving here and in other countries around the world.

It's just all started to dawn on me recently and I kind of needed to vent this somewhere!
I guess the excitement of seeing all of my friends back home made me forget how sad it's going to be leaving all of my new friends here.

ᗩᑎᑎᗩᗷEᒪ♥

The Ultimate Bucket List.

Recently i've been thinking about all of the things I want to do and achieve before my time's up (I know that's a bit of a morbid thought). I realised that there's quite a lot of things that I want to do so I thought I would write them down. I'll probably end up putting these on a page so I can keep updating them as i hopefully progress through achieving them all!

I Googled different bucket lists and things a lot of other bloggers have on their lists and along with my own ideas I combined them all to make an 'Ultimate Bucket List' for me (and anyone else) to do, so here they are!

1. Go on a dogsled ✔︎
2. Ride a zipline
3. Swim in the Blue Lagoon, Iceland
4. Ride in a helicopter ✔︎

Me, Kiri & Louisa just before flying over the 12 Apostles, Australia [February 2016]

5. Swim with dolphins ✔︎

6. See Christ the Redeemer, Rio

7. Fly somewhere first class (Keep dreaming) 

8. See the Northern Lights ✔︎

9. Walk on hot coals

10. See the Colusseum, Rome ✔︎

Inside the Colusseum, Rome [November 2015]

11. Get a tattoo ✔︎

12. Hold a snake ✔︎

13. Experience zero gravity

14. Play paintball

15. Go go-karting ✔︎

16. Cuddle a tiger cub (They look so cute!)

17. Volunteer at an elephant sanctuary

18. Go on a crocodile river boat ✔︎

19. Work at Camp America (Planning to do this in 2018!)

20. Sail on a boat ✔︎

21. Ride in a hot air balloon

22. See a production on Broadway, New York

23. Relax in a natural hot spring

24. Float in the Dead Sea

25. Do a skydive

26. Get a piercing ✔︎ (I have 13)

This was taken just after I got my daith pierced (the heart one). I now have 6 piercings in this ear!

27. Publish a book

28. Get pelted with tomatoes at La Tomatina, Spain

29. See Ayers Rock, Australia

30. Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, Paris (We almost did this in 2015, but the top level was closed. We're going again in December so fingers crossed!)

31. See the Opera House, Sydney ✔︎

32. Go on a cruise

33. Win a hula competition ✔︎ (I did this in a theme park in Wales of all places when I was around 10 and was pretty much famous for a day)

34. Go snorkelling ✔︎

35. Meet someone famous ✔︎ (I also met James Bourne from Busted in a bar in Leeds)

Me & my best friend Mary with Dan Smith, Bastille. Apologies for the terrible quality photo [February 2011]

36. Go on a safari 

37. Ride on a Skidoo ✔︎

38. Take a mud bath

39. Go to Holi Festival, India

40. Visit Stonehenge, UK

41. Drink at an ice bar

42. Do a bungee jump

43. Sign up to be an organ donor ✔︎

44. Visit the Chichen Itza, Mexico

45. Climb the Harbour Bridge, Sydney ✔︎

Val, Me, Priya, Louisa and Michele half way up the Harbour Bridge, Sydney! [March 2016]

46. Go to a Traffic Light Party ✔︎

47. See Buckingham Palace ✔︎ 

48. Walk across the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco

49. Visit the Grand Canyon, Arizona

50. Go skiing

51. Learn to surf ✔︎ (I tried, I was terrible. I'm still counting it)

52. See Niagra Falls, Canada

53. See the Hollywood Hills, LA

54. Go to the top of the Empire State, New York

55. Give blood ✔︎ (I fainted the first time)

56. Go to Disneyland Paris ✔︎ (Going again in December 2016!)

Disneyland Paris [August 2015]

57. Visit the Valley of the Kings, the Sphynx and the Pyramids, Egypt

58. Go to Disneyworld, Florida

59. Gamble in Las Vegas

60. See my favourite band play live ✔︎

Arctic Monkeys at Manchester Arena [October 2013]

61. Drive a jetski ✔︎ (I was also very very bad at this)

62. Wrestle in a sumo suit

63. Visit all 7 continents (So far 3/7)

64. Go on a tram ✔︎

65. Have my palm read

66. Go to Oktoberfest, Germany

67. Go on the London Eye, UK (I had a panic attack on the Yorkshire Eye which was a fraction of the size so wish me luck with this one)

68. Ride in a Gondola, Venice

69. Stand on the equator

70. Go to a book signing ✔︎

Me & Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, Paul) at his book signing [October 2015]

71. Learn to speak another language (hablo un poco de Español en el momento)

72. Have a white Christmas (fat chance)

73. Go skinny dipping

74. Get a degree (1 year to go!)

75. Raise money for a charity ✔︎

76. Swim in the Great Barrier Reef ✔︎

The Great Barrier Reef [May 2016]

77. See the Taj Mahal, India

78. Climb to the top of a ski slope (yes, climb) ✔︎

79. Scuba dive

80. Drive a segway (not a swegway)

81. Fly solo on a plane ✔︎

82. Go on a glass bottom boat (again)

83. Walk across Abbey Road, London

84. Do a mud run ✔︎

My Auntie Yats, Me and my cousin Harriet crossing the Pretty Muddy finish line! [June 2015]

85. Go to a Guinness Brewery, Ireland

86. Walk along the Great Wall of China

87. Visit Hobbiton, New Zealand

88. Ride a camel

89. Have a campfire on the beach

90. Swim in an infinity pool ✔︎

91. Make a wish in the Trevi Fountain, Rome ✔︎

The beautiful Trevi Fountain just after it was restored in 2015.

92. Sleep under the stars ✔︎ (I did this from 5am-6am in a field next to a campfire on a pile of soot)

93. Hand decorate a wall in my house with paint

94. Drive a convertible

95. Have a Harry Potter marathon in one day

96. Have international friends ✔︎

97. Send a message in a bottle

98. Go on a random midnight drive ✔︎

99. Celebrate a birthday on a different continent

100. Go to a boat party ✔︎

I'm going to tag my bud Thomas to do this post and tick off what he has done so far. Along with this i'm also interested to know what anyone else has done so if you are reading this, either copy and paste the list and tick which ones you have achieved or just type them out in a comment!

ᗩᑎᑎᗩᗷEᒪ♥

Trip to Cairns!

Before coming to Australia, there were 2 things that I wanted to do. Number 1 was to climb the Harbour Bridge, which if you read my Sydney blog post, you'll see that I did. The second was to swim in the Great Barrier Reef. Already after just being in Australia for 4 months i've ticked so much off my bucket list. But it doesn't stop there. After waiting through my entire trip here, I finally got to see this natural beauty.

We found this hanging on a beach in Cape Tribulation.

Sunday

After being out all night and coming home at 2am, I stayed up until I had to go meet everyone at 4am to make our way to the airport for our 6am flight. Living in tiny England, i've never flown domestic before (except Sydney). So the fact that we just needed to walk straight through security and to our gate was very strange. We didn't even need our passports.

Once we were in Cairns we had a couple of hours to kill until we checked in, so we left our bags behind reception and went to chill by the pool. Me, Priya and Nikole had a quick swim and then went to sunbathe, where I fell asleep. At 2pm it was time to check in and once we were all in our rooms, we fell asleep once again. When we finally had some energy, we made our way into the city of Cairns for dinner where I finally tried the Aussie famous 'chicken parma''. At 9pm we were all in bed fast asleep after an exhausting 24 hours to prepare for our 6am start the following day.

Monday

Waking up at 6am after a month of going to sleep at 4am and waking up at 2pm was weird, but a lot less painful than I was anticipating, thanks to a sleepless night on saturday I slept like a baby. At 7am we were picked up by a minibus: we were going to Daintree Rainforest.

Our first stop was Mossman Gorge, which is sacred Aboriginal ground. This meant we needed to be 'welcomed' by the Aboriginal ancestors. The welcoming ceremony was interesting. We walked around a fire that was billowing smoke to be covered in the smoke. As long as we respected the land we would be protected by the ancestors. We then had some fun with Aboriginal face paint: Priya and I gave each other some army stripes. Next we hopped on the shuttle bus up to the Gorge where me and Priya went for a swim. Cairns is rife with Crocodiles, so swimming in rivers and at the beaches is a very bad idea, but the Gorge was high up, covered in rocks and the fresh water was cold, so Crocodiles don't swim there.

Mossman Gorge.

After the Gorge we hopped on the bus once again, now we were on our way to a Crocodile cruise on Daintree River. On our way there, our guide told us of a woman who was unfortunately killed by a crocodile on a beach that we drove past the night before. As we passed the media and police were still there. After this and all of the information that the cruise guide told us, I have a new appreciation for these fascinating and terrifying creatures.

Crikey!

Next stop was Cape Tribulation where we stopped for lunch. I tried a Kangaroo burger! (Pause for all the vegetarians that are gonna be hating on me now). It was pretty tasty, it made me think of a mix between chicken and beef.

Kangaroo burger!

We then spent the rest of the day stopping at various locations in the Daintree Rainforest, including an ice cream shop and a boardwalk through some of the forest. Daintree is also the only rainforest in the world where it reaches the sea.

Daintree Rainforest looking very Jurassic Park-esque!

Tuesday

Here we go again with another 6am wake up call. This time, I wasn't bothered one bit. I was going to do what I had wanted to do ever since I knew I was coming to Australia. It was Great Barrier Reef day.

We made our way to the docks and waited for our friends Val and Julian to meet us, then walked to the boat that we would be spending the day on. The weather was pretty grim. The first 2 days greeted us with 30 degree heat and sunshine, but the weather was now letting us down.

Once we were all checked into the boat and had been given our equipment for the day (wetsuit, snorkel, mask & flippers), we went to sit on the top deck for the 1 and a half hour journey out so sea. The sea was extremely choppy so we were being splashed and thrown about everywhere, which at first was hilarious. But after a while, one by one people were dropping like flies to seasickness. About half an hour before we reached the reef, there was just me and Dillon left that hadn't turned a nasty shade of green. My Dad gets seasick so I can thank my Mum for that one.

The staff member that gave our safety briefing assured us that the typical Great White and Bull Sharks don't typically come into the reef as it's hard for them to move around. Which was a huge relief to hear. As soon as we got the OK I threw on my wetsuit and jumped in.

I can't even think of the words to describe what I saw. It's something you'll have to go do yourself, because it was phenomenal. The reef was beautiful with shades of all different colours. There were so many different fish in different shades and sizes.

The first location we were at had cloudy water as the weather was a little miserable. Once we had lunch and moved to the second location, the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day, which also meant we could see a lot clearer underwater. I made a lot of use of my GoPro and I can't wait to edit all the videos together.

The Great Barrier Reef.

Wednesday

Finally! A sleep in! It was only 8am, but that sounds so much nicer than 6. We checked out and left our bags behind reception again as we went into the city to get breakfast. After we had eaten we went to the Cairns Esplanade where there was a gorgeous community pool called the Lagoon. I made the most of my last few hours in the sun (there was no way I could face going home being as white as when I left). After a couple of hours we caught the last bus of the afternoon (at only 3pm?!) back to the hotel where I sunbathed for another hour.

A quick Instagram-worthy picture in the Lagoon!

Then it was time to return to cold and rainy Melbourne. There wasn't a lot of people on our flight so we all pretty much had 3 seats to ourselves.

When we were home Priya, Dillon and I dumped our bags and went to the common room to watch the new Game of Thrones episode that we had missed 2 days earlier. We didn't want to risk seeing any spoilers!

It probably goes without saying but this has been the absolute cherry on top of a fantastic adventure in Australia. It's a matter of weeks until I go home now and I can't wait to see everyone again, but at the same time, there's a lot of people here that are going to be missed.

ᗩᑎᑎᗩᗷEᒪ♥