January.

Happy New Year!
So here's a fresh new year before us, I wonder what it will bring? Fingers crossed it brings everyone success and happiness. For me, 2017 will bring my graduation, a trip to Canada to visit my sister from another mister Priya, my 23rd birthday (it freaked me out the first time I said that), and being a Bridesmaid for one of my close friends, Rachel.

Now this is quite possibly the shortest monthly round up I've ever done and hopefully will ever do. In all honesty i've been quite busy this month but i've been too occupied with enjoying it to take any pictures or to remember to write about it, so i'm just going to do a few bullet points.

• I recovered from NYE just about (I actually fell up some stairs that night and really hurt my knee - I couldn't walk properly for a few days!
• I gave my cousin her birthday present, which is tickets to the Harry Potter Studio Tour.
• Did non-stop work for Uni because it seems like deadlines are coming out of every orifice.
• Mum and I started shopping for bits and bobs for the room swap (I can't wait to completely redecorate).
• I actually needed to take a dyslexia test at Uni, but i'm all clear.
• Us Bridesmaids went to Rachel's house to sort more things out for the wedding but we ended up just ordering a takeaway and watching Bridesmaids.
• Viv and I went to see Passengers at the cinema and very much enjoyed Chris Pratt's derriere. 
• Mum's Christmas present was tickets to go to the Emmerdale Tour at ITV Studios, so we had a grand day out along with lunch at TGI Fridays (and lots of cocktails).
• On the same day it was my work Christmas do. We went for food at Akbar's and the food was great, but I was stuffed beyond belief. We then went for some drinks afterwards, then I made my way to the cinema.
• Because I was now meeting Megan and Charlotte to see the final episode of Sherlock at Vue. It was amazing. Ben C is bae and Hudders is the Queen of sass.
• I got drunk with my work friends. Again.
• My sister had GymFest performing at Leeds First Direct Arena. Like what?! I just saw my sister on the same stage that i've seen Bastille, Lee Evans and McBusted, and will see Green Day, Kings of Leon and Russell Howard on. It's just so bloomin' cool.
• I moved back up to my Uni house for my final semester EVER.
• The final event of January was going to see Two Door Cinema Club at Leeds O2 Academy for the 4th time. They were brilliant.

So really I just wanted to enjoy January and make the most of what was going on after a busy Christmas, which is also why I didn't write a December round up. But hopefully February will be more exciting!

A quick update on Slimming World, i've now lost a grand total of 1st 5.5lbs. Feeling pretty chuffed with myself to say the least.

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

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♥

November.

The penultimate month of 2015 is already over. What the HECK?!

The first week of November was a weird one. I had an essay due on the 7th and I hadn't started it as I had been so busy previously (see October's round up). I was also pretty ill and that added to the stress had a really weird effect on me and I was barely sleeping or eating all week. I've never really been super stressed about University work before so I think it was a bit of a shock to the system; i'm often too laid back to care about grades (for example see my GCSE results). This meant that Bonfire Night (if you're not from the UK, Google it) was spent writing my essay, however I did leave my blind open so I could watch the fireworks at the same time. Multitasking at its best.

Anyway, the week after my deadline, it was finally time for my 21st birthday present from James.

We stayed over in Manchester the night before as our flight was at 6:30am, and having to be at Manchester airport for about 4am means waking up in Leeds at about 2am. No thanks.

When we got there, the phrase "Rome wasn't built in a day" was bouncing around my head. I saw how true this statement was. All of the buildings are so beautiful and detailed and in the taxi journey from the airport to our hotel, I just couldn't stop looking out of the window.

My personal favourite of the attractions: The Trevi Fountain.

Every time a new Hunger Games film has been released, my best friend Charlotte and I would go see the double/triple bill at the cinema. But this year Vue decided not to do a quadruple bill and instead they only did a double bill of Mockingjay. Bit rubbish right? It was also the week after I got back from Rome and I had about £5 to get me to payday, so I couldn't go. So my friend Viv suggested we make our own quadruple bill. We fell asleep halfway through Catching Fire so this failed epically.

Things started to concrete over for Australia too. I bought my travel insurance and my VISA got granted. It's all becoming real, it still hasn't hit me yet!

My Mum got me and my sister these awesome Christmas jackets because I got a first in my placement year and my sister did something good in Spanish (I can't remember what it was).

One of my friends from work had his leaving do on the 30th. I'll be so sad to see him go but he's going to South Africa which is pretty damn cool. So for his leaving party we all went to his house and had a Disney night in. I know right? Amazing. We were watching Disney movies from 2pm until half 4 in the morning (we also watched Ghostbusters because Nathan was 'a bit bored' of cartoons...weirdo).

Nathan fell asleep so we played Buckaroo.

On the last day of November I decorated my room for Christmas. I couldn't wait any longer. In the process I managed to impale my foot on one of the hooks that I use to hang tinsel up. That hurt. A lot.

Nice and festive!

So that's it for another month! I'm so excited for December (I always am).

Rambling post #4: Writers block.

Here I am attempting to complete my first assignment for my second year at University. It's due in on Monday and I currently have 138 out of 2,500 words written.
Back in 6th Form and even First Year I could whack out a decent essay in 1 or 2 days, this doesn't seem to be the case.
This essay was set in my PR module around 4 weeks ago, which was 2 weeks into the semester at Uni. This raised the question, "how can they expect me to write an essay on a subject I have never before studied in my life?".
As a result, I left it for a couple of weeks until I had been to a few lectures and seminars to familiarise myself with the subject. I'm a little more clued up to the subject, so why am I still sat here with only 138 words of an introduction?
I'm not usually one to stress or get upset about school or Uni work, but theres a first time for everything. This is definitely stressing me out. Big time.
Usually once I have the basic gist figured out and I have something to start on, it just flows out of me. This time i've written and re-written the essay plan at least 6 times, and it's pretty difficult to write about something when you're not even sure what you want to say.
I'm hoping i'll have an epiphany soon or a textbook will fall and open on the exact page that I need for inspiration, but right now, there is absolutely nothing working in my brain.
If anyone has any tips on writers block, it would be greatly appreciated.
Also if you made it this far, thanks for listening to me whinge.
𝕒𝕟𝕟𝕒𝕓𝕖𝕝

Apologies for the absence...

As it turns out, I have had a lot on my plate recently.
I just found out I finished my first year of university with a 2:1.
I have just started my placement year for uni which I am doing at a children's centre working on their fundraising events.
And I just got a new job - the LEGO store in Trinity if you please.
I'm feeling very proud of myself at the moment, however I just havn't had the time to blog!
Now things seem to have settled down, I am hoping to jump back on the bandwagon and get this page filling up again.
I shall also be posting the Soap & Glory Breakfast Scrub review that I promised those many months ago.
Muchas gracias for your patience my lovelies.