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♥