I made a 2014 Set up Video (Finally!)

So after a few requests I finally got around to doing my set up for 2014 showing the different sections I have in my organiser and how I am using them for University! 

You can also see the new dividers that I made for my organiser last night and I would love to know what you all thought of them!

Take a look! :)

101 Things in 1001 Days

I was sorting out my documents on my laptop the other night, I am really bad at keeping things in folders and I rediscovered my 101 in 1001 list I created this summer. Reading through it I was surprised by what I had managed to achieve on it so far without even thinking about it and I thought that in order to keep motivated with it I would post it here. I did debate resetting the clock for the entire list but I have instead opted to keep it the same (bar from a few of them!). Anybody who knows me will know that I love making lists, I will make a list of lists I need to make and my boyfriend even got me a valentines card which referenced to do lists! I made this list on the 28th July 2013 which means that my end date is the 24th April 2016, so I still have OVER two years to complete it, no excuse for failure! Anyway enough blabbing, here is my list (I couldn't get the numbering to work on here so you will have to trust me that it is 101, or get really bored and count them for yourselves ;) )

101 things in 1001 days

Money

Earn £10 from surveys - COMPLETED DEC 2013. 

Spend less than £250 on stationery for the duration of the list (reset as of today, current spend on stationery £8.67, oops!)

Save £1000 for a rainy day

Sell 31 things on ebay (5/31)

Buy nothing unessential for a month

Get a cheaper phone contract

Fill my giant copper jar 

Save £200 towards a car

Save all 20ps for 3 months

Donate to charity

Keep a budget

Buy a lottery ticket

Buy a scratchcard

Subscribe to cosmo

Get a new laptop

Buy something from etsy

Driving

Have a driving lesson

Take theory test

(not on the list but I would love to have actually passed my practical test by April 2016 too!) 

Health and fitness

Complete couch to 5k

Do yoga

No fizzy drinks for a month

Drink a bottle/glass of water every day for 3 months

Eat no meat for a week

Eat a piece of fruit every day for a month

Get a minimum of 8 hours sleep a night for a month

Give up chocolate for a week

Use moisturiser 3 times a week for a month

Random

Get to level 90 on WoW

Donate blood

Become a bone marrow donor

Build a snowman

Carve a pumpkin

Get a hamster

Keep room tidy for a month

Make own Christmas cards one year

Make a friendship bracelet

Make my own Filofax insert

Clear out cupboard in rorys room

De-clutter bedroom

Do a random act of kindness

Send a care package

(Omitted for personal reasons)

Blog

Start a blog

Post on blog at least once a month

University

Finish undergrad degree (2.1)

Get up 2 hours before uni for a month

Get a first in a module (year 2 onwards)

Decide on a dissertation topic

Go to every lecture for a month

Music/fim/books

Read pride and prejudice

For one week go to bed early and read a book

Read 50 books (3/50)

Read a magazine ive never bought before

See taylor swift live

See ed sheeran live (tickets booked for November 2014 eep!)

Pre order a cd

Watch a new tv series

Watch 10 documentaries

Watch gone with the wind

Watch 20 new movies (3/20) 

Food

Try 10 new recipes

Have a packed lunch every day for a month

Make ice cream

Have breakfast every day for a month

Make pizza from scratch

Make bread from scratch

Cook a Chinese dish from scratch

Make my own sushi

Make a gingerbread house at christmas

Start a recipe binder

Clothes

Make pj collection more grown up

Throw out old underwear

Get a nice pair of boots

Buy no new clothes for a month

Spend a day in a onesie

Buy something from (you don't need to know this!)

Get a ring

Buy a new coat

Recreational

Go bowling

Go to the cinema by myself

Visit a new country

Visit grandma

Go to a Christmas market

Spend a night in a hotel

Go on a picnic

Try a new alcoholic drink

Update twitter every day for a month

Go on  night out in bangor

Dress up for Halloween

Photographs

Sort out photographs

Take at least one photo a week for a year

Have another picture taken with colin

Make at least one scrapbook

Update memory wall in room

Take a picture of as much of university as possible

Letters

Send a postcard

Send a postcard to BF's actual house

Write a letter to futureself (futureme.org)

Send 10 handwritten letters (3/10)

Send a letter to a soldier

Create a new list before end of this one

If you managed to read this far down then I am impressed! As you can see I have currently completed 17 of my 101 things which my calculations puts me slightly behind target (by about a month) but there are a fair few long term aims on here so I am still optimistic I can get it done!

Have you made a 101 in 1001 days list? Did you manage to complete it or did you forget all about it like me?

Wearing rings when you're not engaged or married

I inherited my grandmothers ring recently and rather awkwardly it only fits my wedding finger and even that it is a tad tight. I tried the ring on all of my other fingers but it is either too small or too large for them so I have been wearing it on a necklace chain for the time being. 

It got me thinking though about wearing rings on other fingers before being married or engaged. It is something that I have never done before as generally the few times I have worn a costume jewellery ring I have ended up taking if off after a few hours because it was irritating me and getting in my way. Recently though I have been thinking about experimenting with costume rings again and I am really tempted by the cute little stacking set from Accessorize shown below!

What do you all think? How many of you wear costume rings on a regular basis? Am I over-thinking this as usual? 

My Week #7

This week I picked a mainly heart and flowers theme in honour of valentines day being on Friday (yes I am a hopeless romantic!) 

I was a very lucky girl on Friday and got a microwaveable teddie that closely resembles a spaniel puppy (the dog I have decided I want when I have my own place!) some chocolates, a yet to arrive mystery present (damned storms) and the most appropriate card ever which even featured a to do list on the front! 

My work load has been lighter this week which was a relief and I managed to get a lot of work done on Wednesday when Bangor was under a severe weather  warning and we were advised not to venture outside so a day under the duvet cracking on with assignments was the best option for me. 

I've also had more driving lessons and I'm getting much more confident behind the wheel despite still being confused by the concept of having to change gear whilst still steering and keeping my eyes on the road but I will get there. 

How was everyone else's week? I hope you all had a lovely valentines day and haven't been too badly affected by the horrible storms and flooding the UK have been experiencing this week. 

Happy Valentines Day!

(via)

Today is one of those days that people either seem to love or hate and it isn't necessarily dependent on whether or not you are single. My parents don't believe in paying over the odds to show your love for somebody just one day a year when you can do it any day of the year for half of the price. I on the other hand am a hopeless romantic and pretty much look forward to the day from Christmas onwards, of course I do have a wonderful boyfriend which makes that easier!

However even when I was single I looked forward to the day and I was often that cheesy girl that would send a valentines to the boy she was crushing on only to get a card from my parents in return. Despite this I never lost faith in the romance of the day.

So whether or not you have a significant other to spend the rest of the day with I hope you have a wonderful time whether that is having a romantic candlelight dinner or sitting in sharing a tub of Ben and Jerrys with your best friends and watching a rom-com!

Ps. Dear weather, please chill out so I can get home for Valentines later please!!! 

Finding the Appropiate Filofax For the Job!

Those of you who regularly read my blog will know that I have recently decided that I would like to pursue teacher training when I graduate and I am one of those people who consider such an occasion as a reason to purchase a new Filofax. 

However I am currently debating over which option to go for!  I am settled on the idea of an A5 as I would eventually like to use the same organiser as my markbook and space where I plan out all of my lessons and so ideally I would like something which will last me a while yet still being friendly to a student's budget, quite the dilema! 

My top 3 favourites from the Filofax website are:

1. A5 Aqua Malden

Whilst this is by no means a student friendly purchase and is currently out of stock everywhere I have looked it may not be the most realistic of options. However I have wanted a Malden organiser for quite some time now and I am confident that the organiser would last me a while, the colour also seems fun and less corporate which would be ideal for a primary school teacher (fingers crossed!)

2. A5 Red Domino

I have spoken numerous times about my love for the Domino organiser and I think the elastic closure would be really useful for a teacher's organiser. It is also considerably cheaper and I would be less worried about carrying it around in my handbags or it becoming accidentally damaged within the classroom setting. I only wish that you could still find the Dominos in brighter colours! Or green, a green domino would be idealistic for me!!

3. A5 Metropol in Red

Again this is quite a student budget friendly organiser and it is not real leather so it would be much less heartbreaking if it where to become accidentally damaged. It also has two pen loops which would be great for an organiser that I want to take on its own somewhere as I wouldn't need to take a pencil case as well. My only concern with the Metropol is that sometimes it can appear quite streaky.

Are there any other trainee teachers or qualified teachers out there? Which Filofax / Organiser would you recommend? 

Figuring out what I want to do with my life

via

Before Christmas I think it is safe to say that I was driving most of my friends and family mad because I had realised that I didn't want to a pursue a career in my degree field (Zoology with Conservation) but the problem was I had no idea what it was I wanted to do instead. Ever since I was little I had wanted to be a Vet but when it came to A- Levels I realised I wasn't going to get the grades needed for that and so opted for Zoology instead. 

Don't get me wrong I do enjoy my subject and degree, I just don't have the passion and strive for Conservation anymore which I feel is essential in such a field!!! After a lot of soul searching I have decided that I would love to be a Primary School teacher which means applying for my PGCE in November. This might sound like a while away but as I have only just decided to pursue a career in teaching I have limited experience and therefore need to spend the next seven months making my application as strong as possible. 

I feel like such a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders now that I finally have a career direction and I have something to aim towards. Since deciding on my future career I have found that I have been much more motivated in doing my work as I want to have the best degree possible to put on my application.

Have you decided what it is you want to do in life yet? 

My week #6

This week looks like it was pretty quiet on paper but in reality I feel like I have barely stopped! Last weekend I went to London to see Taylor Swift on her opening night at the o2 and it was incredible! Consequently I didn't do any work at all over the weekend and I feel like I have been playing catch up all week, I've had a pretty hefty (and dull!) lab report to write which is now thankfully more or less complete! It was my mum's birthday this week and so I have spent the weekend at home which is quickly turning into my favourite part of the week! 

I also had my second driving lesson this week and I am impressed at how calm I am being behind the wheel considering I usually freak out and get all anxious at the slightest thing! I am already looking forward to having my own car someday but I think I am getting slightly ahead of myself!

How was your week? xo

February Wish List

Striped Blouse- La Redoute / Bow T-Shirt- La Redoute / Blouse- La Redoute / Polka Dot Shorts- New Look / Tartan Skirt

There are so many great clothes out there right now and it seems every day I am receiving emails or catalogues showing me new and beautiful clothes that I would love to buy all of but alas my student budget doesn't allow for such extravagances! I didn't intend for most of these pieces to be monochrome but it appears subconsciously I am hoping to follow this trend over the rest of winter and into spring. I am currently in the progress of applying for work experience in schools so that I can apply for my PGCE in November and I could wear all of these pieces (except maybe the shorts) for such an occasion. Although perhaps white blouses would not be the most appropriate for a Primary School setting! 

Mums are the greatest!

I have SO much respect for mothers and what they go through on a daily basis looking after their Children! Despite the fact that I am nowhere near ready to become a Mum yet and even when that day comes I will probably stop at the one child I thought I would share with you all the reasons why I think my Mum is the greatest!

1.She organised the making of this massive quilt for me to take to university with me where lots of my family members and friends had each made a square for me.

2. We do cool stuff like feed giraffes together!

3. She gives some pretty awesome advice!

My housemates will vouch for the fact that my mum rings me at least once a day and whilst this would drive some students crazy I actually don't mind it! As strange as it might sound I think I have actually become closer to my mum since moving away to university and I look forward to her phone calls. I honestly don't know what I would do without my mum!

Who else is feeling the mum love?!