B.A. Hons

I've graduated!!! Can you believe it?! I certainly can't! All that work and I finally get to put some letters after my name, which I will be doing on EVERYTHING.

It was such a good day yesterday, I felt so proud of myself which is such a lovely feeling. I also felt that my friends and family were proud of me too.

The ceremony was held at the Barbican Centre and I turned up quite early to get registered and robed. We unfortunately were not allowed hats, which was rubbish but I did get the full robes which were ridiculously heavy!

I really would say to anyone who is looking to do Open University, do it! Yes it takes a long time and yes it requires hard work and some dedication but the feeling of satisfaction that I got yesterday was worth all of that.

I was so nervous though. I don't think I have ever felt that nervous! My pulse was pounding and all I heard was my name being called before I walked across the stage. I didn't hear my family cheering, I didn't hear any clapping, I just needed to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other! Everyone said it would all be over so quickly but it seemed like time stopped almost.

We went for lunch at Finch's, near the Barbican Centre with my family, Leigh's family and one of my best friends. I had the Duck breast which was very tasty but a little on the small side. The interiors were very instagramable and they had reserved my table with scrabble letters which was a nice touch.

It was such a brilliant day, and I got to keep my scroll too! I love that I can now say officially that I have a 2.1 English Literature degree and I have accomplished what I always hoped I would. Maybe now I will go on to do a Masters!

C x

When the lights go out

I arrived back at my house tonight to find that we had no power. Nothing at all. Obviously being the adult that I am the first thing I did was check the fuse box! No joy.

Then started the, 'well what shall I do with my time.' I decided to have a shower, only apparently (and who knew?!) hot water requires electricity to make it hot. Apparently I'm not as adult as I'd like to think or surely I would have known this!

So I did what every British person does in a crisis. I made a cup of tea. I boiled the water on the hob and everything. It was pretty good actually despite my lack of enjoyment of tea in general.

It was then that I started to think: what would we do without power? A little while ago Leigh and I watched a programme called Revolution. The premise of the show was actually pretty good. It was a post apocalyptic storyline where electricity has gone. It just goes one day and doesn't come back. Unfortunately the show didn't make it past a second series but I found the whole idea fascinating. One of the things that struck me the most was that a mother who had lost her children could no longer see pictures of them as they were all on her phone which was now unable to be charged. Even now as I type this by candlelight, I kid you not - I feel like a modern Janet Austen, it is nice to actually sit down and write this because I have nothing else to distract me. Although I am worrying about my phone battery...

I know its been said before but it is so easy to be distracted nowadays. TV, Internet etc etc. It all takes away from doing things that actually engage us socially and gives us time to use our brains.

It's actually quite romantic to sit here with only the light from the night sky and a candle. I might start enforcing a power out hour in the house where we have to do things we would normally put to one side.

I'm going to bed now to get a (relatively) early night because I might as well. I've learnt two things about this blackout. 1. My phone torch kicks out more light than any candle and 2. I quite like feeling like a nineteenth century author.

C x

August Favourites

Getting to the end of summer is normally a cause of sadness, but since I love Autumn and I cannot wait to get back in to jumpers I'm glad August is over! Having said all that it has been a particularly good summer and in some ways I will be sad to leave another one behind.

But enough of that - let's crack on with the faves.

Books

I have two time travel books that I have loved this month. Apparently I went searching for this genre for a while! First up is 'The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August' by Claire North. If you love history,suspense and humour then this is the book for you. Working on the idea that there are those among us who can repeat their lives over and over with butterfly effect consequences it is interesting to see the characters develop.

 The second is 'Life after Life' by Kate Atkinson. This novel has been cleverly written so even though you are going over the same life again and again there is always a slight change, making sure you don't get bored. It is also set over WWII which is my favourite period to read about anyway!

The Day We Disappeared by Lucy Robinson- I have read a lot of books over my life. Recently it is very difficult to surprise me in novels, I can see what a plot is going, which is why I am including this book in my favourites. Because although I picked it up as a bit of fluff reading two things happened when I read it. 1) I thought I had guessed the plot twist and then it hit me and I was surprised! 2) I read this book in one day. I got home from work and I read it all the way to the end, ignoring the last episode of Glee in favour of this book. That says a lot.

 

The Martian by Andy Weir - Now I read this book last year but thought it might not appeal to all so decided not to include it in my favourites, however with the release of the film I thought I should mention that you should all read the book too! It was a lot funnier than I thought it would be, you almost need to think 'Castaway' on Mars. I am super looking forward to the film but if you do get a chance to read this book, do!

Music

I have been loving summer music with several new favourites that you might like to lend an ear to.

Hungry (Nikias Ibach Remix) - Dotan just makes me want to get up and dance and sway and it makes me wish I'd gone on holiday and played this driving along a coastline.

Listen here!

Peanut Butter Jelly - Galantis is what I like to call 'a good walk to work' song. It's a little bit silly and a lotta bit catchy.

Listen here! 

Unfinished Symphony - The Six is another one of those catchy, dancey songs that I love so much. This one has been around a while but I haven't done a favourites in ages so it has been saved up!

Listen here!

We Ride - Missy Higgins. I found this song through a good old shazam on a youtube video I was watching of someone's world trip. It just provoked all sorts of emotions in me and although I normally try to avoid the slower songs because they make me sad when I only want to be happy, I don't mind with this song.

Fashion

I am quite disappointed with the fashion world right now - if there is one style I really could do without it is 70's fashion. All those browns and suede and yeah I'm not really a fan. I do however need a dress for graduation next month so I've bought the following to try (both Dorothy Perkins):

 Blush Pencil Dress - Was £38 Now £26

Lavender 50's Lace Dress - Was £75 Now £30

Home

I'm including this little beauty in here rather than in 'Books' as the books I write about tend to lean more to the fiction side. This however has taken pride of place in my house where all can see and I LOVE IT. I first found Anna Maes Mac and Cheese a couple of years ago at Glastonbury and I have been an addict ever since. Now I can actually make it their way on my own. With over 50 recipes this is one recipe book that makes me hella happy!

Beauty

I already have another one of these Bourjois lippies and I love it so much I've gone back for more. I love that it goes on like a lipgloss before settling into a matte lipstick. I find it to be quite pigmented, giving a strong colour and it wears for several hours before you need to reapply. I've gone for no 12 - Velvet this time around and I love it.

I am not a big make-up wearer. As I'm sure I've said before when I can remember my 'face' normally consists of eyeliner, mascara and some lippie. If I'm feeling really adventurous maybe some eye shadow. But I went and picked up some new bits from Boots the other day and that included a new mascara which has to be one of the best I've owned. It makes my eyelashes look so long and as it's from the 'Seventeen' brand you don't have to break the bank to buy it. Mine is in the colour Brown Black which has a slightly subtler look than just Black.

 

I hope you have all had a wonderful summer!

C x

Recipe - Coconut Macaroons

I love coconut and I love condensed milk so this recipe might just be one of my favourites. Crisp on the outside and chewy in the middle these macaroons are quick to make and keep for while (if they last that long!)

Ingredients

400g sweetened shredded coconut
200ml condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs whites
120g milk chocolate

Method to the Madness

Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line two trays with baking paper.

In a medium bowl, mix together the shredded coconut, condensed milk and vanilla extract.

Separate the yolks and whites carefully!

  
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Fold the egg whites into the coconut mixture.

Using two spoons, form heaped tablespoons of the mixture into mounds on the prepared baking sheets, spacing about 1 inch apart.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden and the bottoms and edges are deeply golden.

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, stopping and stirring every 30 second intervals so it doesn't burn. Dip the bottoms of the macaroons in the chocolate and return upside down to the trays.

Place the macaroons in the refrigerator for 30 minutes so the chocolate to sets then eat the whole lot with a cup of tea.

C x

10 Things I Have Learnt From Being Newly Engaged

Urgh guys I am so awful! I haven't blogged in three weeks and I feel so bad about it. My only excuse is that I've been having a bit of a holiday and doing lots of wedding planning or wedmin as I can't help but call it!

Now I know for a fact that quite a few of you are not going to care that much about the few wedding posts that will be popping up over the next year but for those of you that do - think about how much fun it'll be to take this journey with me!

So I'm starting off with one which I'm sure some people can relate to or will be able to in the future!

10 Things I Have Learnt From Being Newly Engaged

1. Weddings cost A LOT more than I thought. I mean I knew they cost a lot but I thought people were just doing it wrong and I could do it cheaper. I was wrong.

2. You get through a fair bit of champagne which is quite alright by me. People give you bottles of the stuff!

3. If you are even the slightest bit organised and aware of what you want people will call you a Bridezilla. They will then continue to bemoan long engagements in the same breath.

4. Cutting down a guest list from 200+ to 100 is really, really hard and sometimes you just have to be ruthless.

5. Stamps are pricey when buying in bulk.

6. Excel spreadsheets are a lifesaver.

7. Try and book your venue as soon as you can. The magazines say a year before but it depends when/where you want to get married. Some places we looked at were booked until 2018!

8. Pinterest is everything.

9. Getting used to saying fiance is tricky. I think I sound like I'm bragging.

10. If, like me, you love being centre of attention being newly engaged is the best thing ever. You get to talk about yourself and people have to seem interested.

I mean mostly it's just pretty great and I don't think I have stopped smiling for six weeks.

C x

Glastonbury 2015

I may have dropped the ball slightly on this post - a month after the event is very bad even for me, who can be a lazy blogger at the best of times. But I am on holiday so I really have no excuse!

As most of you will know I am a huge Glastonbury lover, and after two years away it felt like a lifetime. This year, for me, had a brilliant line-up, I went with some very good friends and really I was just ready to immerse myself in the whole experience again.

Of course it didn't disappoint because how could it. Even the hour queue to get in (a first for me!), and the sweaty walk with what felt like my body weight resting on my back couldn't dampen any spirits. Even getting absolutely and completely drenched on Friday whilst dancing to Mary J. Blige didn't bring me down that much, although later realising that I could wring water out of my bra wasn't fantastic.

Bands I loved played, and a certain artist I had always wanted to see headlined. Once again I made it through Glastonbury without going to the Rabbit Hole but I was having so much fun doing other things that it didn't really matter. I sort of wish for a year with a crap line-up though just so I can go and do all the fun things that there are. This was my fifth year at Glastonbury and still I haven't seen everything there is on offer. Sometimes you just end up walking in to completely random things without realising, like the Dalai Lama giving a speech on love or a band at West Holts who had just stepped in to cover and were brilliant with the crowd.

My highlights this year were getting the a section of the crowd around us to start singing Golddigger before it came on at Kanye West started by my friend and I, the crowd cheering at Years & Years because gay marriage is now legal across the whole of the US, raving out to Chemical Brothers covered in glow-sticks, the heavy bass vibrating my voice at Jamie XX, getting dirty feet and not really giving a damn, 100,000 people chanting 'Lionel, Lionel, Lionel!' and of course getting engaged.

It is always so hard to leave that place, it becomes home for five days and there isn't anything better than waking up in the morning, crawling out of your tent and seeing the Pyramid stage, along with thousands of other tents, every single one of them having such a different Glastonbury experience. I say this every single time I go but if you haven't been at least try it once. Try it and maybe you will see what I mean when I say that Glastonbury is the greatest place on earth.

C x

I'M ENGAGED!!!

Not such a subtle title but one that I am very excited about writing!

On Wednesday 24th June 2015, exactly five years after Leigh and I met he only went and proposed!

As you can imagine this post will be filled with lots of exclamation marks....

We arrived at Glastonbury (I will be doing a proper run down post soon) and that evening we all went up towards the flag field, where you have a brilliant view over the whole of Glastonbury.

After we had sat for a bit we moved right up to the very top of the field, where he turned to me, told me how much he loved me and asked me to stand before getting down on one knee and asking me to be his wife. Of course my reaction was elegant and smooth.......

I basically screamed, cried, shook and then proceeded to shout from the very top of the hill 'I'm engaged!' to which several people looked round and clapped and cheered. One man even came over and said how happy he was to be a witness to it all and would be off to tell his friends about it.

Not only do I love Leigh very much but he's got a smart head on him too, thinking to propose with a fake ring that looked just like my real one so if it got lost at Glastonbury it really wouldn't matter. As such I didn't get the real sparkler until Monday which required a whole five days of waiting in which time I actually got quite attached to the fake one!

Fake Ring

Real Ring

I am so very happy at the thought of marrying him and I may have already started a major planning mission, which I'm sure I will document on here as well.

Without this becoming a completely soppy post I just wanted to say that I really do love you, and I can't wait to be your wife for the rest of our lives ...

C x