Hello there!
A few days ago I finally had my 21st Birthday party back home. Yes, I celebrated thoroughly back in Van but it was lovely to see my friends (both from home and uni) and I had such a lovely time. I'll post a few photos but I do not look very sober what-so-ever (but considering it was my 21st I think that's allowed right?)

This is more a post about my birthday cake! My mum decorates cakes and she really outdid herself this time. We had a LOT of disagreements over me wanting buttercream and she hates buttercream so I ended up with a fondant cake but it still looked gorgeous. I even put my Royal Albert tea cup and saucer* on top for the finishing touch.

BEAUTY // Elizabeth and James: Nirvana

Season's greetings!
I'm one of those people who finds a perfume they like and rarely gets anything else. I like having a signature scent that I wear every day. It's just the finishing touch. Unfortunately, I ran out of my favourite Lacoste Touch of Pink whilst in Van and to get a bottle of that in Canada costs an absolute fortune! I decided, upon the suggestion of one of the lovely girls in Sephora, to try a perfume I could only get out there. I ended up settling on the Nirvana fragrances and I am in love.

BEAUTY // Stocking fillers: Bath & Body Works Hand Cream

Hello there!
Bath & Body Works is my new favourite place at Christmas. With more amazing smelling candles than could fit in my entire house, it is definitely the place to go if you just want to spend an afternoon squealing over how gorgeous a cinnamon roll candle would smell. I wanted to pick up a little something for my friends back home (and myself - duh) and I ended up picking up some of their hand creams. They are, do doubt, the most amazing smelling hand creams I have ever smelt. I could seriously eat them out of the tube!

LIFESTYLE // Hey, it’s okay (at Christmas...)

Hello there! 

I have decided that I like to write lists and where better to start than with a Christmas list? I hope you enjoy!

LIFESTYLE // The Christmas Tag

Hey there!
I have seen this tag floating about and couldn't help doing it! It has definitely helped me get into the Christmas spirit (she says whilst watching a ridiculously corny Christmas film!)

TRAVEL // Capilano Suspension Bridge

Hello there!
I finished exams last Thursday, flew back on Monday and of course that meant that I had to do some exploring of Van before I left for Christmas. I ended up popping up to Capilano Suspension Bridge with some friends to go see their Christmas lights which are just beautiful! It may have been below freezing but with a ski jacket, beanie and mittens it's all okay.

LIFESTYLE // The Factory on Granville

Hello there lovelies!
I have found my new favourite place in Downtown Van and it is in the form of The Factory. Situated right in the middle of Granville, it offers plenty of good food with an even better price. I popped in over the weekend for a meal before a lot of us left for Christmas and I am definitely 100% going back!

STUDY // Semester 1 is over

Hello there!
Yes, I know it has been a little while since I have last posted. I have sat at my laptop thinking 'I want to blog but I have finals' and yes - finals happened and were a thing. I have half of my marks back and  they aren't too bad considering I had a grand total of about 4 days to prepare for a full semester's worth of work. I still cannot get over that. I know if I was given the three months I'd usually have to prepare for finals I'd ace them but instead I had three days so I am super impressed to get 84% overall for Materials (if anyone needs a materials chemist just look this way!)

Anyway, I thought I'd just do a post showing a timeline of my first semester here at UBC. It has been the craziest past three months and I cannot believe I am flying home for Christmas on Monday. It's going to be so nice to go home and see everyone and see my cat in her Santa suit and at all of the cheddar cheese in the world because Canadian cheese is bloody awful (#realtalks).

So here we go!

STUDY // Study Abroad: two weeks left

Hello my lovelies!
I cannot believe finals are upon us. This morning I had my first final and it feels so good to have finally finished a module. Sure, it was the hardest module of the lot and I am super, duper worried that I haven't even passed (seriously - it was that bad! We'll have to see what happens!), but it's nice to feel like I accomplished something. I have had nothing but trouble with it and I 100% didn't have the pre-requisites and no matter how much work I did I just couldn't get anything.

Pro-tip: if you are going abroad and are choosing modules make sure you know exactly what is being covered. The websites can often be quite vague and that definitely made things 77 times harder for me than it should have been.

Anyway, it has been a super hectic past few weeks due to it being my birthday and Liv's birthday. There have been more house parties than I can count. I have had assessments due in and spent all day in The Beanery working on ridiculous questions that I cannot do. I have managed to do my first presentation (and it went pretty well!) and to top it all off I have now come to the conclusion that I actually love it here and could not even think about going back home. It's crazy how just a few weeks can completely change how you feel.

OOTD // No diamonds in the trees, just leaves of gold*

Hello there!
Am I the only person in the world that sometimes has trouble finding dresses? Surely not! There is always that dress that has too small a waist or shoulders and it feels like it can be nearly impossible to find a nice dress that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and hours of wasted time in cramped fitting rooms. If you sweat about this as much as I do (which is quite a lot - I do like a nice dress), your saviour may come in the form of eShakti.

LIFESTYLE // Autumn Essentials

Hello there!

Autumn has well and truly landed in Van and I am finding myself reaching for scarves and jumpers every single day. There are a few bits and pieces that I also keep reaching for at the moment – not clothing wise – so I thought I’d share them with you!

OOTD // Granville Island

Hello there!
A week with no labs means I have a lot more time on my hands. I managed to get last week's lab reports done last week and they aren't even due for another week. Let's just say I am very happy about that! I decided to use my time wisely and go spend the day at Granville Island with my housemates. It's so lovely - definitely worth visiting if you are ever in the Vancouver area!

STUDY // Study Abroad: 2 Months In

Hello there!
Yes, that's right. I have been here for two months now - TWO MONTHS.
It has been two months since I have seen my family. It has been two months since I have seen most of my friends back home. It has been two months since I last saw my cat. If I was in the UK, I'd have visited home at least 3 times by now - crazy. Do you know what? I'm okay with that. I'm STILL not feeling homesick and I'm super duper surprised.

Don't get me wrong, I do really, really miss everyone back home. I miss being able to text them randomly during the day and get an instant response. I miss just phoning someone up for a chat. Now I have to Facebook them and say 'SKYPE SESH THIS TIME OKAY' and it just gets rid of the spontaneity a little bit.

Excitingly I am coming home for Christmas! I really want to do some travelling but I just need to get out of Van - can you believe that?! Don't worry - I'll explain later.

Anyway....time for an update!

LIFESTYLE // #lalalove #2

Hello my lovelies!
What happened to this being a biweekly thing eh? I have had the craziest time at uni recently. Last week I had 8 assessments due in 7 days (yes - I haven't handed one in. I feel like such a rebel. It's quite liberating. STICK IT TO THE MAN) Anyway, if you want to know more about that I'll be doing a study abroad update post in the next couple of days so stay tuned for that.

Today I am finally going to do my second #lalalove post! Even though it has not been so lovely these past two weeks (because come on - there is not enough time in a week to do 8 assessments including 3 mid-terms) I have been trying to cling on to some happiness and here it is!

OOTD // Sunday morning strolls

Hello my lovelies!
This weekend has been a minimum work weekend. I spent Friday night shopping downtown, Saturday and Sunday in bed with Netflix (and a little bit of organic chemistry of course) and Monday with a pile of work taller than the pile of textbooks I have on my desk. Oh, and I experienced Canadian Nandos for the first time too. It may be cheaper but I cannot get garlic bread as a side and that upsets me a lot!

Anyway, on Sunday morning I woke up super early to have a stroll around campus and take some photos. It's so lovely first thing in the morning with no-one about, you forget that thousands of students walk down Main Mall during the week.

WISHLIST // Spark Session Wishlist

Hello there my lovelies!

Coming up soon is the Spark Sessions conference in Toronto! It brings together Canadian beauty and fashion bloggers and, not gonna lie, I would absolutely love to go! They are currently running a competition (here) that runs until October 14th where you can win a ticket and transport to the conference and I couldn't help but apply!

I thought my entry would include a wish list of items I would love to buy if I got to attend the conference. I have tried to stick to brands that I can buy here in Canada (although I do miss the UK high street absolutely insane amounts!) I have been spending quite a lot of time getting to know the shops in Downtown Van and I want so much (like so much) that my student budget just could not stretch to. However, I think I can let myself buy a few of these bits - they are just so lovely!

STUDY // Study tips from a British student in Canada

Hello there!

I have been studying at UBC for over a month now and I have given in so many assessments that it is now time for mid-terms. I know, just five weeks in and I am already freaking out over a test that is going towards 15% of my grade.

I have had to change the way I have been studying significantly in just this first month. It is crazy how the different schools structure each course and although I expected it, I didn't think it would be that different. That's for sure.

STUDY // Study abroad 5 weeks in

Hello my lovelies!
I cannot believe I haven't posted in over a week. I hoped it wouldn't come to this until finals but it has come early and it sucks. Everyone says that you have ups and downs during your study abroad and the past couple of weeks have definitely 100% been a down. Sure, there have been good bits and bad bits but overall, this past couple of weeks have sucked. If I hadn't made such great friends out here I know 100% that I would have given up and just gone home last week and that would have been the end of this adventure in Van and at least I tried.

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say here it that absolutely everything they tell you about how it's going to be difficult and you'll feel sad is 100% true! Yeah, I know - that sucks!

BEAUTY // Maybelline: The Nudes Palette

Hello there!
I have had the worst week! You don't even know. My MacBook broke on Thursday afternoon so I couldn't get any work done and didn't manage to get it fixed until about 7pm last night after the hefty price of $300 (although I had a seriously lovely chat with my Apple genius - finally a Canadian with banter and the guy who did fix my laptop kept the shop open for me thankfully!). Anyway, because that took so long I missed the ice hockey and I'm two days behind schedule work wise so I missed day of the long boats too. I'm devastated and haven't even got one report finished yet! At least I have had some marks back and they are really good - I'm super happy! I actually got the top mark in the class for one thing (I think!?) so that's just incredible.

Anyway, the point of all this was that to cheer myself I found Maybelline's new palette, The Nudes! This palette isn't available in the UK so I had to find it whilst I was here. It was actually in the first place I looked in (the shop next door to the place I got my Mac fixed) so you know - silver linings.

STUDY // Study Abroad - two weeks in

Hello there!

It is crazy to think I have been living in Canada for almost three weeks now. I still do not know how this happened. I know I say that a lot but it’s true. Obviously I can do a flow chart saying how exactly it happened (see below) but I didn’t ever think it actually would happen you know?

Anyway, I thought I’d do a post letting you know how it feels to have successfully completed two weeks of classes. My ‘successfully’ I mean not annoyed the lecturer/failed everything to get kicked off the module. I wouldn’t say it has been all that successful at all – and that kinda sucks.

LIFESTYLE // Homecoming!

Hey guys!

On Saturday it was Homecoming at UBC and even though I had two reports to do (and now another two - yay!) and lots of work to do I took the day off and went to support the Thunderbirds in their first football game of the season.

Just saying, we lost 11 to 59 (or something like that). I think my T-Bird spirit is pretty low now - but it was a fun day!

BEAUTY // Real Techniques retractable lip brush and miracle complexion sponge

Hello there!

It has been a little while since I have done a beauty post hasn't it?

Well, just before I left for Canada Boots had a buy one get one half price on real Techniques. I have never owned a real Techniques product before so I thought it was a great time to pick some up (I almost got the Core collection - why didn't I?!)

LIFESTYLE // The Concert Tag

Hello there!

I was tagged by the lovely Lauren at An Impatient Scot to do this tag and could not pass it up!
This was such a fun tag to do but has gotten me quite sad that I have no actual gigs booked up right now... but here it is! Sure, I was just at Reading Festival but I was working so it doesn't count.

Lifestyle // Vancouver Bucket List

Hi there - can you believe it's already Friday!?

I am freaking out because this means I only have two days before my first lab session and the constant 2 lab reports a week (on top of other quizzes, problem sets, mid-terms and finals. I don't even understand how this happened).

Anyway, I have been thinking and decided to do a bucket list for my time here in Vancouver. I very much doubt I'll get anything done unless I write it down - I'm so forgetful!

Keep an eye on this post. I'll be updating it when I come up with new ideas or to cross something off of the list. Well, that's the idea anyway! With this much work I'm not sure anything will ever get ticked off!

LIFESTYLE // Orientation Day

Hey guys!

Question: when does this become a lifestyle post and not a travel post? I think this is a lifestyle post....

Anyway, yesterday was orientation day at UBC! 

Oh, and before I start: I HAVE REACHED 200 FOLLOWERS!

Thank you so much to each and every one of you who follow me. It means so much and cannot believe I have reached this many followers. It may not be much compared to some but for me this is such a big deal so thank you, thank you, thank you! It was the first thing I saw when I woke up this morning and definitely put me in a fabby (or tabby according to my mac) mood.

TRAVEL // Hello Vancouver!

Hello there!

I'm here. It's official. It's crazy. It's weird. I still don't quite believe it. I am tired as hell. But I'm here and it's great.

Okay, you get the picture.

TRAVEL // Cambridge

Hello there!

Last week I headed to Cambridge to see the lovely Amber and Nayaa before I head to Vancouver (which is TOMORROW - I cannot deal! How did this even happen?!) 

Anyway, I booked up tickets to Cambridge, met Nayaa in London before heading over to Amber's hometown. We shopped till we dropped (literally- I actually fell over about three times), had way too much food and said our goodbyes. It still doesn't feel like I'm leaving. I don't think it will do until I'm on the plane at this rate!

LIFESTYLE // Reading Festival

Hey guys! 

Yesterday I got back from this year's Reading Festival. I was fortunate enough to get a volunteer spot on the bar through my university and, not gonna lie, this year was the best Reading Festival yet!

TRAVEL // Stand Up Paddle Boarding with SUP Academy Tenerife

Hello there!

Recently I went on holiday to Tenerife and managed to persuade my parents to let me try stand-up paddle boarding. My thought process was 'if I can do stand up comedy I can do stand up paddle boarding'. I know that doesn't quite work but I could kind of do it so I'm going to say it worked (kind of). 

(image source)

OOTD // Brick Lane

Hello there!

On Saturday I spent the day in London checking out Brick Lane (which I have never done ever which is appalling considering that I pretty much used to live in London). I was pretty sad that I couldn't go to V Festival (Kodaline, George Ezra and Ed Sheeran!!!) but who wants to pay £90 for a ticket really? Just ew. Anyway, I had such a lovely day and managed to get Chris to take some photos for me. Yay!

LOVE // I've got a new blog layout!

Hello my lovelies!

I don't know if you have noticed but I have a new blog layout! It was designed by the lovely Be at Love From Be as part of her Makeover Monday competition she is running all summer long. I was so happy to win it and I could not be happier with my new layout - it's exactly what I wanted!

Be was lovely to work with and did absolutely everything I asked her (even if I kept changing my mind back and forth - I'm sorry I'm so indecisive!)  At the end of it all I have a blog layout that I 100% love and I am so thankful for Be choosing me to receive the makeover. I could not be happier!

Here is my blog before...

and of course you can see how it looks now! I hope you agree it looks 100 times better! 

So, mega thanks to Be who create this lovely layout! Go check out her blog - it's absolutely brilliant!

Please let me know what you think! 

STUDY // Tips for surviving university

Hello there!

For many of you, the dreaded A Level results day will be fast approaching.  I remember that day like it was yesterday (seriously) and remembered how lost I felt before I started university. I recently read a brilliant post by Sarah at The BlossomCart who has just graduated uni with a first (go her!) and agree with every single point she has made. However, there are a few points I want to add so I thought I’d do a little post (well not so little but anyway). Make sure you check out Sarah’s post too – I’m not going to write her points here (apart from the ones that are REALLY important) and I’m sure you don’t want to miss a tip!

TRAVEL // Tenerife: Teide, Icod, Garachico and Masca

Hello there!

It has been a while since I've posted about my trip to Tenerife (for whatever reason - I have no idea why!?) so here is the next instalment. We went on a day long coach trip to Teide, Icod, Garachico and Masca to see the sights and take some photos. Tenerife is quite a small island so in the 8 hours we managed to see a good 3/4 of the island. It was really good value as well and just a really lovely day! 

(Warning: picture heavy)

BEAUTY // My first MAC lipstick - Russian Red

Hello my lovelies!

Yes, you see correctly. I got my very first MAC lipstick. It may have taken me until the ripe old age of twenty (TWENTY?!) to finally pick one up but I have now! I took full advantage of £5 off at debenhams.co.uk in celebration of National Lipstick Day and I am very, very happy I did so!  I spent hours trawling though the Debenhams website and Google for reviews and I finally came to a decision - Russian Red!

BEAUTY // Benefit First Class Flirts Travel Set

Hello there!
It may be just me, but when sitting on a plane and there is a magazine showing discounts on high-end goods it is incredibly difficult not to buy something. I always pine over the YSL Touche Eclat Radiant Touch concealer (that is still ridiculously expensive and I would not use). My Mum ended up picking up this set after becoming obsessed with primers (she got the Baby Skin primer and loves it!) and this set came with two so she had to buy it, obviously.

So here it is, the Benefit First Class Flirts Travel Set (and man isn't that a mouthful!)

LIFESTYLE // Battlesbridge Antiques

Hello!

I am very fortunate to live where I live. I am just 40 minutes out of London and there is plenty around me anyway. I always go to London if I have nothing to do but randomly remembered about Battlesbridge antiques a few days ago and had to go. It is just a little village which has tea rooms (three I think?) and lots of little vintage and antique stores. The vintage clothing store was unfortunately closed but I had a little rummage through the main store and found all sorts of trinkets and interesting bits and pieces. I'm not going to lie, it was a lovely way to spend a rainy afternoon.

(warning: picture heavy)

BEAUTY // Balance Me Moisture Rich Face Cream

Hi y'all.

I have an itsy bitsy teenie weenie (or you know massive) thing about moisturisers right now. Since I have bought the Kiehl's Skin Rescuer and loved it I have been picking up any other reasonably priced high-end skincare I can get my hands on. I've read so much about Balance Me and couldn't resist picking this moisturiser up with Marie Claire at the airport for £2.50. I had conveniently forgotten my Elemis moisturiser and I'm really quite glad I picked this one up.

WISHLIST // Pre-Vancouver

Hello!

I cannot believe I move to Vancouver in just over a month. It's crazy. I don't even know how this has happened but I am rolling with it.

Anyway, I need to stop shopping because I cannot take anything with me but I have no idea what the Canadian shopping scene is like. I mean, come on - how am I going to last without River Island, Primark and Dorothy Perkins?!

I have compiled a few bits and pieces that I want right now which are potentially packable (potentially being the word).

TRAVEL // Tenerife pt. 1

Hi guys!
As you may (or may not) know, I just spent the past week in Tenerife. It was a super lovely week full of beach lazing and excursions and I just wanted to upload a few snaps from the week. Well, I say a few. There are so many I'll upload them in a couple of parts. Tenerife is such a lovely country and there is so much to do that one week was definitely not enough time. If I could go again tomorrow I would!

LOVE // The Liebster Award!

Hello my lovelies! I have just come back off holiday to find I had been nominated for the Liebster award by two lovely people! I think this tag is so lovely and has helped me find new blogs in the past for sure. It is a fantastic way to get blogs noticed and introduced to new readers and I really, really appreciate getting tagged in this one (especially as it is the first time I have been tagged in anything ever!). So here's a mega thanks to Natalie Ann at Petal Poppet Blogs and Katie at Little Katie's Little thoughts for nominating me - go check out their blogs which are both brilliant!

BEAUTY // Kiehl's Skin Rescuer Moisturiser

Hello there!
Recently I have decided I really want to take care of my skin. I don't know whether it is due with being inspired by other bloggers or knowing I am moving to Canada where high-end skin care is so much cheaper! Either way, I do absolutely nothing when it comes to caring for my skin apart from cleansing. So I thought it was worth trying a new moisturiser. This may seem like a bit of a jump forward, spending £30 on a moisturiser, but I can explain - honestly!

Anyway, I love, love, love this moisturiser!

BEAUTY // My Holiday make-up bag

Hello my lovelies! I always use holidays to experiment a bit more with make up. I love bright colours and huge accessories and in general go a tad crazy. However, I always try to keep the make-up I take to a minimum. It isn't fun to have to search through a massive bag when you just want your mascara. This year I have tried to go for the bare basics and feel like I have been quite successful (in comparison to previous years)

LIFESTYLE // What's in my beach bag?

Aloha from Tenerife!
I'm here for a week and yes, that means a whole week on the beach. I've spent the past month looking for swimwear and now I finally get to wear it. Hooray!
I've seen so many posts like this and so wanted to do one myself. Here is a little look into what's on my beach bag!

READ // Books for the Beach Part 3 (Kindle Edition)

Hello my lovelies!
Now, I love a book as much as the next person but you cannot deny how convenient having a kindle/tablet is for day to day reading. When I am on campus it is so easy just to pull my iPad out and read in a spare hour off, or do some research for a lab report if I am feeling productive. You can get books so cheaply on Kindle if the authors are not very well known and I have found some fantastic authors I have loved who sell their books for just 77p! Yes - 77p!

I thought I'd just show you a few and here they are!