21

I turned 21 yesterday and I was lucky enough to have my birthday split into two days.  On Sunday I went for a meal with my family, followed by birthday cake back at home and presents.  I got a new bottle of my favourite everyday perfume from my Sister (thank god, I have a drip left in my old bottle) and a gorgeous bracelet from Links from my Brother and Sister-in-Law.  Yesterday morning I woke to a stack of cards, I was surprised that there were no repeats!  With the cards came a present from my parents.  They bought me a Tiffany's necklace which I had asked for and I'm completely in love.  My Mum and I went shopping during the day, where I used the money I received from relatives to pick up a Pandora bracelet and a couple of charms as another little memento. In the evening I went out for dinner and cocktails in London with my best friends.  They surprised me with a cake, complete with sparkler candle as well as some NARS make up and huge poster of The Saturdays and Twilight (they know me so well).  All in all I was a very spoilt girl and I'm so thankful to my family and friends for making it a great birthday.  It's safe to say I wont be needing any jewellery for a while! 

Year in Review | Best of 2012

Happy New Year! 

This is part two of my 'Year in Review' series.  Yesterday I wrote about my Top 12 Beauty Products of 2012 and today I'll be talking you through each month and all the things that happened to me.  So without further adieu...

JANUARY

While for many, January is a horrible month, for my family it was a really happy one.  On Wednesday 25th January my Sister-in-law gave birth to William Alexander and he's brought so much love and happiness into the family (and quite a few sleepless nights for his Mum and Dad). Without sounding too soppy, it was the best possible start to the new year.

FEBRUARY

My birthday month always brings good memories.  This year was no exception and on my birthday we went out on the town.  The club was packed thanks to Joey Essex and Diags from The Only Way is Essex making an appearance but I can't really remember much else from the night.

MARCH

A busy month at university.  We were creating a magazine in a group as part of our course and it was a lot of hard work which would eventually pay off.

APRIL

April was both a good and a bad month.  Tuesday 4th April brought the end of my favourite TV show in the entire world - One Tree Hill.  On the plus side, I have all the box sets and will continue to watch them for years to come! At the end of the month, I started a social media internship at Phoenix, a designer reseller which meant I was surrounded by Chanel, Louboutin, Mulberry and many more for a whole month.  At lunch time, I often found myself in a small shop called 'At Home' where they sold delicious but humongous  sandwiches.  The shop was also situated about two minutes from Space NK and inevitably, I got the bug.

MAY

With the end of my internship also came the end of second year at university.  I continued freelancing for Phoenix whilst they were between interns.  May is also a big month for birthdays in my family with my brother on the 7th and my youngest niece Alice on the 25th (are you noticing a pattern with birthdays?)

JUNE

On Tuesday 5th June, myself and two of my best friends went on holiday to Spain.  It was the best 10 days of my life, we laughed, tanned, shopped and just had an amazing time.  Definitely what we needed after a stressful few months at university.  Sophia Bush, aka Brooke Davis from One Tree Hill also tweeted me on the 20th June - a pretty cool highlight.

JULY

My second internship of the year was in June at More! Magazine. I spent two weeks working with the fashion team as well as contributing to the magazine which was fun, as I read More! on a weekly basis. It was a lot of hard work, more so the commute than anything else but it was also great experience for my CV.  July also saw the arrival of another baby in the family.  My auntie gave birth to a baby girl who is absolutely adorable.

AUGUST

While I didn't get to go to the actual Olympic park (still kicking myself), I definitely got the Olympic bug.  Luckily, the cycle race came through my hometown so I got to feel the atmosphere without paying a pretty penny for it.  We saw Wiggins, Cavendish and the boys for all of about two seconds as they whizzed past.  

SEPTEMBER

I made an Apple investment in September and bought my iPad, which I've found difficult to put down since.  The first thing I did when I got it was buy Allure magazine, my favourite magazine and one any beauty junkie should read!

OCTOBER

After what felt like a year off, it was time to go back to university for my third and final year (eek).  Of course, October also means Halloween and I celebrated with the girls at a house party. I decided to go as Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter because I don't think I could have passed as Hermione with my bleach blonde hair.  

NOVEMBER

I popped my spa virginity in November as we celebrated one of my best friends 21st birthday by getting pampered. Although I didn't have any money to get a treatment, we had access to a relaxation room with herbal tea and fruit, both steam and sauna rooms as well as a jacuzzi, where we spent the majority of the day.  We finished the day with Mexican food and cocktails.  

DECEMBER

Gossip Girl ended but Christmas softened the blow.  December is one of my favourite months and the lead up to the big day was made more magical now that Alice is old enough to understand and really believes in Santa Claus. On the 10th, the girls and I got together for our very own Christmas day, complete with Secret Santa, Turkey and all the trimmings. 

That's my year in review, thanks for reading my blog this year and here's to another good year! I've got lots to look forward to in 2013 including (hopefully) graduation, seeing Girls Aloud, Williams 1st birthday, my 21st birthday and hopefully I'll be able to leave Tesco for a big girl job (fingers crossed).

How has 2012 been for you?

Merry Christmas!

A very Merry Christmas from me to you (and the girls)! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas filled with friends, family love and laughter and not forgetting, great food!

Sunday Update #4

This week has been spent adjusting to being back at university and the heavy workload our lecturers have thrust upon our shoulders - oh the life of a third year student.  Last Sunday evening I spent doing my usual routine; washing make up brushes, painting my nails, dousing hair in deep conditioner and so on.  Doesn't my nephew look cute in his Halloween "costume"? Speaking of Halloween, what are you planning on doing? I'll be off to a house party dressed as Luna Lovegood - I'm going through a serious Harry Potter phase right now.  

I made an online order for a hard to find birthday cake mix for my sisters special day and two bags of candy corn happened to end up in the box too... I'm a sucker for the stuff.  Being back at university and in my third year means the dreaded dissertation. I've began my research but honestly, I don't understand anything these theorists have to say.  I'm keeping my dissertation beauty related to keep me motivated, hopefully I wont end up resenting it by the time I had it in! 

I curled my hair for the first time in ages on Friday, using my Remington Pearl Conical Wand.  It turned out pretty good, the curls lasted all throughout the day and I even had a cute curled ponytail at work yesterday, result!  I've been loving my studded camo jacket that I bought from Topshop. I found this cute little pooch at the train station (with her owner of course) and she was extremely friendly.  Growing up I had two springer spaniels and this puppy made me extremely nostalgic, springers are a gorgeous breed.  

All of my favourite american shows started back this week including The Vampire Diaries - do any of you watch it? The season premiere was amazing and I'm already counting down the days until the next episode.  

How has your week been?