University tips // Managing time!

Hello lovelies,

This is my last university tips blog post and will be all about how to manage your time when away at university. If you haven't seen my other two posts about preparation and saving money then please go check them out!  *PREPPING AND SAVING MONEY*

When you head of to university managing your time can be quite stressful. You have to study, make time for yourself, socialise and sleep. So, here are a few tips on how to help and mainly how to focus on your studies.

1. Avoid distractions

University is just full of distractions but be strong and try to stay away if you know you have things that have to be done. The best way to do this is to use your university facilities such as going to the library or a classroom. By setting up in a quieter environment you can focus way better!

2. Make a schedule 

When you have tonnes to do I find making a schedule for the week breaks everything up much easier and it doesn't seem so daunting. You can then start crossing things off as you do them and that shows you actual progress which can often be motivating.

3. Give yourself some me time

Even when you have loads to do you need to give yourself some time to either be alone or socialise and see your friends. By doing this it allows you to have a breather and relax for a bit. As important as studying and stuff is it's so important to give yourself some time off. Your body will thank you!

4. Prep and plan

Don't leave things till the last minute!!! By prepping and planning you give yourself some time to overlook everything that needs doing and also reduces stress massively. Planning can help you write down any ideas and really boost your motivation.

5. Prioritise 

Make sure you separate what needs to be done and what you want to be done. By prioritising things you can get the most important things done first. I normally prioritised by using the dates things needing doing so that everything was done in time. 

Again, even if you aren't going to university you can always use these tips to manage your time if you are at school or college. Make sure you go check out all of my other university tip blog posts here and here and good luck for anyone going away to university!

Love B x

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University tips // Saving money!

Hello lovlies,

This is the second post for my three post series all about my university tips. If you haven't seen my first post you can read it here. This one will be talking about probably one of the most important things to do when going off to university. SAVING MONEY.

Student finance is great but they don't always give you a lot to live on and receiving a low amount of money can make leaving home so daunting. But... even though I can't offer real money there are loads of ways that you can save some dollar!

1. Budget!!!

Budget your money and stick to it. Remember you're a student now. By giving yourself a budget it means you can see exactly what you need and how much everything will be. You can also take note of what you are spending your money on either weekly or monthly and if you are over spending you can look back and see what you need to cut out.

2. FRESHERS

 Don't spend your entire bank during freshers, you'll have at least 3 more months until your next loan and living on pot noodles and toast isn't fun. We all know that having a huge lump sum of money dropped into your bank account during freshers is super tempting but give yourself a budget and don't go crazy. 

3. Forget about your car

Driving is great and I loved my car but the fact is you won't need it. If you have a car the best thing to do would be sell it. This way you'll make some extra cash! Normally when you go away to university everything is a walkable distance away. 

4. Student discount

Tonnes of places offer student discount now. You can either buy an NUS card or use the unidays app. Whenever you go somewhere all you need to do is search to see if they offer discount or simply ask. Both of these offer discount on things such as shops, restaurants and even hotels.

5. Get a student bank account

Not everyone wants to use an over draft but loads of banks now offer student accounts that give you an interest free over draft. (Basically you can borrow money and not have to pay any interest on it.) Even if you don't ever have to use your overdraft it's much safer to have it incase anything does happen. Just remember, don't be tempted to start spending it all on things you really don't need. *Clothes... makeup... ect... *

I used all of these tips in my first year and will most probably be using many of them again. You could even use some of these if you aren't going to university but just want to save some money. Keep an eye out for my last post about saving money and you can read my previous post here. I hope they help and a huge good luck to anyone going away this month to university!

Love B x

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University tips // Prepping!

Hello lovelies, 

This time last year I was busy running around like a headless chicken trying to get everything together before I went away to start three years in Leicester for university. I found heading off to university both daunting and exciting. I went out and brought every single type of saucepan and started stocking up on essentials such as pasta. 

So, before you go crazy in Ikea I though I’d do a three part blog post series with some tips to help you before going away to university including prepping, saving money and how I found it best to manage my time. 

Todays post will be all about preparing for university and some advice on how to do so! Hopefully some, if not all of these tips will help make university life a little easier!

1. LISTS! 

Writing lists of things you need to get will make your lives ten times easier. You can write up your own or go online and find a pre-made one. You can write down different categories like things for your kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. I found making a list made me not forget anything essential.

2. Colour themes

Now this one may seem weird but having some kind of colour scheme for my bedroom made it so much easier when I was out buying bits and bobs for my room. It stopped me from going crazy and buying absolutely everything and instead made me look out for some nicer more suitable items. I also found by having a coloured theme for my room I was able to make it my own and it really helped with the home sickness. 

3. Get a REAL email address

By now I’m assuming lots of you have an email address that isn’t something like ‘princess2017’ because no lecturer or job application will ever take you seriously! Having a professional looking email address that you can contact your university on is so much easier. Everything will be in one place for you to find things and you’ll be able to use it for things in the future such as work experience or placement. It’ll also make organising things 10x easier as well. You’ll be able to link everything together on your computer and phone.

4. Facebook groups

Now I’m not a huge Facebook fan and I rarely use it other than to speak to family but during this time of year Facebook is full of university group pages that you can request to join. By doing this you can meet so many other people who are in the same boat as you and you can begin to make friends with people. From here you can even find some of the people on your course or who you may be living with if you’re staying in halls. I found this super helpful and actually met some of my best uni friends this way!

5. Get involved!

When you arrive at uni your first week will be a blur. There will be fresher’s fair, loads of events and you’ll be meeting so many new people. My best tip would be to get stuck in. Talk to new people and get to know your surroundings. I found starting in my halls was best and as I became familiar with everything I started venturing out around campus. Fresher’s fair is also something to get involved in. You’ll be given so many freebies and also get a chance to look at the different societies. Doing all of this will make making new friends easier and make university life easier too!

For anyone off to university this month then good luck! Just keep in mind that everyone is in the exact same boat as you and you'll be fine.

Love B x

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Turning Twenty // Photo Diary

Hello lovelies,

Last Saturday was my birthday and this year I turned the big two zero! After mentally preparing myself for it all week and being told over and over again that I will now be a real adult, I finally began to get excited! I thought it would be nice to share a few snaps of the weekend!

20!!!

I am a sausage dog enthusiast

Before our night out... I didn't want anymore photos!

After a bottle of wine...

And another one...

Reunited with boo

I have recently moved to Leicester as I started studying at De Montfort University last month. Since moving away I haven't seen any of my old friends, family or my boyfriend therefore I couldn't wait to go home for the weekend and see them all. My boyfriend came down a few days earlier to spend the night in my flat and meet my new friends. We went shopping (because Leicester has the most amazing shopping centre) and also went out for a meal and some cheeky cocktails. I may have had a few too many as I was dreading turning 20... Finally on my birthday I went home for the weekend to see my family. My mum pulled out all the stops by surprising me with one of her lush homemade cakes and as any normally teen I went for a very drunk night out with my pals!

I thought I should update you all on why my blogs been so empty over the past couple of weeks. With everything going on and me moving away I'm still finding my feet and trying to get my life together. (How dramatic do I sound haha!) BUT... blog posts will finally be back to a weekly thing. YAY.

Has anyone else recently moved away to uni? Or had a birthday? Let me know below, I love reading your comments.

Love B x

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Life Update // University

University is something I have always had mixed feelings about. The thought of it makes me feel both incredibly excited yet so nervous. Luckily, I have been offered an unconditional place at De Montfort University to study Journalism and Media BA (Hons).

With going to university comes big responsibilities such as living on my own, doing my own food shopping and juggling my time between studying and everything else. It scares me to think I'll have to fend for myself instead of having my mum and dad cook me dinner and wash my clothes. (Although bringing bags of washing home for my mum will definitely happen!) I'm so excited for this experience and thought I need to let you lovely lot know because everyone in the blogging community are so supportive and lovely!

 I can't wait to start writing blog posts about things I have brought for my room and tips for saving money ect. Keep an eye out for those soon! I've already posted a mini haul here, but will probably post 10 more before I go, watch this space. 

Anyone else looking at going to uni this year?

B x

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Mini haul // Ikea trip!

One of the most exciting things about university for me is the fact I will be moving out into a room where I can decorate it how I please. As a student I won't be able to splash the cash out on my room but I do want to do everything I can to make my small space, my own. All warm and homely.

I've created a list (a huge, massive, long list) of everything I need to buy for university including my kitchen utensils, electronics and bedroom decor. This trip was purely meant to be a browse for me to get some ideas on what sort of things I wanted to get and also needed to get. Those are two completely different things. And well... me being me ended up buying things because I 'needed' them.

1. Fake plants

Yes, fake plants are totally cheating BUT, there is no way that I will be able to keep real plants alive so hey ho. I picked up three different styles and all of them were £3 each. Ikea have a huge range of fake plants and I will definitely be getting some more when I next visit. I love having some greenery in my room and I'm a massive fan of the leafy look. 

2. Laser cut pots

I picked up two of these in different sizes. The larger one is very large and I will probably be using it to stick all of my stationary stuff into. As for the smaller one I will use this for my makeup brushes and when I next visit Ikea I will be picking up another one! These pots are super cute and will look nice on my shelves for a bit of decoration. White and black are going to be my key colours for my rooms decor as I love the simplistic style. The large pot was £2 and the smaller one was £1.50.

3. Ceramic dish

 I picked up this square, white ceramic dish. I will be using this to place all of my most worn jewellery on. I think this will look great on my desk by all my make up and adds some simple decoration to my room without making it look cluttered. This was only £2.50.

4. The last thing I brought I didn't picture just because a) it's quite boring and b) it was too large! I just picked up a fold away white basket which I will probably use for either storage or for my laundry. As boring as it sounds it is very practical and it only cost me £2! Bargain. 

This was one of many trips before I head of to university in September so keep your eyes peeled for more! Anyone else brought some home decor stuff recently? 

B x

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Budget makeup // Primark Matte Lip Crayon

Being a student means expensive high end makeup is something only the future holds. One day, maybe when I don't have to live off of pot noodles and tins I can spend my money on the things that really matter in my life. Beauty. However, during the poor season I have found some of the greatest dupes ever and my latest discovery is one for the books.

Primark. A.k.a a crazy jumble sale (if you are from Northampton... maybe some of you have amazing ones like the Oxford street one!) I was always dubious about trying their makeup just because I thought how could a £2 lip crayon be good? But it is. It's really good.

I picked up three shades. One is a wine/deep red colour, another is a purple toned nude and the last one is a bright orangey/red. One of the first things that struck me when I spotted these was the fact they are matte. I instantly thought 'Oh god they're gonna be so dry and make my lips hate me' but they totally surprised me and didn't do this at all! I mean, yes, course they are a bit drying on the lips but what matte lipstick isn't? I find applying a bottom layer of lip balm really helps stop these lip crayons from flaking off during the day. 

In terms of colour pigment and hold they are beautifully pigmented and are so true to the shades shown on the lids! They hold for a few hours but do need a quick top up every so often. The shape of the crayon is really handy as well, it means you don't have to apply a lip liner first because you can just use the thin end.

Over all I am super impressed with these three lip crayons. They aren't cheap or tacky at all and for the price they are really quite incredible! Below I have swatched the colours. As they don't have names I'm sure you can see which one is which!

Any of you lovelies tried anything from the Primark beauty range?

B x

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