PHOTO DIARY: September 2016

September has been a somewhat eventful month, mostly because I started sixth form, which is actually turning out to be not as bad as I imagined it would be.Like, it's not total hell. I thought I'd pick my favourite photos from the month, in date order, so you can kind of get a glimpse into my past month. Also this would be nice to look back at in the future.

September 2nd 2016 

Myself and 3 of my close friends took a train into the city together the week before we started sixth form. Our main aim of the day (well mine anyway) was to buy stationary. We did get a bit carried away in Paperchase when we spotted these glasses, I mean they were too good not to take a picture. Personally, I feel we really pulled them off... especially those bike glasses, they were definitely a winner. 

September 2nd 2016

That same day I got surprise visit from Bertie. Bertie is my friends ex-neighbour's dog. It's hard to explain, but the dog is not hers, however she dog sits on a pretty regular basis and I always go to visit when possible. I'm a big dog fan me. Anyway, Bertie is the most adorable little pup and I was so pretty to see him and his beautiful face. This picture makes me sooooo happy. 

September 8th 2016

You know those really cringe feet photos you would do in year 7 with your friends? Yeah well we did that on our 2nd day of year 12. But I thought it was super cute, and embodies the start of a two year journey between all of us. I can't even explain how much each of these feet owners mean to me (yes feet owners). They will be my rock throughout A-Levels.

September 18th 2016

This was a very special day. My dad bought me a Macbook Pro for doing well in my GCSE's and so I could do all my sixth form on it. But not only is it great for sixth form works, it beats my old laptop by miles, so writing blog posts and editing videos is so much easier and I'm super grateful.  

September 19th 2016

September the 19th signifies the start of an addiction. That addiction being the TV show "Victoria" on ITV. Admitted I was just a bit late to the bandwagon, but I binged watched all 5 episodes that were out so I could start watching it weekly every Sunday evening. Each week waiting for the next episode of Victoria is most definitely going to drag out, but I love it so I can forgive. 

 

September 22nd 2016

I went to visit Abbi and Bertie again and oh it was a good time. Bertie and I took plenty of selfies. I always tell him that I'm going to marry him one day but I don't think he's convinced. Mostly because he's a dog and only understands the terms "sit", "food" and "walk". No but I actually think I'm in love with him. I ship us if I'm honest. Hashtag #Lertie is a thing.

September 24th 2016

On this day we went bowling; I bought myself a pinafore and parted my hair differently for the ocasion and I felt very spiffy. I started the night thinking that I like bowling but then overtime I got get impatient and stroppy; I'm so competitive, its kind of funny really. I swear this happens every time I go bowling aha, I'm a mess. 

Overall I've had a good month. But I'm SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT 3 MONTHS IT'S GOING TO BE BLISS. Autumn, Halloween, bonfire night, CHRISTMAS! I'm hoping that as soon as the leaves start turning orange I start to creep out of my lonely stage and feel more alive (even though all the leaves are dying and stuff). Maybe in the next 3 months I could meet someone who changes my life, do something to be proud of, or make memories I will never make. I've still got 3 months to make 2016 great. I can't wait.

What's been your favourite part of this month?

Lots of love,

Lauren xx

My Autumn Night Routine

Guy guys guys!! I made a Youtube channel! I've wanted to for the longest time and a couple of weeks ago I finally decided, sod it, I'm going to do it. I used to have a channel when I was 13, but I soon deleted all my videos after getting a made fun of for it. I was embarrassed and didn't want to face anymore humiliation. But I'm older now, and the people around me are a lot more mature. Yeah I don't really want the people around me finding out about this channel, but the people who do know have been nothing but supportive, and that really spurs me on to create videos and do something I enjoy. At the end of the day, I'm only having a bit of fun aren't I?

So this is just a little post featuring my latest video, I think for each video I upload I'm going to share it on here so any new readers can go over and have a peek. It would mean the world to me if you subscribed, but obviously you don't have to, I'm not going to beg aha!

My newest video is my autumn evening routine. Now, most evening/night routines include walk through clips and voice overs, but I didn't want to do mine like that because like, you can obviously see what I'm doing and I'm sure you're all smart enough to figure out whats going on. I wanted to do something a bit more artsy? I'm not sure if you can even call the video artsy, but it's not the stereotypical routine videos, that's what I'm trying to get across. I'm excited to film more videos for the future, see how this youtube journey will play out and shizzle.

Anyways, here's my video you lovely lot! If you want you can subscribe here.

Sixth Form Stationary Haul

Hey guys! I started Sixth Form last week, so beforehand I went for a good old stationary shop! Buying new stationary is so therapeutic for me, buying things like pens and folders and pencil cases is just really satisfying. Like they're only basic things really aren't they? But I very much enjoy buying them. I feel like I can justify buying stationary more than I can other things. So should I talk through what I got?

For the last three years of High Schoo,l I didn't have a pencil case, and that was because we had to wear blazers, which in total, had eight pockets. Yes, EIGHT. So I carried around most of my belongings in my blazer; my phone, keys, pens, pencils, calculators, lunch, THE LOT. But I don't have a blazer with eight pockets now I'm in Sixth Form. In fact, the blazer I bought has no pockets at all. So when looking for a pencil case I wanted it to be smart and sophisticated, but it was hard to find one I liked. But when I was buying my clothes for Sixth Form in H&M, I spotted the gem above while I was queueing. I don't know whether it's a make-up bag, or purse, or a pencil case (I couldn't find it on the website) but it does the job and makes me feel tres profesh. I also bought a pack of Staedtler biro's because I swear they are the only things I can write decently with.

I also bought a pack of 8 colourful Staedtler biro's (6 in the picture but I bought 8, trust me) because I like writing out my notes in pretty colours as well as to fill in my bullet journal. I've been using these to death every single day. Pretty colours make my heart flutter. *swoon*

Now, I've been considering starting a bullet journal for the longest time, and I've spoken briefly about it in some of my previous posts. Before I went in head first, I did a lot of research, I read blogs, watched youtube videos, scrolled Tumblr and scoured Pinterest.It seemed that the majority of people were using a Leuchtturm 1917. So I bought one too! I'm super happy about it and am loving decorating it and being on top of things more. I'm fully happy and satisfied with this purchase. Would recommend.

And lastly, I bought myself paper (exciting!!) and folders. Carrying folders make me feel like such a business woman. Something about holding them around the school makes me feel great; I don't even know why but I'm not even going to complain. I bought the pink and green one from WHSmith and the gold spotted folder from paperchase. It was only £3.something! Bargain I say.

Anyway, that's all. If you know of any places to buy cheap stationary please tell me in the comments because I'm craving more! What's one bit of stationary which you can't live without?
Much love,
Lauren xx

Musings: Feeling alone

I'm feeling really alone guys.

You probably don't know this, but in July I went through a breakup. I wasn't happy in the relationship I was in, he didn't do anything wrong so to speak, but I just had a feeling things weren't right. I felt like I had to escape, I had to end it. We were together for a year and 8 months. But now without him, I know that I made the best decision for my sake as well as for his.

But the thing is, I feel empty. I feel the need to be loved again; I miss the feeling of someone desiring me and caring for me. It's only now that I realise how much I crave attention. And that's not something which can be a good thing. It upsets me that I can't feel happy alone, single and free. See there are times where I do feel those things, when I feel like a strong independent woman, but then there I times where I just want to hear that I'm loved.

And then I find myself looking at cute pictures of couples together, gifs and videos. It makes me feel so jealous and sick. I think knowing that I knew how it feels only emphasises the pain, because once upon a time that was me.

I don't miss my ex. I feel guilty typing out those words. I think what hurts more is the blow that I don't love him anymore. When you love someone you expect yourself to love them for a lifetime, you imagine a life spent with them and nothing else. You think you will love them forever. In life, I've learnt that that's not always the case. For a lucky few it is. But the reality for me is, I got over it. But I haven't gotten over the feeling of being in love. I want that feeling again. I feel so low, late at night, seeing all these good looking guys with amazing personalities and wondering why I can't find someone like that in my life.  Of course, they're not at all perfect, but I keep falling. I keep falling for people who will never be mine and that drives me even more insane. Crushes are supposed to be healthy, but in the end, they just make me sad. I keep falling for people so easily, and I'm idolising people I don't even know. 

Times are weird for me now because I'm feeling the highest highs and lowest lows. Because I'm loving life and all it has to offer, the nature, the music, the food, the company... but I feel there's someone missing. A specific someone. But I don't know who that is yet. I'm annoyed that I've let this feeling of "loneliness" take over me.

This a big thing, opening myself up to you like this. It makes me feel quite vulnerable and small. Normally I'm the strong, happy type, so writing this is definitely strange, showing my weaker side to you. I'm normally the advice giver to all my friends, a lot of people come to me for help and I'm always happy to do so. But because of that I find it hard to seek help and advice myself. Will people listen? Will people care? A lot of my friends just don't get it. That's why I have you.

I'm going off on such a ramble but I just needed to get some words off my chest. I feel like my blog is where I can do that. I always have you guys to listen to my problems and that makes me happy.  I want to know if any of you have felt the same way. Do you have any advice you could share with me to deal with this?

Lotta love for you guys,
Lauren xx

How to balance blogging and school/work #Teenageteam

I'm back with Jade for another addition to our "The Truth About Teenage Bloggers" project. Today we're going to talk about balancing school and blogging, but this can also relate to those of you who don't go to school anymore and are either working or doing other time-consuming things. But this post is very much aimed towards teenage bloggers. One thing that I want to stress is that although blogging is amazing, ultimately school and education should always come first. Let's just get straight to the main points, shall we?

Find one night a week that you can dedicate to writing. Pick a day where you know you don't have much on or any other commitments, and use that time to write. You could just write one post, or even multiple if the creative juices are really flowing. But know that even writing one post a week is great and that it's about quality, not quantity. If you don't feel like writing, then don't push yourself because your writing won't be to your best ability! I've started writing blog posts in bed on my iPhone notes before I sleep, because that's when I get the most ideas and when I feel like writing the most. Okay, it may not be the most conventional way, but it works for me! Find something that suits you and your schedule.

Schedule ahead you posts in advance. This means that you can get work and school done without stressing about having a post up if you can't find the time or energy to write. You could be someone who can storm out 3 blog posts in a week, but if you then find yourself struggling, maybe you could spread out your posts more to give you some leeway. As much as seeing a blogger post regular content is great and exciting, I for one don't get upset if posts only come out once a week or every two weeks. We understand that the people behind these blogs have a life, and you shouldn't stress about letting your readers down. You should come first always.

Only write posts if you know you haven't got other things to do. I myself won't write a blog post until I know that all my homework and revision for the day is done. You need to make sure to prioritise what is important to you, and for me, making sure school work is out of the way is very important.

Plan out your day. Recently I've been bullet journaling, and it's really helped me with organising my time. You can plan when work needs to be done, what you want to achieve in that day, and track your daily goals. You can even buy a daily planner from places like Paperchase, which gives you each hour of the day. You can then allocate slots in your day for when you want to do certain tasks, for example blogging and revision.

These are just a few ways you can balance blogging and school /work, make sure to go to Jade's Blog for her post too!
Lauren xx

Sixth form: A new chapter

A new chapter in my life is starting. Now with high school and GCSE's out the way, I'm turning over to a fresh page. I remember when I started year 9, Sixth Form looked like the place to be. The sixth formers seemed to have some sort of authority that none of the high schoolers seemed to have. They were older looking, dressed in their own smart clothes, and kind of patronising. Soon that will be me. Sixth Form has come round so quick, and although I'm looking forward to it , I'm also crapping myself.

There are some obvious positives about Sixth Form, for example, you only take a certain amount of subjects that you get to choose. For me, this means no more maths lessons where I'm trying not to fall asleep and no more dreading sitting in an hour of German. Quids in! For anyone curious, the subjects I'm taking are Business Studies, Sociology and Geography. Good choices? I guess I'll have to find out. I also feel that sixth formers are a lot more respected by teachers; they're treated like adults and with a lot more respect. More responsibility is also a big thing that I've had stressed on to me, but although it can be seen as a positive, it's also quite daunting. Like we're expected over these two years to be turning into an adult, it's almost like our transitioning stage. Our two years to get our shit together. People around me will be starting to learn how to drive and will have jobs, will become legal to drink and like, whoa. I'm not ready for that reality yet. Also, A Levels scare the hell out of me because they are the key way of getting into University and they seem so difficult. I've done the stupid thing of making myself paranoid by looking at twitter accounts and hashtags to do with Sixth Form and I'm telling you now, it has made me expect the worst. There's no way to prepare myself, I know it won't be an easy ride.

Tis' a daunting time in my life folks. A time of change and blank pages that need to be filled. These next two years are going to be stressful as hell, but I also have hope that I'll meet some great people as well make strong friendships. This blog will be my means of updating you on the stress, the good times and the bad. I'm planning on writing a stationary haul because what blogger do you know that doesn't profess their love for stationary? I've even started a bullet journal, in hopes to sort my life out! I'm one of them people now! Who knows if I can make it last, but I'm really planning on it, and maybe I could do monthly posts on how it's going? Would you guys be into that?

Here's how the rest of this year is looking for me in terms of what I'm doing with this blog:

• The usual blog posts I write obviously.
• I've definitely took the idea of Blogmas into consideration, scary, but maybe if I plan ahead?
• I've come up with some blog series but who knows if that will happen.
• Guest posts!!
• Could a you tube channel be on the horizon?

I hope you have a beautiful week my lovelies, sorry for this rambly post!
Much love,
Lauren

10 things every Brit will know and experience during "summer"

It's summertime! Or so we thought,.I'm pretty sure I haven't seen any sun since that super hot weekend in May. Sad times. However, this Summer it looks like it's going to be a pretty fun one, with a holiday to Spain to look forward to, summer camp, and many different parties to attend! Shame about the weather though really isn't it. While I was dwelling on the fact that its all grey skies and rain at the moment, I was thinking about how us Brits all have a lot in common throughout these so-called summer months; the sort of things we can all laugh about because they're all so relatable. Of course, my first thought was to write a post about it! So here are 10 things every Brit will know and experience during summer.

1.As soon as the sun is finally shining, everyone decides to have a barbeque. The shops stock up with coal and there are fights in the supermarkets about whose going to get the last of the beef burgers. Facebook fills up with pictures with their hot dogs, burgers, and glasses of beer. Oh and if you have twitter all you'll see is news on how many barbeques everyone managed to go to. Within a few days, the rain will come and everyone will stay indoors again.

2.As soon as it hits past 20 degrees mark, you'll see people posting the temperature on Snapchat and be greeted by people walking the street half naked. It's just too hot for us brits. We're most definitely not used to it.

3. Apparently, a lot of us believe that it's impossible to get a sunburn in this country, so often pass when in comes to protecting ourselves from the sun's rays. But that's always regretted once we manage to get sunburn within half an hour of being outside, and we get the most dreadful burn lines. Looking like a cooked lobster is not cool. Wear suncream people!

4.We complain about how the weather is rubbish every day, but as soon as the weather is actually pretty nice out, we complain even more about how it's too hot, even when it's not even that hot at all! We're a fussy lot but that's just the way we are.

5.Hot drinks are for winter and cold drinks are for summer right? Wrong, we'll go through endless amounts of tea and coffee all the way through summer without even thinking twice. No one can stop us.

6. Although deep down we all know how unpredictable British weather is, we'll always give it the benefit of the doubt and hope it doesn't change on us. So that normally means we end up getting caught up in the torrential rain without an umbrella, or we end up with sweat dripping down us because we dressed in dark, thick clothes. I always find myself in black jeans when it's hot, and I'm telling you now it's not good.

7. We're much more approachable and friendlier when the sun's out. Like we'll actually smile and talk to people rather than be our shy unsociable selves. Why? Because the weather has a strange effect on our personality apparently. 

8.Going to sleep becomes excessively difficult in the heat. The battle between being under or out of the duvet is definitely hard to win. Achieving the perfect temperature to sleep in takes a lot of patience, but we normally just end by giving. Even a room fan barely helps, and sleeping naked can often end up as a last resort. 

9. We set our expectations way too high when summer arrives. With dreams of barbeques every weekend, sunbathing in the garden, and a list of fun and amazing things to do. The outcome is very unlikely though and we're often felt a bit disappointed by the end of August and realise we've done nothing but lazed around during our free time.

10.As much as we all love summer and will miss it so when September arrives, we can't help but get excited for leaves to start turning orange and Autumn to be at our doorstep, and thrive in the weather we know best. 

Have a fabulous summer everyone,

Lauren xx