Every where we go we feel like we're strangers

So yesterday Theana and I took a walk into town after all my meetings were finished because I really needed a new pair of shoes (my others have holes in them and I'm gona be traipsing around London next week). I ideally wanted a really sturdy pair of black pumps that were comfy and perhaps even slightly cushioned. I did in fact find a pair (if anyone wants to donate these to me I wouldn't be upset), they were heavenly - cushioned pad and the leather felt like it was hugging my feet, but alas, they were out of my budget. Instead I picked up these cheap and cheerful shoes from the New Look sale for £7. They aren't quite the sturdy-comfy bad boys I was after, but gosh darn are they cute! I haven't decided if I'm going to leave the straps on them yet or if I will take them off, but it's all options! 

I don't think it's the best ideas to traipse around London in them so I might buy some cushioned insoles or something to soften the blow :)

I'll go, wherever you go, wherever you take me, I'll go.

Thought I'd do an outfit post as I haven't in a little while. Not much to say about this bad boy, I always look at other peoples posts and admire outfits but they're never anything practical that I could see myself wearing every day. Therefore I thought I'd bring this simple outfit into the public domain. I know lots of people go for this kind of thing - a top and a scarf. I am a fan, but I can't wrap the scarf, I feel like an emotional teenager who doesn't know who she is if I do that.

 

This has been a go-to outfit in these cold patches, nice and cosy :) we had lovely weather again yesterday so I'm hoping it's here to stay for a bit longer! Are you having a good week? I've been rather busy but in a good way :) lots of tea with friends.

also wana share this song with you, it's so good.

Weekly Roundup #27

Another busy busy week! One of the societies I am a part of has a big training recruitment and the training is happening both weekends so there's been training for the trainers, training for the supervisors and training of the new trainees. Not to mention the normal reading, presentation making, literature review reading and typing, paid work, subwarden work AND the other society work. Tad full on right now but if I'm not doing something all the time now I get a little bored, so it's for the best :) I don't think I've told you yet but for lent I've given up chocolate, sweets, biscuits/cookies and cakes. It doesn't leave much I have to admit, but it's going well so far. I never thought chocolate would be so hard but it really really is. I've never broken lent before and I know I won't this year, but I wish I would, aha.

I'm really missing home and Michael at the moment. Michael and I are going to London next week which will be amazing, because I haven't seen him in far too long (not to mention I can properly let my hair down now my lit review draft is done, and London in general is amazing!). Whenever I speak to my sister and hear about my niece I get a little bit sad because it's always such wonderful stuff that I'm missing! But I will soon be home for a long time, and I will soak her up then :)

we had some absolutely lovely weather last week that I wish would return! 

I even wore skin coloured tights!

I did galaxy nails again this week

egg and bacon scramble = best way to spend a morning

 

My friend and I decided to have a sleep over the other evening and he brought his colouring pack and pencils, look at the creations I made! aha. I forgot how fun colouring is. 

MICHAEL BEING SO MEAN 

I can't help but buy the boy presents when I know how much he'll love them, I like his happy face.

and also the one that's shocked by how well I know him, that ones a good'un.

I think my boss and I are addicted to sushi. It's becoming such a habit.

and also this burger, bacon cheese and onion rings? what more could you want?!

My moma sent a package up today, so I think I might show you that tomorrow :) how's the start of your week been? Any big plans for the rest of it? I'm on duty tonight, so lets hope the students behave themselves!

Doesn't this look like somewhere you'd like to wake up every morning?

Sweet Potato and Rosemary Soup

After the hectic weeks I've been having, I chose to have Monday as a day to myself to do things I wanted to do (not just had to). I know I still have work to do, but something has to feel good in my soul and I had enough time between then and my deadline to take a whole day off (take that new years resolution about planning essays earlier!). So I decided to have a well deserved lie in, get up and lounge about for a bit (My favourite pass-time), make soup, clean the kitchen (doesn't sound like a day-off jobby but I was itching to do it), go to work for a few hours and then hang out with some friends.

I browsed my fridge shelf and saw a sweet potato looking sad that it hadn't been made into chips/wedges just yet. I scooped him up and promised him to be made into something delicious very soon.

Ingredient list;
sweet potato
rosemary
garlic
onion (but I didn't have one wahh- to be fair I try and make my recipes without because Michael hates them)
paprika
chicken stock

it's a very simple recipe, you basically just chop and boil up the sweet potato in the chicken stock, chop and add the garlic and onion (I'd have fried these off if I had one), add the herbs and spices and wait!

 

I chose to blitz mine as I'm a fan of a soup like that but you can do whatever you fancy :) let me know if you give this recipe a try!

Ladies Night

So on Saturday night, the girls and I decided to have a spontaneous night out! It was great to have everyone together and have a good old chin wag :) we also took some crazy photos on Harriet's iPad that I wanted to share.

photo heavy post, see behind the break!

Weekly Roundup #26

Super busy this week, I feel like I've only had time to sit down 15 mins before I get to bed which is incredibly draining. I'm hoping to have a bit more of  a relaxed week which should be achievable seen as valentines is out of the way - the Armed Force Awareness Society that I am sponsorship and fundraising officer for had an auction event in honor of Help for Heroes so it was all go go go. We managed to raise over £450 which is a very lovely sum for our first proper event :) I hope the rest of them go as good!

helping out on a psychology/blood sugar study

mm malt

from snow to the loveliest days this week

amazing breakfast date with Grace

Lunch with Gem

Harriet's latest concert

Kate's floating head aha

I'm catching up on the Black Mirror series, because I caught the first one of the second series and was intrigued. Have any of you watched it? what are your thoughts? I am enjoying it so far. My sister is back in hospital because of her bloody appendix again and I'm very upset with the hospital for not removing it already, I hope she gets sorted out soon, so much love for her <3 <3

Rust & Birds

This is a dress I've had for a little while and I'm puzzled as to why I've never shared it before, but finally, the day is here. I love this dress, it's so soft, and when you twirl it makes you feel like a princess. I wasn't going to buy it because I wasn't sure about the shoulders, but after trying it on I was decided. I love the little birds all over it and I loveeee the colour, it makes me so happy. I got it in Republic during the sales :) it was one of those annoying purchases though, because the sales assistant accidentally left the tag on so I had to traipse allllll the way back in to town to get it sorted out! I personally think it needs a belt, the dress pulls itself in but I like the colour break.

 

 

I'm off to meet a friend for lunch today and perhaps go charity shop shopping, do you have anything nice planned? I hope you have a lovely day :)

Source

MLC

I've somehow become some kind of mess. It happened in the space of two hours without my knowledge. 10 minutes to the end of my lecture I sat up and realised there are so many things I want to do with my life that I'm not actively doing right now and fear that I'll never be able to do. So I made a list, I've always been a list person, but this list was on the back of a receipt and I feel like some crazy lady who has a bad memory and isn't stylish enough to carry around good note paper.

As you can find in my lists page up there ^ I want to do camp America. I've always wanted to do camp America and I've dreamed about it since I first heard about it. It sounds exactly like my cup of tea and I think it would be such an amazing experience. BUT. I qualified as a social worker last year, and now I am taking a year to complete my masters, but (you may not know) when you're newly qualified you have to do an ASYE within two years of graduating, which pretty much means that I need to get into social work as soon as I graduate again. Which I am okay about, because it's what I was expecting and I think that once I have that under my belt, I'll no longer be newly-qualified which makes me more employable (and gives me more options) for the future. But that means that's another year or perhaps even two that push me further from being able to do other things. I will obviously have to do Camp America in Summer, as that's the main time it runs.

I also want to Teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) - this one hit me out of no where? That has not really ever been a huge goal of mine, it certainly hasn't been on my list as long as Camp America has, but it definitely hit me today (it was in fact top of my list). Like it says on my bio page, I love knowing cities like the back of my hand and I think you have so many opportunities with TEFL, and you could visit so many beautiful places that would certainly make it worth while. And it helps another thing on my list; living abroad. I really do want to do this, I read Whisky Tango Foxtrot with Kristen and get super jealous that she's been whisked off to Germany with her husband - because she has a really good reason for being there and she doesn't have to worry if it doesn't work out (e.g. job wise). I'd love to live in France but my French is certainly not good enough to be able to converse with someone about their life or issues in a social work sense, which means I'm taking another year away from social work when I desperately want to give back to that too.

I just spilled all of this out to my mum on the phone who told me it's a bit too early to have a mid-life-crisis, which I agree with, and we also both agreed that I do have time and it's good to know about these things to make flexible goals. I think it's just a lot when you feel like you're doing the same things over and over again - I've been in Leeds for three years now and it's just feeling a little monotonous, like I'm not doing anything different or achieving, when really I am, I'm just not looking at the bigger picture.

Do you get days like this? Where you feel a bit trapped and your big dreams don't quite fit with how your life is going? I don't doubt that I will get to do the things I want to do, I just fear that I am only getting older and things are getting further away.

I was considering making this a blog your heart post like Stephanie does, but I think that's enough writing for anyone to read in one day so I shall save the rest of it. Congratulations if you've got to reading this far, I think we could be very good friends if you have :)

Another Parcel

Michael is far too good to me. We all already know that, I'm sure (and if you don't, I'm not doing my job right). But here is another parcel that the sweetie sent because I haven't been feeling myself/too good in general recently. (as usual I got too excited and started opening it before I'd taken a photo!) I also had prior warning to not rip it because there was a letter underneath that I wouldn't want to tear!

There's a personal story behind jelly beans that I won't go into, and I've had my first one (unfortunately) and it was liquorice (mmmm!)