Hello everyone!

Here we finally are, the final post (for a while) on my trip to New York. I can't believe it was 6 weeks ago - time has flown! Can I be back now please? 

Anyway, the last day of a trip is always the most awkward. You look at your list of what you wanted to do and realise you won't get it all done. You have to get back to your hotel to pick up luggage and make it to the airport. Even though our flight didn't leave until 11 I still felt really restricted as to what we could do because we had to be back at the hotel for 6ish to get our flight. In the end we managed to see plenty on our last day, and we didn't miss too much off our list either - so yay.

TRAVEL // Visiting New York (with an iPhone) #2

Hello there,

I'm back with more photos from New York! It's now 1 month since I flew out and wow, that month has flown! I'm not sure how March is flying by but it's petrifying. I want to be walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, eating Shake Shack and trying not to get run over again please? A quick recap - I went to New York for 3 nights with no cameras other than my iPhone and instax mini. Would I regret it? No. Cameras are bulky and my phone is bulky enough thanks.

TRAVEL // Visiting New York (with an iPhone) #1

Hello everybody!

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to visit New York for the first time. It was last minute and I just found a good deal so booked it. Even on the plane I didn't feel like it had sunk in that I was finally visiting the city I dreamed of seeing as a kid. If I'm honest, now that I have been and come back it still hasn't sunk in. Weird huh? 

Anyway, with the cold weather and massive number of steps I was expecting to do I decided to leave my DSLR at home. It's pretty old now (probably close to 10 years) so whilst it works well it is big, bulky and a pain to lug around. Following a few discussions with lovely people on twitter, I was convinced that a DSLR isn't really necessary and with my new-ish XR I walked out of my flat and left my fully charged on my desk and didn't go back for it. 

TRAVEL // A day in Frankfurt

Hello there!

It has been a busy couple of weeks and I've finally found some time to post again. Hurrah! I was lucky enough to visit Germany for a conference on topics that were incredibly relevant to my research and as if by luck - flights meant I got an extra day in Frankfurt. I only had a few hours, but it gave me a taste of the city for sure. 

TRAVEL // A stroll around Bath

Hello there!

Another weekend - another post! Last weekend I decided to take a stroll around the city whilst the weather held out. It was very cold and I didn't stay out for as long as I'd liked but it was lovely to have a nice (and free!) touristy walk around. Spoiler alert - I've got no photos of the Abbey, The Circus or  the Royal Crescent. Think of this of inspiration on where to go if you want to avoid the super busy, touristy spots. 

LIFESTYLE // Current obsessions # 1

Hello there!

Two weeks in a row? I've really uploaded two posts in two weeks? I'm astonished. Whilst listening to a Body Balance playlist (71 to be precise) I thought I'd share a few of my obsessions over the past few weeks. Body Balance should be on here but I haven't done any this week and doubt I'll do any tomorrow because this week I have definitely slipped off the 'healthy choices' wagon.

LIFESTYLE // A 2018 Roundup and those dreaded resolutions

Hi there!

The amount of times I have sat at this keyboard thinking 'today is the day I'll write a new blog post' is not endless but if I had £1 for every time it happened I'd probably have a new pair of shoes.

However, like anything, I'm going to take it slow for the time being rather than going in all guns blazing. I'll be honest, I thought I'd go to the gym three times this week but after a harder than expected Boxercise class (also known as Fight Club - but I wasn't told I couldn't talk about it) I'm now shuffling around like a penguin and couldn't even make it down the stairs. So, for this reason alone - I'm not going to be a lean, mean, constantly writing machine throwing out posts like confetti. We'll ignore the lean bit.

TRAVEL // A weekend in London #1

Hello there!

Aren't long weekends just the best? I mean seriously THE BEST. Better than the fact that Krispy Kreme now do doughnut holes (which are just American Timbits and only come in one flavour so are not the same). I booked last Friday off and got the train down to London with bae for our anniversary. We originally wanted to go abroad but somehow 2018 has been going so quickly it was as if we blinked and then OH WOW our anniversary is in 2 weeks.

So, we booked a beautiful hotel with good transport links and hopped on a train (because yay the environment) and wandered around the capital spending money like we had it. Unfortunately, I'm just a PhD student and he acts part time so we have decided to not leave the house for the next month. It was totally worth it though.

LIFESTYLE // Does it make me a bad person?

Hello there! 

Over the past few weeks I have felt judged. I don't just mean on my work, or on what I'm wearing but for some of the most insignificant things I do. Sure, displaying the highlights of my life on social media is calling for people to have opinions on my choices but it isn't confined to the internet. So, I've decided to list a few things I've been moaned at about recently because, if I'm being honest, it's making me feel like a bad person.

LIFESTYLE // A beginner's guide to Les Mills Body Pump (from an absolute beginner)

Hi there!

If you've been following me on instagram you might have noticed me going on (and on and on) about my escapades at the gym. I've started doing two classes a week, one of them being Body Pump. I've decided that this time round on my trip to being healthier I'm avoiding high impact cardio and trying to give low impact high rep a go. I've also been told by everyone and their gran that I need to try weightlifting. I didn't want to pay extortionate amounts of money for a personal trainer and so went for the next best thing - a weight lifting class. Here we are now, 3 weeks later, writing a post on my experience (spoiler alert - it's good!).

TRAVEL // How to spend a day in Bath

Hiya!

It is no secret that I live in one of the most beautiful cities in England (just see my insta okay?). It is a super popular tourist destination that draws people all year round. Not a day goes by that I do not walk past a tourist or 10 walking slowly through the city center whilst I'm rushing to the bus stop because I slept through my alarm for 45 minutes. So, I thought I'd give a list of places you can visit if you ever make your way west.

LIFESTYLE \\ January Favourites

Hello there!

For the 74th time I am writing to say 'I AM BACK AGAIN PLEASE GIVE MY BLOG LOVE' because we all know that for things to grow you have to give it time and love etc. etc. etc. Well, as it turns out I have learned that I can't even keep a succulent alive (let alone a blog) but have decided to try again in spite of my better knowledge.

Anyway, I thought I'd start it off simply by showing you all a few of my favourite beauty and lifestyle bits from this month. It has been horrifically cold, windy and wet in Bath and these little bits and pieces have made my month just that little bit brighter.

Travel // 10 Things to do at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Hello there!

Somehow 6 months have passed and I have not posted any photos from my trip to Florida last September. I wont lie, I was most excited about getting to go to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter again as it had expanded since I'd been last. I thought I'd share a few pointers as to what should and should not be done - specifically focused on the Harry Potter sections at the park. Universal Studios is my favourite theme park to visit in Florida (even if they are changing it beyond recognition!)

Lifestyle // I've been gone for a while haven't I?

Hello there.

2017 has been crazy hasn't it? I was just sitting here in a hotel, watching The Big Bang Theory re-runs and thought 'my God - when was the last time I wrote a blog post?' It shocked me to see that it was as far back as last summer (insert shocked cat emoji here) and I felt more than a little disappointed in myself for ignoring my blog for so long. I used to put so much effort into posting regularly, taking hundreds of photos a week and engaging with other bloggers most days. However, recently I've been focused on running experiments, drinking too much coffee and watching too much Netflix. Oops.

So, I've decided to start posting again. I've updated my blog layout a little bit. I've got a few posts written and ready to upload. I've properly scheduled blog post writing in hopes I'll keep this up. We'll see - but I'm being optimistic (it's the way I get through most weeks these days.

LIFESTYLE // Quotebook are bae*

Hello!

Honest to god I was using the word 'bae' ironically. Okay, maybe I wasn't. In 2017 it will not even matter so let's just move past that.

Anyway, the lovelies over at Quotebooks (check their Etsy store out here) got in touch and asked me a very serious question: what would I write in one of their notebooks? Naturally, with me starting a PhD and all, I decided that I would save them for that and keep one by my side at all times. You never know when you're going to have that eureka moment right?

LIFESTYLE // I GRADUATED

Hello there!

Apologies for being quiet for the past week or so. Life has been super hectic and, finally, I graduated! I had spent so much time looking for the perfect dress and shoes and all of a sudden I was walking across a stage, trying not to fall over or cry. When they say that graduation really is a great day I was a bit sceptical but, honestly, I had the best time! It was nice to get dressed up, be the centre of attention for a while, and be given limitless free Prosecco and Pimms.

FASHION // WISHING I WAS JAMES BAY

Hey there!

Last weekend I decided it was a fantastic day to go to London. The sun was shining, trains were running almost on time and I wanted to search for a specific dress in River Island (that didn't work out too well). Anyway, who better to spend time with on a Sunday than my chem bestie Sam and like the babe he is, he took some outfit photos for me! We strolled through the streets just off of Oxford St. and found some pretty houses that I could pose in front of and *hopefully* avoid strangers who would inevitably judge me.

So, short story: met up with Sam, acted like complete losers, got amazing pizza, shopped, took photos.

LIFESTYLE // I'm graduating!

Hello there!

I just thought I'd write a little post to exclaim my excitement that I will be graduating this summer. Even better, I'm graduating with a first class honours MChem (in Chemistry obv) and I could not be happier right now unless I had an unlimited budget to spend on ASOS.

LIFESTYLE // Paper Princess (The Royals Book 1) by Erin Watt

Hello there!

Now that the weather has gotten significantly worse over the past few weeks, I have gotten myself back into reading. It's something about rain clouds that makes me want to snuggle up on the sofa with a good book and cup of coffee. This week I had a browse on Amazon in search for my next read. I don't like to spend too much on a book because they generally last me no longer than 48 hours and for £3.49 (more than I wanted to spend but hey!) I picked up the first book in The Royals series by Erin Watt (who appears to be a pen name for two authors who write together it seems...)

BEAUTY // The summer beauty haul

Hello there!

Is it just me, or when the sun is shining (or not shining 6 out 7 days) it becomes increasingly tempting to buy more make up? I have gone a little crazy these past few weeks with my beauty buys but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I liked every piece I purchased. With new products being released and a need for my make up to last an 8.5 hour shift/graduation I haven't been afraid to get a few high end bits. Just a note - when you get paid weekly 'pay day treats' cost far more than they should. I need to cut down on those.