Friday 6 February 2015

January Favourites


Hi guys,

I hope all is good with you all! I whole-heartedly apologise for just how late this is! Life has been insane lately where education is concerned, what with Uni interviews and coursework deadlines slowly creeping up on me! Thankfully, today is quite an uneventful Friday right now, so I thought I would finally share my rather cosmetic-heavy favourites from last month!


So as I mentioned, last month was rather heavy on cosmetic loving, and here were those! First on the left there is a Models Own nail polish, in the shade 'Pink Veneer'. It was part of a four-piece set I received for Christmas, and I recently switched up my emerald nails to ones of this colour, so they're looking very pretty in pink right now! The quality is outstanding, I've had "are they your real nails?" recently, but it's just said polish that has a wonderful gel effect! 

Next to that is the first Lush product I've ever owned! I actually won it through a blog competition, from the lovely Gill over at gillmcaughlin.blogspot.com, so I was thrilled to finally be able to try a Lush product, and for free at that! It was part of the cosmetic chain's Christmas range, the 'Santa's Lip Scrub'. It is cola flavoured and I happen to be a huge lover of the smell! The lip scrub works wonders on my lips, ironing over the parts that need it, whilst tasting lovely and looking cute, with little edible hearts in there too! Brilliant stuff.

Next to that was a purchase I recently made as it was very much needed! This was a Seventeen Brow Sculpting Pencil in Natural Brown, just £2.89 from Boots! I was rather apprehensive at first because this seemed WAY too cheap to be true, but it was a rather decent result! I was in dire need of a new brow pencil as the current one I use is too dark, so this one will definitely do, especially as it includes a brush too!

Ooh so next to that is a Lush product I forked out for myself very recently! It is the 'Celestial Facial Moisturiser' that did NOT come cheap at £12.50, but I was in desperate need for a new moisturiser so I thought I'd test it out! Anyway, it became another Lush product that I'm already loving, it provides an amazing result on my lacklustre skin! I am definitely getting the hype behind Lush.

Lastly, my lipstick addiction is going absolutely nowhere as I managed to purchase ANOTHER one! This time back to trusty Rimmel again, my third purchase from them. This time it's the 'Starry Eyed' shade (no.128), just £4.99 from Boots! A wonderful brown/purple colour, definitely blowing the other recent lipstick purchases out the water. In LOVE with this colour and the quality!


I've been quite a fan of the British YouTubers for about a year now, and Zoe and Tanya are both wonderful. The buzz surrounding Zoe's book was insane, and Tanya's was staring at me from the store shelf as well, so I HAD to purchase both, just £6.49 each from WHSmith, SO good especially for hardbacks! I do not care about the whole Ghost written saga or the 'they're YouTubers not authors!!' thing, I am reading them at face value. 'Girl Online' and 'Love Tanya' are yet to be finished but I am enjoying them thus far!



These are a few more bits and bobs I was loving this month! Firstly, I finally got round to buying season five of Glee for £20 from HMV, so that I can re-cap on that before season six airs in the U.K.! Loving re-watching it so far, a very strong start as well with the two-part Beatles tribute!

For my mum's birthday recently, she became the owner of a brand new lovely Michael Kors watch, so her previous one got passed down to me, as not much of a watch wearer. It's a lovely little Rotary one pictured above, featuring current pink Models Own nails!

Next to that is this awesome zig-zag mint green and white notebook that I found in WHSmith following the book purchases! I was in need of a notebook for note taking for educational and blogging purposes (maybe even a diary if I was bored one day), and as a mint green enthusiast  this was the one! Sadly, no matching pen was found.

So guys I really hope you enjoyed my favourites, and apologies this was so late! I have two more posts planned to come soon, so watch out for those! Be sure to link me your own favourites in the comments! Oh and brownie points if you realised that I've switched up the font a bit!

Thanks for reading,

Jade xx




Wednesday 28 January 2015

MOVIES


Hi everyone!

Apologies for the delay in posting this week, mock week happened only to find out I had another one this week  to revise for as well! Couple that with an erratic burst of motivation to get healthier and you have one busy individual. Apologies that this isn't the most spectacular blog post to come back with, but right now this is what I feel like talking about, so this will be a bit more of a discussion post.

So, MOVIES! I have never particular classed myself as a film lover, music is usually my forte. With films I get some that I absolutely love and some where I'm left feeling dissatisfied. Sometimes the thing about films is that I feel like they can be a bit too long, my attention span won't survive unless the movie is phenomenal. This weekend I saw a film I wasn't expecting to like but absolutely loved, and one I was expecting to adore but it turned out to be disappointing.

The former film in question was 'The Theory of Everything', which I went to see in the cinema on Saturday. I actually adore the entire atmosphere of the cinema, complete with popcorn and all, so I really should go more often. Anyway, this was one of the rare times I did decide to go and all I knew about the film is that it was a Stephen Hawking biopic. I scraped a C at GCSE Science, and that's pretty much all my knowledge on the matter. I knew Stephen Hawking was a bit of a legend in his field, but nothing about him being a cosmologist or having such adoration for space and time. In a way that was educational, but my goodness the equations he was scribbling on the board didn't half look difficult! Anyway, this film completely blew my mind in terms of expectation. Eddie Redmayne whom I knew from Les Mis absolutely knocks his role out of the park, almost like he actually IS the young Stephen, from the mannerisms to the speech impediments deteriorating. His female co-star also played a fascinating role as Stephen's wife Jane, and watching her put up with all the difficulties was so admirable. The fact that this is actually a true story had me really thinking about how insane it all was. I would honestly recommend it so much though, a truly gripping tale and Redmayne needs to absolutely sweep the Oscars. However, when it got to a poignant, emotional scene in the film, some boys ran in and shouted! Thanks lads.

The latter film in question was 'Saturday Night Fever'. Last Saturday was quite the film day it seems, me and my brother decided to scour Sky Movies for something to watch and this film has ALWAYS been on my to-watch list. 'Grease' is my favourite musical of all time and I generally love musical films, so a fellow film once again featuring John Travolta was something I was definitely interested in. However, this film was SO oddly paced, one minute you'd have a car smashing into a window, then a romantic interaction, then a fight, then more romance, it was just plain confusing! There was no proper narrative structure. There was also a bit too much profanity which really took away the substance of the dialogue, I felt like I simply didn't care for these characters. However, Travolta does shine on the dance floor as Tony Romero, that was a real highlight seeing the dance battles go on, even if there were so many of them! The explosive legendary disco soundtrack predominantly featuring the BeeGees is absolutely iconic though, so I suggest the soundtrack rather than the movie, honestly it's quite bizarre. The scene near the end which I won't spoil was quite a moment though, and when I finally felt SOMETHING for the characters, there was only about a five minute duration left. I guess Tony Romero's message of properly following his dreams though was something to take out of it. The plot of Grease may be thin but at least it was reasonably paced and the two leads had fizzling chemistry and the cliques were interesting.

So yes I have found myself getting more into movies as of late! Are any of you guys a bit of a film buff? If so what have you seen recently, I'd love to know any recommendations. 

Thanks for reading,

Jade xx

P.s. whilst I have my personal instagram @jade_williams_97, I started another one @jadethejourno purely for this blog and is more of a typical beauty/lifestyle/blogger instagram, so if you want updates on when I post etc. then feel free to follow!

Monday 19 January 2015

Birthday Celebrations in Kettering


Hi guys!

I hope all is good. I'm currently off school for the week to revise for my mock exams that take place later on in the week (so much studying going on right now...!), so before I get to that, I thought I might as well write my blogpost for the week.

My mum turned 48 on Friday! She got so much cool stuff, including a Michael Korr's watch from my dad! Lucky for me too as I get her old watch! We celebrated in (greasy) style as we got a gorgeous Chinese takeaway. It's safe to say all New Years healthy eating resolutions are already out the window!

Anyway, on the Saturday I had the annoying dilemma of two parties clashing! There was my colleague Becca's 18th birthday house party or my mum's friend's 40th. We opted for the latter as it doubled up as celebrating my mum's own birthday and we could make a weekend of it as it was in Kettering, so hotel was booked too.

All in all it was such a fantastic night! Some of the DJ's selections were a bit dodgy but we were all having so much fun! Me and my brother even busted out a 'Gangnam Style' routine despite knowing about 5% of the attendees there! I guess you just don't care when you're that hyper. Of course there was a Harvester pre-party and probably a far too loud round of Heads Up! too. It's a pleasure getting to spend time with loved ones. There are some great pictures that were taken, including my dad with insanely large beer jug! So expect some cool present pics, hotel pics and of course, food ones too!


















As you can see, it was so much fun! I hope you enjoyed looking at this little photo gallery. Did you have a good weekend?

Thanks for reading as always,

Jade xx

Monday 12 January 2015

Partying and Stratford Upon Avon Gifts


Hi guys!

This weekend was one of the best in ages! On Saturday I went to a friend Xena's house party, followed by one of my best friends Christian's 18th party on the Sunday at Laserforce! They were both so much fun, the former was full of hilarious dancing, and for the latter I unleashed my inner ten year old boy and ran around to play a real life laser game with my best friends! You also got free ice cream and cake, result! I got a few moments captured, two from the party on Saturday with Eleanor, Lauren and Kyla and a selfie prior to the one on Sunday. 




So yeah haha that was so much fun, it was a refreshing change to not have to be working all weekend and instead getting to let my hair down! However, there is another part to this post! Over the weekend, my parents were celebrating their 18th wedding anniversary at Shakespeare's birthplace Stratford Upon Avon (very romantic! although I wouldn't say no to a kebab instead). Anyway, they unexpectedly brought myself and my brother some brilliant presents! They got me a Beatles DVD and Book set, a chocolate bar, pen and some Shakespeare love quotes badges, what an absolutely lovely thing to do! Here are some pics of them:





So yes what a smashing weekend and some equally fantastic gifts! I have already gotten straight into that chocolate bar and it's wonderful to have my parents back home!

I hope you guys enjoyed, did you have a good weekend?

Thanks for reading,

Jade xx

Tuesday 6 January 2015

December Favourites


Hi guys!

I hope all is good. Normally I'd produce a favourites post promptly for the first, but of course this month had to be an exception due to my reflection of 2014 post instead on the 1st. However, of course I can't let a month slide without a favourites post! So without further ado, here are my pre and post-Christmas favourites...


Firstly, I have absolutely been LOVING my Soap & Glory 'Zinging In The Shower' gift-set that I received as a Christmas present! As well as a body polisher, the set came with the absolutely lush items above: the sugar crush body buttercream, body wash and body scrub. They're so zesty as they smell of lime! I tried them out in the bath for the first time yesterday and was so impressed, particularly with the body scrub, but I genuinely love the gritty feel of body scrubs made like this! The packaging is also superb, they look so pretty taking over the bathroom! I'm obsessed with Soap & Glory products right now.



The trio of lipsticks now that have taken a bit of a dip in my wages! The first one I purchased was the Kate Moss Rimmel Shade 01 lipstick at the price of £5.49. It was a bit brighter than expected and less of a rich red than it looked, but the quality is fantastic, another success with Rimmel lipsticks after my Glam Plum Fulham one! The next lipstick I'd been eyeing up for AGES was the MAC lipstick in Film Noir at a price of £15.50 from Debenhams. It was a bit of a shock when wearing it to discover just how dark it is! It was a little darker than anticipated so not all that suitable as a daytime shade, but would look fabulous at night-time. The quality of MAC lipsticks are undeniable, too! Finally, what turned out to be my favourite of the three was the No.7 Moisture Drench lipstick in Sugar Plum for £9.95 from Boots. On the surface it looks like quite a light pink/purple colour, but when applied it is one of my dream shades! It comes out a bit darker but not TOO dark, so what a result!


Here are a couple more beauty-related things that I've been using a fair amount this month! On the left there is a Benefit make-up bag that was a Christmas present and it is now my go-to make-up bag! I am a huge lover of Benefit products and I adore the cute monochrome flower pattern, with pink insides. Also, after the Christmas period ended, I decided to switch up my formerly red glittery nails to more emerald ones. The nail polish was of course Bourjois shock resistant nail enamel (#37) that I picked up for 50p at a carboot sale back in summer! It looks metallic and comes in a fab bottle, what more could you want!


Here are a couple more Christmas presents that have pretty much been worn every day since! These white converse with the red line are my third pair, after already owning black and red ones, and as a self-confessed Converse lover that was an excellent present! They have provided much comfort at work also. Next to that is a beautiful silver 'Jade' necklace that my parents bought me for Christmas, it's absolutely stunning and quite a short chain which makes a welcome change to all my long necklaces.


These are SO cool! I absolutely adore The Beatles of course, and after seeing these in Most Marvellous (a local retro shop in my town) they were definitely something I wanted to purchase when I had a bit more money. This was remembered as I presume they were from there, and I now have cute mini mugs of John, Paul, George and Ringo! Because I hate tea (oops, how un-British of me), they're being used as storage to hold smaller items such as cosmetics, pens and jewellery!


These are the more musical items I've been loving this month! Firstly I purchased the black shirt with the Oasis logo for around £5.45 on eBay! It may have been a mens shirt... Oh well, who cares when you love the band on the top! Another item to add to my hideously monochrome wardrobe as it is, gotta love it! Speaking of Oasis, I received their debut album 'Definitely Maybe' on vinyl for Christmas and it's such a top record, featuring my favourite ever song by them, 'Live Forever'. Also as a Christmas present, I received also debut album 'Aquarius' by Tinashe, and her voice is HEAVENLY, probably my favourite R&B girl right now. Lastly I love geeky music trivia and the NOW! series, so I purchased the Now That's What I Call Music book for £5.00 in Sainsbury's which is brilliant value for a hardback! The detail is a bit minimal but still full of so much nostalgia and trivia!

I hope you guys enjoyed my belated December favourites! What were your own for this month? Feel free to link them :)

Thanks for reading,

Jade xx 

Thursday 1 January 2015

Hello 2015! Goodbye 2014 - a Reflection


Hi guys!

I hope you guys have had a brilliant Christmas and sent off the New Year in style. Last year I was off to a party for New Years Eve but this year my plans are absolutely zilch so a family night in with trivial pursuit was definitely on the cards! Plus I worked 9am-5.30pm today so an early night was needed (this did not happen).


This time last year, I decided that I wanted to put together a memories jar, so I would be able to look back and reflect fondly on the things that I'd gotten up to in the year. I managed to consistently keep up with all the good times in my life and omit the bad ones, and today I can finally crack open the jar and read back over the high points of 2014, to start off a positive 2015! So, I have collated all these bits of paper into months and thought I'd do little summaries per month. I hope you guys enjoy!


January

My very first entry into the jar was 'Sam's New Years Party (31.12.13/01.01.14)'. One of my best friends Sam decided to step up and host a new years house party, and to date that was the best new years ever! I remember the soundtrack mostly being Beyonce - her album had only just been dropped on us a few weeks prior! It was so cute when the night ended with everybody there hugging and wishing each other a happy new year. The month of January mainly consisted of family birthdays, what with my mum's 47th on the 16th and great grandma's 92nd on the 24th, both celebrated by lovely meals out I would think! I also see an entry that simply states BUDDIES for January too, which I believe was due to always hating the restaurant but having a turnaround for it this year! I fell in love with the retro decor and music. When you serve mac and cheese and play the Beatles, it was hard to hate it. The only other entries were school related (fun!) - firstly 'Sixth form volunteering with Deborah' which was meant to be a boring old volunteering session, only made fun by then new friend Deborah being fantastic company and thus resulting in a very fun time. Then, it was 'study leave', I must have been SO sick of school by that point that study leave for mocks was practically a godsend.


February

February started off with a really insightful trip with my media class to the British Film Institute. Since our exam prep was all about British film, what better place to visit? Going to London was a brilliant substitute for dull schoolwork, and getting to watch artistic films and learn about the history was really interesting as a media student. The next piece of paper is so cute haha, it simply says 'Reunited with Emma!!' My best friend had decided to swap to college instead of going to sixth form, and this was the first time she came back in to visit us I believe! 

Ooh the next thing in there was one of the most defining events of my year - NCS! The residential phase came first in Shropshire, and we left on valentines day. The aim of National Citizen Service is to partake in a volunteering programme in the community that you come up with yourself in a team, but firstly you had to spend time bonding with your team. This residential phase was so out of my comfort zone - there were activities such as archery and assault courses but doing activities involving heights such as rock climbing or caving which I was worried about due to claustrophobia really made me push myself and I felt so accomplished afterwards, as well as making tons of new friends in my team. The residential went so quickly it was unreal, and it was soon onto the college phase a few days later, where we'd have to come up with the actual idea. This involved visits from various organisations and more logical team building activities, as well as pitching. It was clear to see that others were more passionate about other things, so our idea was to split into two sub-groups, one would create a video raising awareness for autism, and my sub-group would be helping out in a care home to tackle the issue of isolation with the elderly. Next month would see us make our ideas a reality. After all these NCS events finished this month, one of my best friends Kyla turned 17 and to celebrate this we went to T.G.I Friday's and since I'd only been surrounded by my NCS group for two weeks, it was lovely getting to see my own friendship group again. 


March

Second day into the month and it was already back to NCS related activities! We now had to fundraise in order to get our event off the ground, and firstly we decided to do a seven mile run at Pitsford Reservoir to raise some of the cash and also contribute towards the thirty hours of volunteering goal that we'd been set by our NCS team leader. Seven miles later and we were absolutely shattered, but it had of course been worthwhile. The rest of the month would be saturated in more NCS activities but sandwiched in between was a party that I was looking forward to! It was another house party BUT the theme was American fancy dress, and this gave me the opportunity to dress up as fame-era Gaga, donning a glittery jacket, shades and a platinum blonde wig complete with bow. It was brilliant seeing everyone in their fancy dress, and rest assured many photos were captured. Following this party there was ALREADY another NCS related event the next day! 

We decided we needed to meet up as a team, and our team leader suggested Long Buckby fire station, so we all met there and discussed what we needed to do in the run up to our big day. One of the things we had decided is that we had to do a leaflet distribution in Moulton (the area our event would be) and this was fun in itself, especially crossing paths with a classy drunk girl throwing up and trying to insult our team leader...! Aside from that we also did a cake sale, and our event on the 17th came around so quickly! It was at Moulton's Chappell House and we spent the whole day with elderly residents, serving them tea and cake, chatting to them, doing female members' nails, holding a raffle and games of bingo. We all really enjoyed it, and the residents commented that it was the most fun they'd had in ages! We all felt it so rewarding afterwards.

On the 29th it was our NCS graduation! It was all such a whirlwind over the past two months, and we were shown a video put together of all the Northamptonshire groups and our respective journeys. It was brilliant being reunited with my whole team again and receiving certificates signed by David Cameron, all our hard work had paid off and I now had something to put on my Uni personal statement in the coming months. Only downside was that I had to rush off early due to my dad wanting to make a move for the QPR game that day! 


April 

April seemed to be a lot more chilled, with the memories here being cute days with family or friends. Firstly, there is a 'town trip with Emma' memory, and me and my best friend do love a good town trip, especially as we don't get to see each other all that often. It was a great catch up, and I remember this trip very well, especially purchasing loads of CDs and a Beatles shirt! One of my other best friends Kyla also had such a fun movie night this month, I finally got to see White Chicks plus we had our faves of proper greasy kebabs and also we discovered loads of YouTubers. Meals out seemed to be popular, as I have 'Buddies and the arcades' as well as 'Beefeater' down for April, two top places there with the aforementioned Buddies cropping up again, gosh my family love their food! Oh also, following NCS I felt so inspired that I wanted to partake in volunteering again after the programme ended, so this month I began volunteering at Cynthia Spencer Hospice charity shop, which filled my volunteering void, allowed me to find bargains before anyone else and would be great to put on my CV as it was a shop. 


May

May was the month when it was exam central and when I was particularly obsessed with the British YouTubers! Firstly however the memory put in was 'Family BBQ' - so it's clear to see my family get into the summer spirit far too early, that or it reflects how sporadic British weather is. A few days later, it was time for another special family birthday as my grandma turned 75! I believe we celebrated this in the form of a Harvester, which is always fab. Oh gosh, the day after I counted a memory as 'Fab purchase at Shoezone'!! Woooow, this was probably during my 'obsessed with DMs' stage, when I found fake ones that looked nice dead cheap. Okay then the YouTuber thing was definitely evident, as this month both 'Alfie Deyes followed me on twitter!!' and 'Tanya Burr tweeted me!!' both score a memory, but to be honest they were rather exciting at the time! As per usual there are more meal-related memories such as 'Fun Bella Italia/McDonalds trip' as well as more fun trips with friends, such as 'fun catch-up with Emma at the park' where I saw her amazing blue hair in person for the first time, and then 'cinema trip - seeing 'Bad Neighbours' with Christian & Kyla'. I remember this being the day before I had a media exam, oops priorities. It was a rather crude film with some cringe moments, but balanced out with a lot of humorous bits too! Speaking of exams though, on the 23rd there is 'END OF EXAMS!!!' so this was quite the highlight this month, as I had completed my AS Level exams which were hugely stressful at the time!


June 

So the month starts off in true me fashion, with the first memory as 'Spontaneous McDonalds trip!', wow this really highlights how often and how much I love eating out! This is soon followed by 'fun day with Christian' which I believe was us walking around our estate just chatting for hours, those kind of days are so lovely. June of course marks father's day and this was celebrated by Frankie & Benny's! Oh dear more examples of meals, but at least there was an excuse this time!! Next up it says 'Uni trip!!' which on paper sounds SO boring but following the Uni trip in question, I left feeling so motivated for my future and it felt so fantastic at the time, like I finally knew that I would enjoy my course and what the future would hold. School-wise, apparently I loved the 'ICT + media day' where we were put in groups and got to make our own trailer and I don't remember enjoying it that much at the time but hey, I must have been on a high from the Uni trip. I also apparently had the 'BEST sociology lesson EVER with Sam!!' which leaves me with mixed emotions as in year 13 our classes changed so me and Sam no longer have these epic lessons anymore! Finally, there was 'Going to London to visit family' which was particularly special because a) London and b) because we hardly ever get to visit them (my great nan and her son) so it was wonderful. 


July

So July was a fairly packed month! The first day of the month was rather emotional but fun as me and my best friend Emma went to the cinema to see The Fault In Our Stars! Upon this initial viewing I adored the film, but I luckily managed to restrain myself from crying, even if I was dying inside! This was closely followed by the far more productive work experience over the next two days, where I spent my days learning all about what goes on in the media departments at the Argos and Homebase head office. This was so rewarding and fun, and in fact inspired me to create this very blog after one of the girls who I spoke to there was a blogger herself! The memory for the third is SO cute - 'Started my blog and loads of positive feedback!' - thanks to you guys! Two days later was followed by 'First proper Nandos' haha - by proper I mean that I went two years prior but all I ate was garlic bread! So I delved right into their butterfly chicken and was glad that Nandos lived up to how much everyone bigs it up! Later on that day was a local event called Walk In the Park with my friends Christian, Emma and Kyla where you listen to live bands and eat and it was an all night thing, it was such a great catch-up and we all had a brilliant time. Oh my gosh haha, a few days later I had 'Business day with Sam, Hayden & Sam' which also on paper sounds like the most boring thing ever, but I guess I liked it so much at the time because we basically just had a laugh the whole time instead! I also wrote down 'Social Sciences fair' oh gosh haha, me and my friend Christian had a laugh though all day, and it was when my friends were obsessed with the Kim Kardashian app! Lastly, there was a festival that my school hosted with acts currently there or alumni performing for us, and it was surprising just how talented people were! Ooh the best moment came on the 18th, the 'SUMMER HOLS!!'. Need I even explain? 

Next up was supporting my brother in his futsal tournament! It was actually quite fun, and amusing to see how much the boys in one of the other teams kept showing off! Apparently an all-nighter with my brother was also worth a mention too. A couple more family days followed, what with 'YUM curry at the Grange Inn' and 'Fun in Kettering - the wimpy and bowling!' being written down. As I said before, we do love our meals out my family! Especially with bowling chucked into the equation.


August

August and December are by far my favourite months of the year, so of course I was so excited for it to arrive! There are so many bits of paper for this month, starting with 'pizza hut trip!!' on the first, once again, oh dear! Pizza hut buffet is lush though, to be fair. However, a mere three days later was my birthday! Yep, I turned 17 on the 4th of August, and my birthday was made so special going to the Brittania and followed by a Mandarin meal. Three days after that was my brother's 16th, where we saw the hilarious Inbetweeners 2 in the cinema! Birthdays are usually the foundation of August, what with my cousin Sophie turning 21 also this month!  Away from the birthday fun, the following week I would be getting my AS Level results so that was in the back of my mind. The day prior, me and my friends Christian, Emma, Kyla, Sam, Kieran and Kaela all had a fun day out once again at pizza hut but with the arcades too! So that was pre-exam fun, and now the next day was met with stress for us year 12s (and of course anyone else receiving their results at the time). Anyway annoyingly the school website had an error with our results and we didn't get them for hours. However, I finally did and I was THRILLED to to get A B B D! I honestly thought I'd tanked, so it was such a relief to have not only passed them all, but be completely content. Knowing my family, the first thing we did was of course a celebratory meal! The following day was also a bit of a celebration too, as I met up with Emma in town to have a huge chat, and after getting the bus home I actually spotted Christian and Kaela too! Aw. Of course with it being exam season, my brother also received his GCSE results a week later! He got a fantastic set of grades and once again it was... a meal out!! Oh, the suspense. So yes a lot of happy times in August, rounded off by... the ice bucket challenge of course! 


September

God knows WHY I put this in there, but it was back to school on the 3rd for my first day of year 13. I guess we must have been eased in gently! It was back at school working hard, including analysing the Fault In Our Stars in media, so how fitting that I went to go and see the film again in the cinema a couple of days later! I wasn't as impressed the second time round as now I knew what happened, I began picking faults in it. Oh well, something far more enjoyable was a couple of days later. It was my dad's 40th on the 15th of September so a couple of days prior, we all went to my hometown Watford and spent a huge family day there having a barbecue and everything. My dad also received a thrill drive as a present, so at the end of the month we had quite the lads day out, with my dad doing his thrill drive at Silverstone, followed by the QPR match in the same day! Finally, blogging-wise I wrote down 'Sent free stuff for blogging!!' so yes that was unashamedly the first time I had been sent something by a PR company, which felt so rewarding in terms of progress at the time.


October

Ah, this month was rather bleak. There is just the one memory here, as due to the passing of my great grandad, there was a looming cloud of sadness that was hard to escape from. Still, at least the good memory was such a mega one! Instead of our annual holiday in the summer, we instead decided to go down the cheaper route of going on holiday in October! We went to Spain for around eight days and it was exactly what we all needed! We got up to so much, such as getting to go to the beach in Autumn, exploring the sights, eating out and shopping amongst other things. Definitely the worst month of the year on the whole, but Spain was definitely a huge highlight of the year. 


November

So thankfully this month was definitely looking up! It was brilliant on both a personal and social level. Prior to this year I had never really done anything to celebrate bonfire night, but this year I got to go to two firework displays! The first was with a huge group of friends followed by a McDonalds and Starbucks, then that same weekend I went to one in my estate with my two best friends. Both nights were so much fun, although the playlists while the fireworks were going off were rather awful, with the inclusions of hits such as 'Firework', 'Relight My Fire' and 'Firestarter'...! I was already on a high, but then the following week did absolute wonders on a personal level as I FINALLY got a job after a lot of unsuccessful interview processes! Better yet, it was somewhere I had wanted to work ever since I was small! On 15th November I started my current job at HMV and it's been such a brilliant experience, as well as having excellent colleagues to make the shifts more enjoyable. Yay! As I said before, this month was decidedly quite social. I had two unconventional 18th parties in just over the space of a week, instead of the usual clubbing, firstly Lauren's 18th was a huge gathering at pizza hut, and then Chrissie's turned the whole idea of an 18th on it's head as she had it at a place called Kids Play! Basically one of those huge indoor activity centres for kids, but as a laugh she invited about fifty people and we all had a brilliant time, but it was so exhausting, particularly the trampolines! The month ended on a high, with one of my best friends Sam having a pizza night at his house, with a whole group of us having loads of Domino's pizzas with Christmas music and gossiping - fun fun fun!


December

Oh good old festive December, I miss you already. Of course I spent the entire month capturing the run up Christmas through Blogmas! However, there were a few certain days I did write down. Firstly, Christmas jumper day! Yes I am a sad person who got excited at the thought of wearing my Christmas jumper! However, it wasn't just that, the day on the whole was so cute with my friends. Around a week later, the Christmas holidays arrived and I was delighted to finally be getting some well deserved lie-ins after being at school every week day and then working all weekend! Of course lets not forget CHRISTMAS itself! What an incredible day as it always is, sharing the magic with my closest ones. Boxing day was also good too, as we went down to the pub and it was karaoke night, always a guaranteed laugh! The year was toasted off spectacularly last night as a family, with a huge match of trivial pursuit and a kebab! Not the best idea at work today, but luckily I managed to recover from the kebab and lack of sleep!

I really hope you guys enjoyed reading and visually absorbing what my 2014 was like. It's been up and down but definitely the best year of my life on a personal level! Apologies for how long this turned out to be!

How was your year?

Thanks for reading,

Jade xx