A night out.

My caps lock button is only working about 40% of the time. This is frustrating.

Anyway!

Two of my friends from university came down to visit me on Thursday, and it was SO good to see them. We did a bit of shopping (I bought some black wedges from New Look that I didn't reeeally need, but I didn't have any going out wedges so it's okay) before coming back to mine, eating, getting ready and getting our drink on with some Crunk Juice Juce.
Has anyone else tried this stuff? It's imported from the US and is SUPER STRONG. I'd tried the grape and fruit punch flavours before, which were both revolting, but the watermelon wasn't quite as bad. It was drinkable, at least!

Georgia's first sip was not a pleasant one.

I'd never been out in Southampton before, so I wasn't sure where to go, but we went to a bar/club called Orange Rooms that had 2 for 1 cocktails (one of mine had - get this - dry ice in it! It was ridiculous) and good fun music, so it was a good night!

It closed at 1am, though, so we ended up in an almost empty club when that closed, which was more amusing than anything because everyone else in there was so drunk!
A good night all round, I say.

Hair cut!

I FINALLY had a hair cut. I've needed one for ages, but I just haven't had the money to get it done. And also partly because as much as I needed it done, I was putting it off because I'm not a massive fan of having my hair cut. I always find it a slightly awkward experience, and since I never have anything wild and crazy done it doesn't quite seems worth it (I've never even had it professionally dyed or highlighted). But anyway, I had to suck it up and go for it because, really, the ends were deader than dead.

Excuse the strange angles - that's what happens when I ask Dan to take photos for me!

I had quite a bit cut off (a good inch and a half or more), so the ends are all nice and healthy now, yay!

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I was at work for 10 hours yesterday, fun times. I've got tomorrow off, and 2 of my friends are coming down to visit which I'm muchos looking forward to. Even if it will be a bit cramped in this flat with 4 of us here!

Date night.

It's half term this week, so to celebrate Dan completing half a term of being a real teacher, and because I had Friday evening and the whole of Saturday off, we went out for a meal and drinks in Frankie & Benny's, yay!

This is what I wore: (cue standard 'in-the-mirror' shot)

Not too dressy, but it was COLD out, and I've never been one for fashion over warmth. That's just crazy to me!

I love Frankie & Benny's. There's such a yummy selection of food, and the cocktails there are super strong and delicious too. I was planning on taking photos of all our courses, but after two glasses of the Long Beach Iced Tea (like Long Island Iced Tea, but with cranberry juice instead of Coke), um, I forgot!

On the bus I realised my lack of pictures, so I tried to take some, but the bus wouldn't stop moving. How inconsiderate.

Dan cooked me a full English breakfast in the morning, because he's super lovely like that :) We went for a walk in some fields afterwards, but I'll save that for another post (something for you guys to look forward to, haha).

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Last night I got to Skype with Sam, one of my best friends from my year in Colorado. We talked for over two hours, and it was so lovely to catch up. We hadn't spoken in far too long. I really miss that girl. Long distance friendships are tough.

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I'm guest posting over at Mary Rebecca's blog today, so you should check it out!

Not being orientated.

Today I got up at 6am and caught the train to Portsmouth, because I was told that my Holiday Inn orientation was today. But when I got there, I discovered that, as it turns out, it wasn't today. It had been rescheduled to last week but no one had told my manager or, you know, me. So I was in Portsmouth for no reason. Awesome.

I decided to make the trip worthwhile and grabbed myself a hot chocolate (since it was SUPER COLD) then did a bit of shopping in Gunwharf Quays. And then I came back to Eastleigh on the train and did a bit more shopping there. Which made me feel a lot better about getting up ridiculously early for nothing.

I picked up a notebook in Paperchase, Cath Kidston sticky notes (in case it wasn't a little bit obvious from my blog background, I love Cath Kidston designs) and a pack of 10 retractable Sharpie pens:

I also managed to get a pretty black and white star dress from the teen section (for age 13, if you can believe that. The age 14 was too big for me, wtf mate?) of New Look - for only £6 in a sale, bargain!

While I was in Eastleigh I noticed a sign in the McDonald's window advertising that the Big Tasty is back. Dan LOVES that burger and was super upset when they stopped doing it at the end of summer, so obviously that meant we had to have dinner at McDonald's this evening. I tried the Big Tasty as well, because for all Dan's rave reviews I'd never tried it. To be fair, it was a v. tasty burger. I just find McDonald's burgers a bit too sloppy and messy. Chicken McNuggets are a much safer option for a messy eater like me!

Emma's eBay Purchases - Part 3

Topshop dress. Size 8. 99p + £2.50 P&P

This dress looked super cute in the picture on the eBay listing. And it is in person, kind of. As you can see, it's a tad on the shapeless side. It does look better with a belt added into the mix:

But it's still not GREAT. It's 100% polyester, which means it's not the comfiest thing to wear. This is the second time I've bought a dress from eBay that I liked in the picture, but then not liked in person because I hate how the fabric feels. Definitely a lesson there! Note to self: Always check what material an item is made from!

Still, it has some redeeming features, like the pockets (I love pockets. Any dress is made 50% better by having pockets, true fact), and the design itself:

Pixel flowers? Kind of dorky, kind of cute. I approve.

Sniff.

How has it been 5 days since I've updated this blog of mine?! I'm not sure where the time has gone!

My parents came down to visit me on Wednesday, and we had a lovely day. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera with me! I assumed my mother would have hers and she assumed the same about me, so we ended up with no cameras. Disappointing stuff.

I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I hadn't moved to Southampton with Dan and had moved back to Cardiff instead. Would I still be living at home, or would I have got my own place to myself by now? I really miss my parents - I always thought I would live just around the corner from them, the way my mother lives only a 15 minute walk from my grandparents, but clearly that hasn't happened. I'd like to think that one day I'll get to move back to Cardiff. I do miss it.

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I came down with a cold on Wednesday evening so spent most of yesterday curled up in bed finishing reading One Day. Yes, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and read it, since everybody and his brother seems to have read it. I really enjoyed it. I liked that the ending wasn't the traditional happy ending that it so easily could have been.
It was the first time in AGES that I've literally not wanted to put a book down (that probably accounts for the lack of blogging!), and I was left feeling really inspired to write. I love books that give me that feeling.

I called in sick to work this morning, but I'm going to drag myself there this evening (I'm working a split) because I hate feeling like I'm letting people down.

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Oh, and I'm featured over on For the Love of Blogs today, so you should go and check that out! (it's not all the exciting, mind you).

If you've come over from there, HI! Welcome!

Recently ... [2]

+ There was a day of great rejoicing in our household (okay, it was just me) when I discovered that Asda have their iced mince pies back!

Now, I know it's only October and I completely don't agree with Christmas things being out until at least after Bonfire Night, but these mince pies are SO FREAKING GOOD that I don't care. The longer they're on the shelves, the more I can eat. This can only be a good thing.
Anyone else LOVE iced mince pies? I don't think they get as much love as they deserve.

+ Rainbow!

I know it's not obvious, but it's there, I promise! It was the first one I'd seen in ages.

+ I was supposed to work five 7am shifts in a row, which I was dreading (I really really hate getting up early. Getting up early to smile and serve tea + coffee to people who've stayed in bed longer than you is even worse), but I wasn't needed for one of the mornings and a colleague wanted to swap today's shift with me, so I'm only having to do 3, thank goodness!

+ My parents have been in Majorca for the past week or so, the lucky things, and my mother sent me a lovely bracelet when they got back.

They're coming down to see me on Wednesday, yay. I'd been planning to go home a lot more now that I'm closer to home and not overwhelmed with university work, but without the funds to do so, it hasn't happened as yet. I should get a proper paycheque this month (ie. actually get paid for the overtime I've worked, rather than just for the 12 hours a week I'm contracted for), so fingers crossed I can resist blowing all of my spare money on clothes, and spend it on visiting home instead.

+ I have an idea for a Halloween costume. It's not particularly 'Halloween-y' (by British standards), but I'm hoping I can pull it off anyway. It's slightly frustrating that in Britain you have to dress up as something creepy and/or stereotypically Halloween-y. I wish we could just dress up as whatever we want. There's only so many times you can dress up as a witch before it just gets boring. What are your Halloween costume plans? I like hearing ideas!

A meal in London

On Saturday, during that wonderful heatwave that I'm missing already, I went to London to celebrate my friend Emma's birthday with a meal in Jamie's Italian. SUCH good food, seriously.

The British countryside looks so lovely when it's sunny.
[taken from the train window]

These mushrooms were possibly the best thing I've ever eaten. There was a little pot of garlic mayo on the side and the whole thing was just OHMYGODAMAZING. I could happily have eaten this starter another 3 or 4 times over. Everyday for the rest of my life. It was that good.
If you ever go to Jamie's Italian and you love mushrooms: order the mushroom fritti. You will not regret it, my friends!

The brownie I had for dessert was quite sensational as well.

I was a little disappointed not to have more time to just sit and talk to my girl friends, since I hadn't seen them in months, but I suppose that's a good excuse to make sure I see them again soon!

Emma's eBay Purchases - Part 2

I was really excited about these two bags, because I don't have nearly enough bags in my life, and these both seemed like they'd be practical and 'on trend' (not a fan of that phrase, but it seems appropriate). Unfortunately, they were both a bit of a disappointment.

Left: £4.99 + £3.50 P&P / Right: 99p + £3 P&P

The bag on the left STINKS of smoke. To the point where I've not used it because I don't want to smell like a chain smoker. It's also got some rust around the catch and the other parts of metal, which wasn't mentioned in the description. When I left neutral feedback for the seller, she sent me a passive aggressive message saying I could have contacted her for a refund, but the description stated that no refunds were available!
So now I'm not sure what to do with this bag. I don't want to get rid of it because then it'll have been a waste of money, but unless I can get the smoke smell out and scrape some rust off, I don't see myself using it.

The bag on the right was a bit more successful; I've used it a couple of times and I do like it. I was just a little annoyed that the seller had failed to mention two pretty sizeable faults with the bag. There's a white mark right on the front (you can see it in the picture, just above the light glare), and the strap had become detached on one of the sides. The strap was still attached to the bag as a whole, so I thankfully managed to glue it back down.
I contacted the seller, who did offer me a refund if I returned the product but that wasn't exactly the point; I wanted her to recognise that she'd essentially lied in the description when saying it was in 'great' condition. I haven't left her feedback because I don't really know which way to go with it.

These are the only two bags I've ever bought from eBay, which means I'm going to be pretty reluctant about buying any bags from there in the future! Think I'll stick to shops in this case.

Summer in October.

Hasn't the weather been AMAZING the past couple of days? I love it! Today was literally my idea of 'perfect weather' - warm enough to have bare legs and arms, but without being so warm that you (well, I) start sweating. I loved it. I wish all of summer had been like this. I'm much more of a summer girl than autumn/winter. I'd almost accepted that autumn and winter were fast approaching, but with it being so glorious the past couple of days I think it's going to be so much more depressing when I have to start layering up!

Dan and I decided to go and have a pub lunch in the sunshine today, since we have the WHOLE DAY together. It was a good idea.

Afterwards we grabbed ourselves some ice lollies from a nearby shop and sat and watched people coming and going from the shops by our house. Not the height of sophistication, true, but it was such perfect ice lolly weather, how could we not?

I went to London yesterday for a friend's birthday meal (I'm sure there'll be a post about that soon!), so this weekend has been quite lovely. I wish I had every weekend off. Sigh. Hope you've all had a lovely weekend too!

P.S. Thank you for all your lovely comments about my new blog design! I'm glad you all like it as much as I do :)